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Geneva Wilderness AreaA 1.8-mile trail circles lily-dotted ponds amid an array of native Florida plant communities, from mixed hardwood swamp and mesic hammocks to xeric oak scrub, all supporting an equally diverse collection of wildlife. A 1.4-mile connector (The Flagler Trail) leads to the Florida Trail in Little-Big Econ State Forest.
Directions: From downtown Oviedo, drive east on SR 426 for 6.1 miles (passing the Barr St. trailhead for the Florida Trail)r the park entrance is on the right. From the intersection of SR 426 in Geneva, go south on CR 426. Look for the park entrance on the left just after passing Snow Hill Rd. Free
Lake Proctor Wilderness AreaMore than six miles of trails loop around ponds surrounded by sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, sandhill, and bayhead swamps along wetlands south of Lake Proctor. You might see a white-tailed deer, gray fox, Wood Duck, Sandhill Crane, gopher tortoise or Florida worm lizard.
Directions: From Sanford, follow SR 46 east through Geneva. Just beyond the intersection of SR 426 and SR 46, keep alert for the trailhead parking area on the left. Free.
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Orlando Wetlands Park [FT]*Circling around vast man-made wetlands and slipping through dense hardwood hammocks, OWP’s 6 miles of trails provide numerous options for easy day hiking loops. Marsh birds, wading birds, waterfowl, and raptors are common. The Florida Trail follows the perimeter of the park.
Directions: From SR 50 in Christmas, take Fort Christmas Rd. north. At the sharp left curve, turn right onto Wheeler Rd. into the park. Continue down the road to the parking area on the left. Note: closed to hiking November 15 through February 1. Free. Seminole Ranch Conservation Area [FT]*Between SR 50 and Orlando Wetlands Park, nearly 5 miles of the Florida Trail winds its way through jungle-like hydric hammocks and dense oak hammocks along the floodplain forests of the St. Johns River.
Directions: Follow directions for Orlando Wetlands Park, but park on the right and follow the blue blazes farther down Wheeler Rd. to intersect the orange-blazed trail at the hunt check station. Hunting permitted. Free
Hal Scott Regional Preserve [FT]*Experience the open prairies of Central Florida amid the palmetto thickets and grasslands in this preserve along the Econlockhatchee River, with its 5.1-mile hiking loop and a shaded primitive campsite sheltered in an oak hammock. Look closely, and you’ll spy pitcher plants growing in seepage bogs, and glistening sundews along the footpaths. Watch for mature long leaf yellow pines with white stripes painted around their trunks. These marked pines have red-cockaded woodpecker cavities in them. |
Directions: Leaving the Orlando Int’l Airport area, go east on SR 528 (Beachline Expwy.). Take exit 24, Dallas Blvd. Turn left at the end of the ramp, go 2.4 miles to the park entrance on the left. Free. Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area [FT]*More than 11 miles of the Florida Trail and side trail loops (60 miles in all) provide backpackers with a wilderness experience in this wild and vast preserve. Wild turkeys, white-tailed deer, wild hogs, alligators, woodland birds, wading birds and raptors abound. Tosohatchee is beautiful in spring and fall when the wildflowers bloom profusely.
Directions: From SR 50 in Christmas, follow Taylor Creek Rd. south to the park entrance on the left. Stop and pick up a park map, and drive in to the trailhead parking on Powerline Rd. The trail can also be accessed from the end of Yates Rd. off SR 520; do not block the gate. Hunting permitted. Free. Canaveral Marshes Trail [FT]*Following a series of dikes across the broad open freshwater marshes of the St. Johns River floodplain, the 3.9 –mile round-trip trail leads you past former cattle ranches and a puzzle of marshlands along the Brevard County line.
Directions: From I-95 exit 215, drive 2.8 miles west on SR 50 to the conservation area entrance on the left, just before the bridge over the St. Johns River. Free.3. |
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