Exploring Hog Island

Hammock on Hog Island

When you come to a boardwalk at 0.9 mile, turn left. The boardwalk is your bridge over to the dry ground of Hog Island. Around you, young bald cypresses rise tall and straight, their shaggy gray bark ringed with high water marks. Sunlight filters through the forest, illuminating the leaf-covered bottom of the shallow swamp through water tinged the color of tea. At the end of the boardwalk, turn right to follow the orange blazes around the perimeter of Hog Island. The trail may be damp in places. Keep alert for blazes as the trail frequently zigzags.

After 1.7 miles, two poles in a clearing indicate a junction of trails. A cross-trail takes off to the right, marked with white blazes. Turn left, following the orange blazes of the outer loop underneath a forest of low live oaks into a mixed hammock of pines and palms. Cypress knees poke through the footpath, which gets dark and squishy underfoot. At 2.3 miles, a blue-blazed trail to the left leads to the backpacker’s campsite. A thick bed of pine needles provides a natural mattress for your tent. At 2.4 miles, you return to the end of the orange-blazed loop. Turn right on the boardwalk to retrace your trek back to the parking area.