With its spreading moss-draped oaks and tall hickory trees, dark floodplain forests of cabbage palms and beautiful riverside campsite, the Hickory Hammock section is one of the jewels of the Florida Trail System. This is one of South Florida’s most spectacular hikes, thanks to the old growth forest along the Kissimmee River floodplain, including dense palm hammocks with wild citrus trees and grand old live oaks, as well as the namesake hickories. Wildlife is abundant, especially raptors—caracara and sandhill cranes are common here. The Hickory Hammock, an easy overnight destination, has ample space for large groups. Once you’re north of the equestrian campground, the landscape changes dramatically, opening up into open prairies along the Kissimmee River. With rough footing underfoot, you’ll walk in the floodplain channel along a fenceline for several miles before completing this 9.1 mile segment of the Florida Trail.
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Overview
Location: Lorida
Length: 9.1 miles
Lat-Long: 27.402100, -81.169300 (Hickory Hammock Trailhead) and 27.499064, -81.211894 (Bluff Hammock Trailhead)
Type: linear
Fees / Permits: free permit required in advance for camping
Difficulty: moderate
Bug factor: moderate
Restroom: Yes, at the equestrian campsite
A 0.2 mile connector trail, blue-blazed, leads from the Hickory Hammock trailhead to the Florida Trail. Be sure to turn left to head north towards the campsite and Bluff Hammock.
Directions
The southern trailhead is a large parking area along US 98 west of the Kissimmee River and the Istokpoga Canal, 27 miles west of the junction of SR 70 and US 98 in Okeechobee. Backpackers must contact the South Florida Water Management District in advance for a free permit for camping along this segment of trail. The northern trailhead is at the end of Bluff Hammock Road, which starts off US 98 near Lorida. Access to the equestrian campsite is via a marked road off US 98 between these two points.
Hike Details
From the Hickory Hammock trailhead, hike in on the blue-blazed side trail for 0.2 mile to the junction with the main trail. Turn left to follow the orange blazes. You enter a lush oak hammock, the canopy so thick it prevents much sunlight from reaching the forest floor. This environment is perfect for bromeliads – air plants – to thrive, particularly wild pine and butterfly orchids. Sprays of wild pine that fall to the ground sprout from the leaf litter like pineapples.
The trail strays into wetlands near the Istokpoga Canal, and takes you through the first of several jungle-like floodplain forests of tall cabbage palms; this one boasts wild grapefruit trees, which fill the air with a luscious scent in late winter. After 2.3 miles, you reach the Hickory Hammock campsite up a short blue blaze to the left. Sign the register at this roomy campsite under the oaks, which has a picnic table and fire rings, and don’t be surprised to see an armadillo snuffling under the picnic table. There seem to be hundreds of them along this section of the Florida Trail. Twisting and turning through floodplain forests – which may or may not require wading, depending on the river’s level – the trail rises slightly through a scrub area, and drops through the first of a chain of lovely oak hammocks.
At 4.3 miles, you reach the equestrian campsite, where picnic tables set under a pole barn invite hikers to stop and rest a spell. Camping is permitted here too, with restrooms and non-potable water available. Continuing north, you come to the camping area that draws backpackers from all over the state—beautiful flat spots under the live oaks, with a sweeping view of the shimmering Kissimmee River. Just north of the hammock is a short dike and a bridge over a drainage ditch.
At the fenceline, you’ve reached the southern boundary of Montsdecoa Ranch, a working cattle ranch. The ranch crowds close to the river; the trail route, marked with blazed posts, attempts to find a route between the ranch and the river’s floodplain. At times of high water, the trail may vanish under the river. If the trail is engulfed by the Kissimmee River, and you feel uncomfortable attempting to follow it, turn around and retrace your path back to the Hickory Hammock trailhead. Walk west on US 98 for 5 miles to Bluff Hammock Road. Follow Bluff Hammock Road through the cattle ranches for 4 miles its end at the Bluff Hammock trailhead, intersecting with the Florida Trail north of Montesdecoa Ranch.
Following the edge of the ranch, the trail comes to a boardwalk followed by a strangely out-of-place tall footbridge spanning a deeply dredged channel. A second boardwalk leads you into Bluff Hammock, where live oaks knit a thick canopy overhead. Crossing a ditch and a culvert, you emerge at the Bluff Hammock trailhead after 9.1 miles.
Mileage
0.0 Hickory Hammock Trailhead
0.2 junction with Florida Trail, turn left
2.3 junction with side trail to Hickory Hammock campsite
4.3 equestrian campsite
9.1 Bluff Hammock Trailhead
