A pair of sandhill cranes among the prairie grasses
As you enter the scrub, things change. There are side trails you need to avoid following, so keep alert for hiker symbols and arrows. The trees are diminutive, with myrtle oak and Chapman oak dominating. You pass under the shade of another oak hammock before emerging into the blinding white sand of the Lake Wales Ridge. Soft and powdery, it’s not easy to walk through. The trail continues in soft sand, footprints guiding the way. Islands of short oaks sit amid a sea of sand, with clumps of saw palmetto breaking up the landscape. Crossing another sand road, the trail passes a wooden bench after 0.5 mile.
Snaking through this sandy habitat, keep alert for the arrow markers and faded orange blazes. Take a sharp left at the next SCRUB TRAIL sign. Pay attention to a flutter of blue wings and the shreep of a Florida scrub-jay. This preserve is actively managed for the scrub-jay families that reside here. These large, colorful members of the jay family are only found in Florida, their population in decline and severely limited by lack of habitat. Preferring young scrub forests, they don’t migrate far.
The corridor narrows again before bursting into an open patch of sand. Mounds of grass look like giant pincushions. Slipping back into an oak scrub, the trail becomes more obvious as it twists and turns between clusters of oaks. Arrows guide the way. You pass a bench in the shade of an oak at 0.75 mile and a bench in the sun soon after. A wander through a shady oak hammock is a welcome break from the sun reflecting off the white sand. A patch of gopher apple is a reminder that this is prime habitat for gopher tortoises.
Lake Wales Ridge scrub at Crooked Lake Prairie
Navigating your way through the scrub by following the arrows, you come to a T intersection with a VIEWING AREA sign at 1 mile. Turn left to take this short walk to where the scrub meets the shoreline of the lake. It leads through a stand of longleaf pines. Grand sentinels, they are picturesque reminders of the grander forests that once swept across this part of the peninsula. The spur ends at a bench overlooking Crooked Lake.
Return to the trail junction and continue straight, jogging left into the scrub. The corridor tightens between the saw palmetto and scrub oaks. Arrows and posts point the way towards another line of longleaf pines. At 1.5 miles, you reach the pines at a T intersection with a forest road. The Scrub Trail turns right. To stay on the perimeter of the trail system, turn left, catching sweeping views of the cordgrass prairie in the distance. It’s easy to miss the next turn: watch for a ditch and oak hammocks just before the landscape opens to barren sand punctuated by thousands of clumps of prickly pear cactus. Around 1.7 miles, the trail turns right and tacks from oak hammock to oak hammock across the ancient sands of the Lake Wales Ridge. Swaying clumps of sand cordgrass rise around you as you reach the berm along Crooked Lake and walk up to the boardwalk. Herons and egrets poke around the edges of the lake, and the view across the marsh is spectacular, with showy sprays of slender grass waving in unison in the breeze and water lilies floating in the shallows.
Leaving the boardwalk, you pass a picnic table at 2 miles. It sits beneath long streamers of swaying Spanish moss under the oaks. The trail leads you through the shade of oak hammocks where sand pine scrub and open prairie meet. Prickly pear cactus rises from the grasses as you come up to the intersection with the Scrub Trail. Turn left to exit, passing a portable toilet on your way to the parking area, completing the 2.3-mile hike.
OTHER HIKING OPTIONS
1. Crooked Lake Sandhill (27.814114, -81.547776). A little over a mile away, the Turkey Oak Sink Trail is a 0.8-mile loop with both a dip into a deep sinkhole and a climb to a scenic view down to Crooked Lake.
2. Babson Park Nature Center (27.841382, -81.533629). At the north end of Babson Park, along Scenic 17, this small Audubon nature center focuses on the Lake Wales Ridge with its easy 0.25-mile Ridge Audubon Trail and Lake Trail.
3. Black Bear Trail, Lake Wales Ridge State Forest (27.759989, -81.465249). Off CR 630 east of Frostproof, this 4.8-mile hiking trail system on the ridge leads to two primitive campsites and connects to a larger network of equestrian trails on the Walk-in-the-Water Tract.
