One of my favorites for many years, the Johnson Pond Trail is Hike #3 in 50 Hikes in Central Florida. Although it combines elements of hikes I’m not fond of – shared use in a couple places, plus blazed forest roads used by vehicles – its beauty spots are such that it’s still worth visiting again and again. Hiking the loop clockwise, following the orange blazes and signs, you’ll experience the view of Johnson Pond early on in the hike. An overlook enables you to get a great view of the lily-covered pond, and is the perfect place to spot birds early in the morning.
While most of the hike is through sandhills, oak hammocks, and spots disturbed for development that thankfully didn’t happen, there are several special places along the trail that make this hike magical for me: rosemary scrub. It’s not common to see Florida rosemary growing as tall as these shrubs do, but they do, and surrounding them is a vibrant snowy carpet of deer moss and reindeer lichen. You’ll find one such wonderland about halfway through the hike, and another two patches about 3/4 of the way along the trail. Take the time to savor this unique habitat.
Resources
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Overview
Location: Citrus Springs
Length: 2.7 miles
Lat-Long: 29.005133, -82.384067
Type: Linear with loop and spur
Fees / Permits: none
Difficulty: easy to moderate
Bug factor: low to moderate
Restroom: No
There are picnic tables near the pond and a platform for bird viewing.
Directions
Follow SR 200 south of Ocala. At the junction with CR 484, continue 6.2 miles south on SR 200 to the Withlacoochee River bridge. Immediately after crossing the bridge, turn right onto CR 39, between the two gas stations. Drive 2.6 miles to the trailhead on the left side of the road.
Hike Details
Starting at the kiosk, pass through the split-rail fence and follow the trail as it swings left onto a jeep road into the sandhill habitat, where young longleaf pines rise to touch the sky. After 0.5 mile, the trail makes a sharp right past a bench. Thickets of saw palmetto cluster under the turkey oaks. Turning left, the trail passes through a stand of gnarled old sand live oaks, past a prairie edged by longleaf pines.
By 0.7 mile, you reach Johnson Pond, a broad, marshy flatwoods pond with lily pads floating on the open water. An observation platform provides a perch for watching the colorful birds that frequent the pond, including purple gallinules and green herons. The trail continues along the edge of the lake past a set of picnic benches.
Where a jeep road comes in from the right, the trail makes a left. Another left leads you into an oak hammock behind the pond cypresses on the south side of the pond, as the trail leaves the jeep road to follow a pine-needle-strewn path along the cypresses. Emerging to follow a soft sand ridge, the trail turns right over a rock causeway and intersects a blue-blazed trail from the left at 1.2 miles. It’s an equestrian trail that shares the right of way for the next 0.2 mile.
The hiking trail turns right and away, through a live oak hammock to the first of several stretches of rosemary scrub, distinguished by the large dark green shrubs with a massive volume of deer moss beneath them. Veering uphill, the trail climbs through a hardwood hammock with cedars amid the oaks. At 1.9 miles, you reach a bench. Keep to the right to walk through more stretches of rosemary scrub. After rising up and over a hill cloaked in longleaf pine and wiregrass, the trail drops down through turkey oaks and pines to complete the loop. Continue straight ahead to return to the parking area.
Mileage
start parking lot / kiosk 0.0
arrow, turn left 0.1
veers left 0.4
bench, sharp right 0.5
arrow, turn left 0.6
Johnson pond 0.7
picnic benches 0.8
turn left 0.8
pass track on right 0.8
left toward cypresses 0.9
right over causeway 1.1
cross jeep road 1.1
blue trail from left joins in 1.2
turn right & downhill 1.4
jeep track on right 1.5
veers left 1.6
arrow, turn left 1.7
limestone outcrop 1.9
bench, sharp right 1.9
jeep road from left 2.3
left 2.5
end of loop 2.6
return to parking lot / kiosk 2.7
