Hoffman’s Crossing

Birdwatching along Hoffman's Crossing

Farther south along this section of the Florida Trail is Hoffman’s Crossing, a narrow two-board boardwalk with railing that keeps your feet dry as you plunge through another arm of the Rice Creek Swamp. If you’re hiking the Florida Trail between SR 100 and SR 20, you’ll encounter this marvel about a mile south of the loop in the Rice Creek Swamp. For nearly half a mile, it tacks back and forth to skirt giant cypresses and avoid old deadfall, while showcasing the beauty of the cypress swamp just inches above the water. Benches provide resting spots along the traverse, which leads you past clumps of needle palm and deep water holes created by root balls torn out by fallen trees – watch for otters! At the end of the boardwalk, a sulfurous artesian well gushes a continual stream back into the floodplain forest.