CAMPING AND LODGING
Lake Arbuckle Park & Campground, 2600 Lake Arbuckle Road, Frostproof, FL 33843 (863-635-2811, polk-county.net)
Reedy Creek Campground (27.706071, -81.445495) or Walk-in-the-Water Primitive Campground (27.783537, -81.447576), Lake Wales Ridge State Forest, Frostproof, FL (1-877-879-3859, floridastateforests.reserveamerica.com)
Westgate River Ranch Resort, 3200 River Ranch Boulevard, River Ranch, FL 33867 (863-692-1321, westgateresorts.com)
Hillsborough River along the River Rapids Trail, Hillsborough River State Park
VI.
TAMPA BAY
Hillsborough River State Park
Total distance: 6.7 miles in three linked trails. Other distances and configurations possible.
Hiking time: 3–3.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy on the River Rapids and Baynard Trails to moderate/difficult on the Seminole Woods Trail, if it’s wet or muddy.
Usage: $4–6 per vehicle. Open 8 AM to sunset; campers have access to trails before the park opens. Leashed pets welcome, but backpackers may not bring dogs to the primitive campsite.
Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.1491, -82.2273
Contact Information: Hillsborough River State Park, 15402 US 301 N, Thonotosassa, FL 33592 (813-987-6771, floridastateparks.org/park/Hillsborough-River)
One of Florida’s oldest state parks, Hillsborough River State Park offers something you don’t run across often in Florida—rapids. Limestone boulders create a mild stretch of scenic whitewater along the Hillsborough River, which flows out of the Green Swamp on its lazy way to Tampa Bay. The soothing sound of burbling water is enough for any hiker to make the trek to enjoy this state park, which has a little something for everyone. There are gentle nature trails with boardwalks, accessible paved paths, a dedicated bike path, and footpaths deep into the river bluff forests, one of which leads to a primitive campsite for backpackers. The park’s two full-service campgrounds—Rivers Edge and Hammock Circle—cater to tent and trailer campers.
Our hiking route links together three riverside trails—the River Rapids Nature Trail, the Baynard Trail, and the Seminole Woods Trail—to create a loop out and back along the river and its surrounding habitats. Vary the length of this loop according to your interest and time, or start it from a different trailhead. To plan an overnight at the primitive campsite, call ahead to reserve your spot and check in with the rangers at the entrance station. We strongly recommend the use of insect repellent year-round because of the many swamps along the trails.
GETTING THERE
On I-75, take exit 265, Temple Terrace (Fowler Ave/FL 582), and head east to the intersection with US 301. Follow US 301 north for 10.5 miles to the park entrance on the left. After you stop at the entrance station, turn right onto the one-way loop road that circles the park. Pass the interpretive center. Stop at the next parking area (parking lot #2) with the sign NATURE TRAIL.
THE HIKE
Start your hike at the River Rapids Nature Trail by the PRAYER OF THE WOODS sign. This is a broad, well-maintained interpretive trail ideal for all members of the family. Enter the forest under a canopy of tall live oaks, pignut hickory, laurel oak, and cabbage palms. Oaks are the dominant tree along the river, with surprisingly ancient live oaks along some of the trails. The Native Americans who lived in these woods called it Locksa Apoka, the place for eating acorns. At the first junction, a trail comes in from the left. Continue straight, crossing a small bridge over one of the river’s side channels, lined with saw palmettos. The sound of rushing water fills your ears. When you reach the log Civilian Conservation Corps shelter after 0.25 mile, walk to the rapids overlook. The tannic water tumbles over dark red and black boulders, outcrops of Suwannee limestone, creating a small series of rapids. A striking bald cypress rises from its roots in a rocky island, its trunk and branches furry with air plants. As wat
er rushes over the rocks, frothy bubbles float downstream. Swimming is not permitted in the river, but canoes and kayaks pass by, and families fish along lazy bends in the river. A beaten path leads upstream to another small set of rapids, a brief detour for a nice view.
River rapids at Hillsborough River State Park
Follow the trail downstream, where several overlooks provide nice views of the rocks and rapids. Islands sport bald cypress and royal ferns. A large Florida cooter suns on the exposed trunk of a drowned cabbage palm. Meandering under bay magnolias, pignut hickory, and swamp tupelo, the trail passes under an arching live oak thick with wild pine and resurrection fern. At 0.5 mile, cross a high boardwalk over one of the Hillsborough River’s many floodplain cypress swamps. This one is tucked into a bend in the river. Stop at the next observation platform to take a look at the now-quiet surface of the river. Pass a side trail that loops back towards the parking area where you started. Follow the most distinct path past benches that look like they date back to the park’s opening in 1936.
