Soldier’s Hole Nature Trail

The next hike was tricky to find, as there was no distinct trailhead or sign at Soldiers Hole, just the portable canoe concessionaire stand as a marker. Still, we poked around and found the entrance to the Soldiers Hole Nature Trail hidden behind a screen of mangroves. This 1-mile interpretive loop meanders around Soldiers Hole, an inlet with a legend that it was the shoving-off point for deserters from Fort De Soto. It’s an excellent spot to learn about all three types of mangroves — red, white, and black — and the fourth relative of the family, the buttonwood tree. Glimpses of Mullet Key Bayou between the mangroves might net you a dolphin or manatee sighting. Take your time and enjoy the views! As you walk the loop, you’ll pass various interpretive stations. At station 12, a spur loop heads out along a mangrove-lined peninsula to De Soto Point, where the landscape is purely coastal: giant sea grapes, mangrove forests, and beds of glasswort. Taking this spur loop turns the hike into a 1.7-mile loop.