THE PARKS...
Canaveral Marshes Conservation Area
Phone Number
- (386) 329-4404
Website
- floridaswater.com/recreationguide/canaveralmarshes
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- Dawn to dusk
Directions
- Titusville; west of town. Three miles west of I-95, Exit 215 on the Cheyney Highway, Route 50. There is minimal parking at the Conservation lot. There is also access through the Great Outdoors R.V. Resort, two miles to the east. Let them know at the gate you want to use the trails and you will get a parking pass.
The Park
The St. Johns River is the longest in Florida - 310 miles. And it is in no hurry to travel from its headwaters in the marshes of Indian River to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville. The total drop in elevation is less than 30 feet or less than an inch a mile, making it one of the “laziest” rivers in the world. As it flows through here it is practically whitewater - 2.5 inches of drop per mile. Back around 1912 Edgar W. Ellis formed a consortium known as the Titusville Fruit and Farm Lands Company hoping to drain the marshland in the St. Johns River valley and sell it as cropland. Ellis and his mates bought up 22,500 acres of land and set about digging a drainage canal. All went well in the sand ridges in these marshes but when they reached the coquina rock ridge to the east near Indian River the equipment broke down and the money ran out. The canal never reached a usable depth and was abandoned. When the St. Johns River Water Management District purchased the Canaveral Marshes it was to protect the floodplain, not drain it.
The Walks
The Carneval Marshes serve up a potpourri of canine hiking oppor-tunities along dikes and mucky trails and sandy footpaths. One popular destination is the Paw Paw Mound (head down the road from the Route 50 parking lot) at the St. Johns River. The artifact-laden Indian relic soars 10-12 feet above its surroundings - high enough in Brevard county to achieve recognition as “a summit” and warrant a United States Geologic Survey marker. Paw Paw Mound is about a mile from the trailhead, across the old Ellis Canal (via a bridge skittish dogs may not embrace).
Other explorations in the Carneval Marshes come via the Florida Trail Association’s miles of trails. Much of the 6,741 acres here are active cattle pastures and you can expect to see cows - alive and not so alive - roaming the grasslands during your dog’s hiking day here.
Trail Sense: The park may not be reliably blazed - best to come with an explorer’s heart.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed to trot these trails.
Traffic
Mostly foot traffic but bikes and horses can also use the roads and trails.
Canine Swimming
Alligators frequent the Ellis Canal and the St. Johns River.
Trail Time
Up to a half-day of exploration in the Carneval Marshes.
Something Extra
The pawpaw tree/shrub has the largest edible fruit in North America and its name probably comes from the Spanish word for “papaya.” The fast-growing pawpaw, a member of the custard apple family, thrives best in river bottomlands. There are several varieties of pawpaws in Florida, mostly of the shrub variety. The Rugel’s PawPaw is native only to Volusia County. The Scrub/Flag/Bigflower pawpaw is found in Central and Coastal Florida and is a shrub that grows to between six and ten feet, producing fruit as big as three inches. Pawpaw leaves smell noxious but the fruits are a delicacy so you have to be lucky to find a custardy treat hanging on a branch before the hungry animals.
Catfish Creek Preserve State Park
Phone Number
- (863) 696-1112
Website
- floridastateparks.org/catfishcreek
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- Haines City; southeast of town on the east shore of Lake Pierce. Take Route 17 south of town and turn left on Hatchineha Road (Route 542). After eight miles and passing the Poinciana Parkway on your left turn right on Firetower Road to the parking area in three miles on the left.
The Park
More than 300,000 years ago this was oceanfront property. The sea has long since receded but the pre-historic sand dunes remain to harbor one of Florida’s most unique habitats. In 1991 the Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park was created to protect the rare plants and animals that live among the sandhills and flatwoods of the Lake Wales Ridge. The French-Canadian Broussards were expelled from Nova Scotia in the 1750s and relocated in Louisiana where they raised cattle for ten generations before William J. Broussard bought into a ranch, now the Crescent J Ranch, here in 1969. The park started with a bit more than 1,000 acres and today encompasses more than 8,000 acres between Lake Pierce and Lake Hatchineha.