After 0.8 mile, turn right and cross the lofty suspension bridge. It bounces underfoot as you walk. The original was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. Since the other footbridge over the river did not withstand the floodwaters of Hurricane Irma in 2017, you’ll cross this suspension bridge twice. You come to a marker and kiosk for the Baynard Trail, named for Oscar E. Baynard, the first superintendent of the park. Turn right, passing a cypress floodplain. Curving right, the trail follows the river upstream. A black racer slithers across the path into a saw palmetto thicket.
View of the suspension bridge from the Baynard Trail
At 1 mile, the trail turns away from the river, into a tall canopy of cabbage palms and hickory trees, past small clusters of wild citrus trees. There are many side trails created by bicycles. Stay with the distinct path. A few cypress knees poke out of the footpath. Reaching the property line of the park, the trail turns and rises slightly, paralleling a fence on your right. Once the trail takes a sharp left, it becomes grassy underfoot. With a sparse canopy of hickory and sweetgum overhead, it’s a tunnel making its way due south. Passing a junction that enables you to loop back on the Bayard Trail after 1.6 miles, you’re at a bailout point. To cut your overall hike down to 2.6 miles, turn left and return to the suspension bridge, retracing your steps to the parking area. If you’re committed to the longer hike, continue straight ahead through the hardwood forest, crossing a boardwalk, to reach the third named trail of this hike, the Seminole Woods Trail.
A large kiosk shows off a map of the trail. Normally, the trail ahead would lead to a footbridge over the Hillsborough River, but it was in the process of being replaced when we visited. Turn right at the kiosk. Originally called the Florida Trail and established by Florida Trail Association volunteers, the trail has been renamed to avoid confusion with the National Scenic Trail. The orange blazes have been repainted yellow. Numbered posts around the loop have the phone number for the ranger station, in case of emergencies. At the beginning of the loop, turn right. Passing a low swampy area, the trail slips through a sweetgum and hickory forest before edging around the base of a massive pond cypress. Hickory and cypress form the sparse canopy for a while and then are replaced by ancient live oaks.
After crossing a small bridge, the trail wanders beneath tall cabbage palms, their trunks aglow with green and yellow sphagnum moss. A slight elevation drop changes the forest. Sweetgum and elm take over as the ground underfoot becomes damp, dark soil busy with pennywort. (One thing about this hike: there are seasons when it can get very wet underfoot. If it’s uncomfortably so, turn back.) After the next bridge, at 2.5 miles, the trail turns sharply left to follow the creek through a palm hammock. Dark but clear, this tannic creek moves placidly toward the Hillsborough River. Roots and muck can make walking rough as you approach the sign for the primitive campsite. To visit it, follow the blue-blazed trail as it rises from the floodplain forest towards higher ground. A pond serves as a water source; logs may provide a place to sit. The campsite is 2.8 miles from Parking Area #2.
Continuing along the loop, the elevation rises, with white sand underfoot through a mixed oak and palm hammock. Blanketed in ferns, one solitary live oak rises more than 100 feet high. As the trail drops into the dark soil of the palm hammock, notice bright orange polypores on rotting logs. Crossing another bridge, the trail continues under cabbage palms arching overhead. Sunlight glints off the glossy leaves of a southern magnolia. Watch for armadillo holes hidden around fallen logs. As the trail turns back toward the river, you’ll discover one of the largest live oaks you’ve ever seen, a tree easily several centuries old. Its base is a mass of moss-covered knobs; the center has a hollow more than 20 feet tall. Climb the knobs and peer inside. Veering around another grand live oak, the trail emerges on a sand bluff above the river at 4 miles.
The remainder of the loop follows the Hillsborough River upstream. The constant proximity to the river makes this a delightful hike as the trail winds through forests of live oak and cabbage palm, hickory and sweetgum, water oak and holly. The limbs of many old live oaks arch down to the water. The trail dips in and out of small hollows created as tributaries drain into the river, winding through a grove of sugarberry trees with shiny dark leaves.
