Into the Big Scrub and out again

In the scrub forest

Up, up, up you go, through an upland forest and up into the Big Scrub, where gnarled sand live oaks provide shade beneath the tall sand pines. The sweet aroma of silk bay fills the air, which is thick with humidity. As the trail drops down out of the scrub, it enters another grove of extremely tall cabbage palms. Dark green needle palms fill the understory. You reach another boardwalk at 0.4 mile, where a stand of ancient cypress reminds you of the passage of time between the era of the Timucua and the bathers in the spring today. A side trail leads off to the right to a small sinkhole-like depression.

Dropping into a forest of magnolia trees, the trail curves left and the air gets heavier and damper—you know the spring is close. At 0.6 mile, the trail meets a boardwalk at a T. Turn right to take a short trip down to the boardwalk’s end, where an observation platform on Alexander Run gives you a sweeping view of the waterway as it comes around the curve. Turn around and follow the boardwalk as it keeps close to the shore of the run. Another side trail leads to an observation deck. Continue through the younger hammock, crossing a sand bottomed stream as you reach the end of the loop. Turn right to exit.