Geneva Wilderness Area

My first visit to Geneva Wilderness was also my first Florida Trail activity. I’d driven two hours to meet up with the group and got there as the heavens opened. So we packed it in and went out to dinner at a great fish camp. Luckily, the hike leader – now a dear friend – invited me to stay with her, so a group of us went out the next morning to experience the trail in the calm after the storm. I’ve seen these ponds overflowing with water (right across the trail) and dry as a bone. They’re a testament to how rainfall shapes Florida habitats.

There are two trails in this Seminole County wilderness area. Red diamonds mark the Loop Trail, which runs along the edges of the park’s many ponds and through a stand of pine forest that once was part of a turpentine camp. Yellow diamonds lead you to the Flagler Trail, a north-south multiuse trail connecting this park with Little Big Econ State Forest.

Start your hike at the kiosk and pick up a trail map. The trail starts off in what seems like a forest in miniature—gnarled scrub oak, scarcely tall enough to shade the trail. At the first distinct junction, turn left. At 0.3 mile, the trail leads up to a clearing with a restroom. It is here that the Loop Trail starts and ends. Turn left to walk the Loop Trail, staying right at the next fork to follow it along the edge of the two largest flatwoods ponds.

Rounding the second pond, the trail forks. Turn right and follow it along the shoreline, where many small and delicate sundew plants grow along the sandy shore. After 0.7 mile, you’ll walk along the edge of the South Camp. The Geneva Wilderness has two group campsites, great for scouting groups and beginning backpackers. Beneath a canopy of live oaks, South Camp is gorgeous. Potable water and restrooms are an easy walk from the campsite.