Looking downstream along the Hillsborough River on the Seminole Woods Trail
Veering away from the river to skirt a cypress swamp, the trail heads through a corridor of saw palmetto to a bridge over a tributary, at 4.5 miles. The footpath turns to bright white sand around the river bend. Dry floodplain channels parallel the river; the trail walks a narrow path between the two. Crossing another small bridge, clamber up tree roots to the sand bluff. The canopy opens overhead as the forest turns to young hickory and water oak. At the end of the next bridge, sword ferns edge the trail. Dropping down a hill, the trail crosses a bridge into another sugarberry grove. Watch for small details, like tiny, seafoam-colored, star-shaped lichens growing on the trunks of cabbage palms. When you hear children playing, you see the picnic area on the other side of the river.
At the end of the loop after 5.5 miles, continue straight ahead to the T intersection in front of the Seminole Woods Trail kiosk. If the bridge to the right is not open, you’ll take the Bayard Trail back. Turn left and backtrack across the boardwalk to the trail junction. Turn right and follow this short connector trail as it climbs over and around swales in the river-shaped landscape, passing a set of benches before it pops out next to the boardwalk that leads to the suspension bridge. Cross the suspension bridge. You’ve hiked 5.8 miles.
You have two options for the return to Parking Area #2. You can turn right and walk through the picnic area, following the river bluff to the paved path to the restrooms. From there, use the path along the edge of the woods—which passes CCC-built stone picnic benches—and follow it into the forest to meet the loop section of the River Rapids Trail. Turn right and walk through the shady forest; the footpath can be muddy at times. The trail pops out at a T intersection and bench with the River Rapids Nature Trail. Turn right to exit.
Alternatively, turn left after you leave the suspension bridge and return the way you started your hike, along the river. This lets you enjoy the burble of the rapids as you make your way back to your car. Unless you’re looking for variety (or restrooms), the riverside walk is the superior scenic hike. Both routes are the same distance. You reach Parking Area #2 after 6.7 miles.
OTHER HIKING OPTIONS
1. River Rapids Loop. The River Rapids Nature Trail is certainly the most compelling hike in the park because of its beauty. Starting at Parking Area #2, follow the hike as above, but turn left when you reach the side trail downstream from the rapids. It loops back through the deep shade of the bluff forest for an easy 1-mile hike.
2. Wetlands Trail (28.1433, -82.2298). Accessed from an entirely different trailhead than the rest of the trail system, this 1.6-mile linear trail connects to the Fort King Trail. It’s mainly on forest roads in the sun, but sho
ws off how the surrounding habitats were reclaimed from a dairy. It meets the Fort King Trail at 0.7 mile, so it’s used as a gateway for cyclists to access that route. The Wetlands Trail turns due west at that point and continues on to the park boundary at a LEAVING HILLSBOROUGH RIVER STATE PARK sign. A walk to the park boundary and back is 3.2 miles.
3. Fort King Trail. You saw this 6.7-mile paved trail adjoining US 301. Its northern terminus is at the Wetlands Trail, above. It follows the Old Military Trail between Fort Brooke and Fort King, the same one at Fort Cooper State Park (Hike 11). Here, it’s a popular bike path that stretches through the Hillsborough River Wilderness Area.
4. Fort Foster Tour. Beginning at the Interpretive Center at Parking Area #1, this tour takes you to Fort Foster State Park on the east side of US 301. This adjacent state park is home to a replica fort used for reenactments and rendezvous, and to tell the story of the Second Seminole War. Once you disembark the tram, there is a good mile to roam in and around the fort and up to the river crossing that the soldiers were defending. The tour is an additional $2 ($1 child) above state park admission and is only held four times a month: the first and third Saturday at 2 PM, and the first and third Sunday at 11 AM.
CAMPING AND LODGING
Hillsborough River State Park (1-800-326-3521, floridastateparks.reserveamerica.com)
Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa East, 11740 Tampa Gateway Boulevard, Seffner, FL 33584 (813-630-4321, hilton.com)
Lettuce Lake Park
50 Hikes in Central Florida Page 23