The Walks
With deep sand trails that call to mind its ancient heritage as oceanside dunes and hilly ascents (views of the surrounding countryside!), only athletic dogs will want to sign on to the canine hiking at Catfish Creek Preserve. For dogs who accept the challenge and make the trek in this visually stunning landscape, however, they will bring back trail tales unlike any other around Orlando.
Right from the parking lot your dog will scramble up a sandy ridge where the desert-like scrub land will spread out before him. There are six miles of hiking trails and another eight miles of horse trails but the soft-sand hiking will make the going seem about 50% longer. Most of your dog’s trotting will be on wide road-trails with almost no shade as you wind round shallow ponds and depression marshes and through the scrub and wire grass thickets. The main hiking loop can be sliced by several shortcuts so you can mold this rugged wilderness park to your dog’s abilities.
Trail Sense: Trail maps can be had on the website and in a mailbox at the first trail junction (not in the parking lot) - and you will absolutely want one here. Trail junctions are numbered.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are permitted to hike these challenging trails.
Traffic
No motorized vehicles; horses and foot traffic
Canine Swimming
The park is peppered with small ponds and depression marshes.
Trail Time
Many hours possible.
Something Extra
Allen David Broussard was a gifted wildlife biologist when he died shortly after his 29th birthday in 1990 from an infection following a heart transplant necessitated by chemotherapy to treat Hodgkin’s’ Disease ten years earlier. In the middle of the park trail system is a
memorial statue, The Young Scientist, sculpted by Ellen Paviakos. The bronze bust, depicting Broussard with short, way hair and mounted on an inscribed base of black granite, makes a worthy destination for a medium-length canine hike.
Colt Creek State Park
Phone Number
- (863) 815-6761
Website
- floridastateparks.org/coltcreek
Admission Fee
- Vehicle entrance fee
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- Lakeland; 16 miles north of town. From I-4 take Exit 32 and go north on US 98 for 13 miles to SR 471. Turn right and continue to the park entrance on the right.
The Park
Charlie Mac Overstreet began raising beef cattle on this land in the 1930s. More than 1,200 acres of pastureland here grazed a herd of some 1,000 head. After the State bought over 5,000 acres of the Overstreet ranch in 2006 the remaining cattle were driven from the property.
Colt Creek became Florida’s 160th state park and one of five management units of the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve. Second only to the Everglades in wildlife abundance in Florida, the headwaters of the Peace River, Withlacoochee River, Ocklawaha River, and Hillsborough River course through the Green Swamp. Colt Creek is one of the many tributaries that create this hydrological treasure.
The Walks
Colt Creek is the park to head to for big, solitary hikes with your dog. There are over 12 miles of trails here, mostly on wide, grassy road-trails tripping through airy pine flatwoods. The star walk is the multi-hour excursion on the Orange Trail loop that is the only route accessed from the park trailheads. From there you can simply point your dog down the orange blazes or craft a canine hiking day with blue-blazed side trails and cut-offs. Most of your dog’s time will be spent with the saw palmetto and longleaf pines but the trails also touch on the expanses of heritage pastureland where your trail dog can channel his inner cattle dog.
Don’t overlook the short Nature Trail near Mac Lake which wanders through a hardwood hammock with the park’s thickest concentration of sabal palms and cypress on a sandy path.
Trail Sense: It’s a big park so make sure you bring a trail map that identifies the routes and numbered reference posts.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed to hike the trails but not in the primitive camps.
Traffic
Horses will share the hiking trails but bikes are permitted only on service roads.
Canine Swimming
No dogs allowed in the lakes.
Trail Time
Don’t come to Colt Creek unless you are ready for at least a couple hours of hiking wiht your dog.
