At the south end of Volusia County, historic New Smyrna Beach – right on the Atlantic Ocean – is home to Canaveral National Seashore. While the hikes here are mostly short – except for the famed wilderness beach walk to Playlinda Beach – there are many public lands sweeping west of Interstate 95 through prairies and pine flatwoods, cypress domes and dark hardwood forests.
Canaveral National Seashore – Castle Windy - There’s always a breeze at Castle Windy, a trail that burrows through the coastal hammock on the Mosquito Lagoon side of Canaveral National Seashore, leading you out to a secluded beach along the lagoon. Deeply [...]
Canaveral National Seashore – Eldora Hammock Trail - Before Canaveral National Seashore, there was Eldora. Established in 1877, this fishing village prospered along Mosquito Lagoon, with access only by boat. Now, the shoreline is dominated by the Eldora State House, the last remaining [...]
Canaveral National Seashore – Seminole Rest Trail - At the site of a former plantation and important archaeological site on the Indian River Lagoon, Seminole Rest provides excellent interpretation of this coastal outpost across the shimmering waters from the former fishing village of [...]
Canaveral National Seashore – Turtle Mound Trail - Along Florida’s Atlantic Coast, the prominent feature of Turtle Mound has been a navigational aid for generations. It is an oyster shell midden rising 35 feet above the Mosquito Lagoon, an archeological site dating back [...]
Hickory Bluff Preserve - As the St. Johns River snakes its way north from the Canaveral Marshes, it passes through a series of vast marshes and lakes well-known to Central Florida residents – Lake Harney, Lake Jesup, and Lake [...]
Lake Ashby Park - At this small rural park, explore the cypress-lined shore of Lake Ashby on a gentle trail system consisting of a boardwalk and easy pathways beneath deep shade along the lakeshore. An excellent spot for birding, [...]
Salt Lake WMA - Pockets of prehistoric salt water lie deep beneath the marshes of the St. Johns River near Mims, bubbling up as salt springs. As a result, the salinity of South Lake, Loughman Lake, and Salt Lake, [...]
Smyrna Dunes Park - As the wind whips across a broad, sweeping peninsula reaching out towards Ponce Inlet, you can hear the squawks of shorebirds and the rustle of gopher tortoises intermingle with engines gunning and dogs barking. At [...]
Wiregrass Prairie Preserve – Yellow Loop - Part of a 1,400-acre watershed encompassing wetlands that flow out of Lake Ashby towards the St. Johns River basin, Wiregrass Prairie Preserve is a wild and rugged place in a distinctly rural setting. This hike [...]
