Don’t mind the mosquitoes…it’s a jungle in here!

Tarzan’s signature cry once echoed along the crystalline Silver River less than a mile from this section of the Florida Trail, which leads you through a dense, dark floodplain forest beneath a canopy of deep green palm fronds and ancient live oaks. Between 1932 and 1942, Johnny Weissmuller swung from tree to tree for the movie cameras amid this lush riverine habitat, but you have the option of an easy walk in the woods. Follow the Florida Trail on a linear journey through Marshall Swamp, and you don’t even have to get your feet wet. Underlain by gravel, the trail is slightly elevated above the surrounding swamp. Unless there’s been a flooding rain, the trail will be dry. Long bridges provide passage over the low depressions in the swamp.

Starting across the street from Silver River State Park, the trail makes its way south from a prominent trailhead along the Cross Florida Greenway at Sharpes Ferry Road (CR 314). The trail begins at the parking lot kiosk. Visit in winter to see a sprinkle of autumn color livening up the oaks, maples, and sweetgum, or before winter’s touch to savor the rich shades of green in the swamp at sunrise.