Something Extra
Of all the American states, Florida ranks fifth in mineral production. Phosphate mining is the most widespread activity with the Sunshine State supplying one-quarter of the world’s phosphate needs. But Florida also ranks second in the production of limestone, used for cement and as a road base. Lime rock mining was carried on here for decades - the lakes in the park are artifacts of the old mining pits. You can still spot large lime rocks as you hike with your dog on the Colt Creek trails; if you don’t see any “wild rocks” in the woods you can see lime rocks used as roadway barriers.
De Leon Springs State Park
Phone Number
- (386) 985-4212
Website
- floridastateparks.org/deleonsprings
Admission Fee
- Vehicle admission fee
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- DeLand; north of town. From I-4 take Exit 114 and follow US 17 north into town. Turn left on Ponce De Leon Boulevard and continue to the park across the railroad tracks.
The Park
If Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon actually did discover the mythical Fountain of Youth, this may have been the place. But settlers in the early 1800s had no time for such legends - they were busy planting sugar cane and cotton. Twice the mills were sacked, once during the Second Seminole Indian War and again during the Civil War by Union troops in 1864 in Birney’s Raid. By the 1880s the railroad had reached town and the springs evolved into a winter resort. In 1982 the State acquired the property, transforming De Leon Springs from a tourist attraction to a public park.
The Walks
Most visitors to De Leon Springs never walk beyond the half-mile paved Nature Trail that loops peaceably down into a flood plain hammock with enchanting hardwoods, pines and cypress trees on display. Maybe they will wander onto the quarter-mile, natural surface trail that leads to Monkey Island where monkeys lived during the park’s days as a tourist attraction. But few will step off the macadam onto the Wild Persimmon Hiking Trail, where the persimmons are not the only thing that is wild.
Your canine adventurer will find one of her most challenging hikes here on the 4.2-mile balloon-style trail with a long entrance string to the loop. Frequently wet, planks and low bridges help with the crossing of the flood plain. This is among the rootiest paths your dog will negotiate in Central Florida, courtesy of a forest thick with mature and emerging sable palms. The jungle-like ambiance gives way only briefly to abandoned groves and agricultural fields. When your dog re-emerges back onto the paved path she can report on a De Leon Springs experience unfamiliar to nearly all other park guests.
Trail Sense: It is not obvious by park signage but the trailhead for the Wild Persimmon Trail is in the middle of the Nature Trail.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are not allowed down by the springs but can hike the trails.
Traffic
Foot traffic only on the trails.
Canine Swimming
None.
Trail Time
Allow two hours to complete the Wild Persimmon Trail.
Something Extra
In the 1950s De Leon Springs was developed as a theme park with gardens, a jungle cruise and a water circus. The big draw was Queenie, “The World’s Only Water-Skiing Elephant.” Born in Thailand, Queenie was sold as a baby in a New York City pet store and grew up with the Dane family in New England where she was taught tricks, including balancing on a pair of pontoons that had been welded together. Liz Dane and Queenie performed at De Leon Springs where she was considered a pioneer for other water-skiing animal acts. The Dane family sold Queenie in 1965 and she continued to perform around the world until retiring to Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia in 2003. Queenie was one of the oldest Asian elephants in North America when she died in 2011 at the age of 58 or 59.
Gator Creek Reserve
Phone Number
- (863) 534-7377
Website
- governmentrecoverygrants.org/explore/gator-creek-reserve/
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (EST)
5:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (DST)
Directions
- Lakeland; north of town. From I-4 take Exit 32 and go north on US 98 to the entrance on the right about one mile after the road narrows from four lanes to two.
The Park
The Green Swamp - more than a half-million acres strong - rises up to 132 feet above sea level and the plateau acts like a sponge, retaining rainwater which drains across the surface to create the headwaters of four major rivers: the Withlacoochee, the Ocklawaha, the Hillsborough and the Peace. In the 1970s the network of wetlands, flatlands and low ridges became a priority for protection to preserve the quality and quantity of Florida’s freshwater supply. Gator Creek, which was drained and diverted by the Gator Creek Canal beginning in the1940s, saves over 2,700 acres as part of the Polk County Environmental Lands Program.
