Established as a city in the 1870s, Sanford is the county seat of Seminole County and an excellent gateway to many hikes in natural lands on both sides of the river. Just 25 miles north of downtown Orlando, this historic community incorporates green spaces and a lengthy river walk along Lake Monroe, a wide point in the River of Lakes that is the St. Johns River.
Bear Creek Nature Trail
A tiny patch of wild in a sea of suburbia, Bear Creek provides a short walk in a shady creekside hammock, a delightful but brief escape from the backyard blues. Resources Overview Location: Winter Springs Length: 0.3 mile Lat-Long: 28.677795, -81.245833 Type: loop Fees / Permits: none Difficulty: easy to moderate Bug factor: moderate [...]
Big Tree Park
I’m saddened to report the loss of the Big Tree, the Senator, to a fire that scorched its insides and brought it down. A second Big Tree, Lady Liberty, is still standing at Big Tree Park, and a hike into Spring Hammock Preserve will wow you with the wonders of numerous cypresses more than a [...]
Black Hammock Wilderness Area
For those in the know, Black Hammock is a bit of Old Florida still clinging to the old ways along the shores of Lake Jesup, where folks still grow celery and strawberries and ride their horses down dirt roads. It’s a delightful place to visit, and the trail showcases what’s best about Black Hammock—the lush [...]
Blue Spring State Park
If you’ve never seen manatees by the dozens, let alone a hundred or more, there’s no better place in Florida to watch these gentle giants drift past than near Deland along the boardwalk at Blue Spring State Park, paralleling the length of Blue Spring Run to the St. Johns River. This short, easy trail offers [...]
Florida Trail, Little Big Econ
Surrounded by the sprawl of new homes now crowding Oviedo and Chuluota, a sprawl swallowing pastures and orange groves, a ribbon of wilderness remains. It is the Little-Big Econ State Forest, more than 5,000 acres of uplands and cypress swamps flanking the Econlockhatchee River, a true Central Florida treasure. Along its 1,400-mile route across the [...]
Florida Trail, Mills Creek
As the Florida Trail follows the curve of the basin in which Mills Creek drains from Lake Mills into a bowl of marshlands to the east of Chuluota, it leads you through a colorful array of habitats. There are oak hammocks where ancient oaks seem to bend under the weight of streamers of Spanish moss, [...]
Florida Trail, Seminole State Forest
One of the older sections of the Florida Trail near Orlando is also one of its finest. A hike through Seminole State Forest leads you through the kind of vast, open spaces that you’d never imagine, driving along SR 46A or SR 46 or SR 44 around the forest, actually existed on this grand a [...]
Geneva Wilderness Area
My first visit to Geneva Wilderness was also my first Florida Trail activity. I’d driven two hours to meet up with the group and got there as the heavens opened. So we packed it in and went out to dinner at a great fish camp. Luckily, the hike leader – now a dear friend – [...]
Green Springs Park
Hidden deep in a leafy glade, a shimmering pool rises from the earth to pour through palm hammocks towards the St. Johns River. At Green Springs Park, the trails are short but well-groomed, with options for all abilities – a paved biking trail loops through the park along with a network of natural footpaths. Families [...]
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 Monroe. What you rarely see, however – unless you’re a boater – are the connections between the lakes and marshes. [...]
Hontoon Island State Park – Indian Mound Nature Trail
There are many public lands on islands in Florida, but Hontoon Island State Park is one of the few surrounded by fresh water and accessible via a free ferryboat. For more than three thousand years, the Timucua lived on this deeply forested island, sharing the lush palm hammocks and pine flatwoods with deer, otters, and [...]
Kratzert Tract White Loop
For a quick dip into the beauty of the St. Johns River floodplain, the Kratzert White Loop offers a family-friendly walk beneath ancient oaks and cabbage palms of enormous size. This 1.5-mile loop was originally built by the Central Florida chapter of the Florida Trail Association and continues to be well maintained and easy to [...]
Lower Wekiva Loop, Seminole State Forest
A lesser-known but beautiful loop trail within Seminole State Forest, the Lower Wekiva Loop provides a long day hike or overnight backpacking trip on its 8.8-mile route. Tracing the edge of both the Wekiva River and Blackwater Creek to where the waters merge, this loop never gets within sight of the waterways but lingers in [...]
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park
As one of several “Sandhills Trails” throughout Florida, the Sandhills Nature Trail at Lower Wekiva Preserve State Park lives up to its name. It’s a 2.2-mile loop through longleaf pine and wiregrass, an ecosystem that once covered the uplands of Central Florida. While the scrub along the Wekiva River basin attempts to seep into the [...]
Lyonia Preserve
The Florida scrub jay, one of Florida’s most colorful native birds, is the star of the show at Lyonia Preserve in Deltona, a precious slice of ancient scrub habitat remaining on a high ridge now otherwise topped with housing developments. Recently refurbished and reopened with a new interactive nature center, gift shop, and café, the [...]
Spring Hammock Preserve
Fed by a trickle of hidden springs through lush hammocks of cabbage palms, Spring Hammock Preserve in Winter Springs is one of the most delightful places to take a hike in the Orlando area. In this 1,500 acre preserve, the trails are easy to explore. You have options ranging from paved to splashy muddy adventuresome, [...]
