Hammock campsite, prairie highlights

The campsite

Walk back through the floodplain forest, admiring the bromeliads, and emerge back at the intersection. Continue straight and then turn right at the next trail junction. White blazes lead you through the open prairie to the Canal 3 campsite at 3.6 miles. It’s the perfect place to pitch a tent—a seamless canopy of live oak overhead, a picnic bench and several benches around a fire ring with a grill, and Canal 3 nearby to provide non-potable water (bring your filter!). If you’re not here for an overnight stay, it’s a good picnic or rest stop along the hike.

Continue out the other side of the campsite to pick up the blazes at an intersection along the canal. Turn left and follow the yellow blazes. Look carefully at the center of the trail for tiny but colorful wildflowers and dime-sized carnivorous sundew plants, glistening like drops of strawberry jam. When you reach a T with the blue-blazed trail, turn right to follow the trail back to the parking area, passing a reclaimed phosphate pit that’s been turned into a fishing pond.