The Walks
Any type of canine hiking day is in the offing on the series of stacked loops that comprise the Gator Creek Reserve trail system. The primo attraction is the park’s cypress dome which is explored on a half-mile paved path that loops around the freshwater swamp. No one really knows the purpose of the knobby “knees” that radiate from cypress trees but the best guess is they enable often submerged cypress root systems to breathe. These cypress ponds are found only in central Florida.
The hiking trails are accessed down a lumber-lined, stony path that soon gives way to paw-friendly natural trails through the pine flatwoods. The woodlands are often lush enough to shade your dog as he rambles along. The full Piney Wood Trail covers two miles but can be sliced to a mile for novice trail dogs. Ambitious canine hikers can cross the remnant of Gator Creek that was long ago drained to allow cattle to graze and pick up more cypress swamps and oak-speckled upland forests on the three-mile Deer Run Trail.
Trail Sense: There are trail maps available at the parking lot kiosk and the maps are stapled to posts at trail junctions in the park.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed to hike these trails.
Traffic
Bikes are also permitted to use Gator Creek Preserve.
Canine Swimming
This is a park for canine hikers, not canine swimmers.
Trail Time
Anything from a leg-stretcher to several hours available for your dog.
Something Extra
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt where players seek hidden containers (the geocache) and report their outdoor experiences online. Often with a Geo-Challenge a trinket is taken from the cache and replaced with a similar object (an old dog tag or bone charm would be appropriate for canine geocachers). In Polk County, Gator Creek Reserve is part of its Trek Ten Trails program (now 30 trails strong) and a cache has been placed in the park. You can locate the cache without a GPS device but you will need a map for this treasure hunt - or maybe your dog can sniff the geocache out himself.
Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park
Phone Number
- (386) 329-4404
Website
- sjrwmd.com/recreationguide/halscott
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- Dawn to dusk
Directions
- Wedgefield; From SR 520, turn west into the Wedgefield subdivision on Macon Parkway. Turn left on Bancroft Boulevard, right on Meredith Parkway, and left on Dallas Boulevard to the entrance on the right. From Orlando, there is an exit for Dallas Boulevard off the BeeLine Expressway (Route 528) east-bound only.
The Park
Timucuan Indian mounds give evidence of human habitation here going back thousands of years. Early settlers knew this place as Curry Ford where you could cross the Econlockhatchee River when traveling between Central Florida and the Atlantic coast. After the Cheney Highway was constructed in 1924 the traffic disappeared and the cattle moved in to graze on lands that had been timbered and turpentined. Land acquisition for conservation and flood control began here in 1992 and today more than 9,000 acres are owned and managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District and Orange County.
The Walks
The majority of your dog’s hiking day at Hal Scott Preserve will be in sparse pine flatwoods and open prairie where shade is just a rumor so come prepared. The saw palmetto understory is desert-like so views will be long, even for short trail dogs. The vast grasslands are studded with wildflowers poking out as you move along the road-trails of the 4.3-mile White Loop where the elevation rarely deviates from between 60-65 feet. Multi-hour explorations will bring you to riparian wetlands and cypress domes along the Econlockhatchee River. The White Loop launches a pair of six-mile loops but unless your dog is really loving the wide open spaces you may content yourself with only a short investigation of the floodplain forest along the river by walking a short ways down the Yellow Loop.
Trail Sense: Your best park map, complete with distances, is downloaded from the website. An information board and maybe trail maps are on-site.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed on the trails and at the campsites.
Traffic
Horses and bikes also frequent these 19 miles of trails.
Canine Swimming
Your dog can cool down in depression ponds.
Trail Time
At least two hours and a full day of canine hiking available.
Something Extra
A total of 147 species of birds have been identified on the Hal Scott property but the diva is the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker that lives mainly in open fields of mature longleaf pine. A cockade is a ribbon or ornament worn on a hat. The woodpeckers’ cockade is a tiny red line line on the side of the black-and-white males. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a cooperative breeder, living in small groups and foraging as a family, moving together from tree to tree. The extra birds usually are sons from previous breeding seasons; daughters only rarely stay with their parents. In the Preserve longleaf pines with white stripes around their trunks indicate the trees that have Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavities drilled into them.
