I’ve never failed to see wildlife in this park, most commonly deer but also endangered fox squirrels, resplendent in their coats of black and tan. They tend towards the upper end of the park, hanging out in the pines. The hiking trails start at the very end of the road, past the swimming area, and are what my husband likes to refer to as driveway trails, serving double-duty as a service road with a lot of tire tracks from park vehicles. Granted, I prefer narrow, twisting winding trails, but these wider ones are great for group hikes. The trail system contains 4 miles of stacked loop trails. If you check the map at the trailhead kiosk, don’t believe what it says about restrooms along the trails – there aren’t any. But there are rest stops with benches, and a great panorama of the lake if you walk all the way out to the end of the peninsula.

Your hike starts with a walk down an earthen causeway, a 0.3-mile connector to loop trail system. On both sides is a floodplain forest, colorful in fall and winter with autumn-tinted leaves, and lush with ferns as an understory. The first of the three loops is the Fern Gully Loop (1 mile), which circles more wetlands dense with ferns. Keep right at the junction, and keep right at the next junction to continue along the Quail Loop (2.2 miles), which leads through a pine plantation surrounded by oak hammocks. A short spur trail, Whispering Pines, takes off to the left for a walk through the pine forest. At the last junction, turn right to do the Fox Trot Loop, which heads out to the tip of Lemon Point and provides access to scenic views of the lake. The trail is on a high bluff as it rounds the bend to return to the junction; side trails offer places you can catch a view.