Florida Trail, Buckman Lock to Rodman Dam

I’d been planning to pick up this 5.5 mile segment in the Ocala National Forest and the Cross Florida Greenway for years, but only took care of it this week with help from my friend Bob (LWOP) Coveney, who with his wife Bonnie live the RV lifestyle and are hanging out in the forest; we’ve been getting out and hiking a lot together, which makes shuttling easier for both of us.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect of this section. Knowing, from the roads, you see floodplain forests, I figured on getting my feet wet. Not so. For much of the route, the trail sits atop a berm created by the construction of a portion of the Cross Florida Barge Canal back in the 1960s. I remember the fuss over the canal and the sense of relief when the project was scuttled by President Nixon. While I’m no Nixon fan, I deeply appreciate his intervention here AND at Rainbow Springs, which he signed off on as a National Natural Landmark back in the day.

Standing tall above this orphaned segment of canal, you can watch cormorants splashing in the water catching fish and hear the buzz of motorboats go past. Most of the surrounding forest is planted pines, which the trail drops down into to skirt a fenced off area that now contains the Rodman Campground. Since it has a bathhouse and potable water, it’s a good alternative to the campground on the south side of the Buckman Lock, which has a portalet and no water … plus they are charging for use these days, $7 a night. Why not pay a little extra for a shower?

The trail continues through wet flatwoods to reach Rodman Dam. I stepped right past a black racer and missed it entirely; Bob beckoned me back to take a picture but one step and I spooked the snake. Ah well. It was a good hike anyway, but entirely too short. We moved along to do a second hike I’ll blog about later.

Comments

Robert says:

October 13, 2009 at 9:56 am

Hey there. My friend and I are planning on hiking the whole FT Ocala National Forest Segment, and I was wondering if you could tell me exactly where this trail intersects at buckman lock. I have been trying to find a detailed map, but Trails.com wants $30 just to see the map. Ridiculous. I’d appreciate any help you can give.

- Sandra Friend says:
  
  October 13, 2009 at 9:59 pm
  
  Sure! Take a look at the hike I posted: FT Buckman Lock to Rodman
  You can zoom the Google Map in to find the trailhead.
  More logistical details available at Florida Trail, Ocala National Forest
  
  Pretty annoying about Trails.com, as they no longer have the right to sell my information on their site but are still doing so … but hey, the maps they have are five years old, and I’m developing new ones all the time. This data track is from January 2009.