The Pine Woods Trail

Baygall on the Pine Woods Trail

The center’s third trail along Reedy Creek Swamp can be done with two cars as a 1.8-mile one-way hike, or as a round trip hike of 3.6 miles. The far trailhead for the trail is 1.2 miles north on Poinciana Boulevard, directly across from the Horse World stables. A small brown sign indicates the very small trailhead parking lot. To find the trailhead at the Environmental Study Center, walk along the entry road towards Poinciana Boulevard, carefully watching for a small opening in the trees on the left. A large sign indicates the start of the Pine Woods Trail, where you immediately cross a bridge over some mucky spots. As you wander along the edge of the swamp, the short interpretive trail – with excellent signs and a section of rebuilt logging railroad track – evolves into the Ecotone Trail, with no further signage but a continuation of the red blazes that led you into the woods. An ecotone is a zone where two habitats meet, which is exactly what this trail does—keeps you on the edge of the cypress swamp, meeting up with the bayheads and pine flatwoods that come down to the swamp’s edge. It is a narrow trail in places, with bridges, boardwalks, and planks to keep you out of most of the moisture of the swamp.