Hickory Bluff Preserve
Phone Number
- (386) 740-5261
Website
- volusia.org/growth/hickory.htm
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- Sunrise to sunset
Directions
- Osteen; east of town at 598 Guise Road. From CR 415 turn east on New Smyrna Boulevard which quickly becomes Florida Avenue and then Maytown Road. Continue to Guise Road on your right. Turn and continue to the park on the right.
The Park
American Heritage Rivers were created by an Executive Order from President Bill Clinton in 1997 to provide environmental protection to waterways deemed of economic, historic and cultural distinction. Of the 14 river systems so designated St. Johns River is the only one in the Southeast. In 2003 the Volusia Conservation Lands acquired land on the natural bluff spreading out from the north bank of the St. Johns River to preserve and enhance the rich natural resources found here.
The Walks
This is Central Florida writ on a Terrier scale rather than the Great Dane scale of some of the park’s neighbors. Instead of thousands of acres there are only 150 acres here but your dog can still experience oak hammocks, pine flatwoods, cypress domes and floodplain swamps on two scenic trails, each a loop of about one mile. Wave after wave of saw palmetto are punctuated by a catalog collection of Florida pines. Individual sabal palms make dramatic statements in the mid-story as well. These are paw-friendly sand-based paths that become increasing pine-straw covered as your dog moves onto the red-blazed loop. The St. Johns River seldom looks as attractive as it does from Hickory Bluff along the blue-blazed River Trail.
Trail Sense: There is a mapboard at the trailhead and signposts out in the park although the first crucial junction is unmarked - turn left.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are welcome on these trails.
Traffic
Horses and bikes are allowed; the former is more likely than the latter which won’t be able to handle the soft sand.
Canine Swimming
Alligators are known to frequent the St. Johns River here.
Trail Time
A tail-wagging hour at Hickory Bluff.
Something Extra
Prickly pear cactus is native to the southern United States, and quite a few species are native to Florida. Drought and heat-tolerant, the plant can grow as high as 20 feet. Although the clumps in Hickory Bluff aren’t as impressive as that they do make a colorful statement in the desert-like scrub here. The showy reddish-purple berries may reach a length of several inches and can be eaten after the prickly pear spines have been removed - best accomplished by singeing with fire.
Hontoon Island State Park
Phone Number
- (386) 736-5309
Website
- floridastateparks.org/hontoonisland
Admission Fee
- Donations
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- DeLand; west of town off SR 44. Following signs, turn onto CR 4110 (Old New York Avenue) and turn left on Hontoon Road (CR 4125). Turn left on River Ridge Road and continue to parking for the ferry dock on the left side.
The Park
The Timucuan Indians were the first inhabitants of Hontoon Island that lies between the St. Johns River and the Hontoon Dead River. Later it served as a pioneer homestead, a boat yard, a base for commercial fishing and finally, before the State purchased the 1,650-acre island in 1967, a cattle ranch. Access to this unique oasis is by private boat or park ferry only.
The Walks
Canine hiking on Hontoon Island delivers two distinctly different experiences for your dog. The destination for most adventurers, if one is needed on these inviting island trails, is a series of 2,000-year old mounds of discarded shells about 1.5 miles from the ferry dock. The Hammock Hiking Natural Trail is a rolling footpath through pines and broadleaf laurel oaks that earns the Seminole definition for a “hammock” as a shady place. The trail picks its way past fallen arboreal giants and through a lively understory before arriving at the Indian shell mounds by the return trip can be accomplished on the network of sandy island roads that crisscross the open, pine flatwoods that cover the higher part of Hontoon Island. More Indian artifacts can be explored with your dog in the picnic area where replica totems carved from logs mingle with the sabal palms and oaks.
Trail Sense: A trail map is available outside the Visitor Center and will be a must-have if you venture onto the five miles of service roads.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed across the island and on the park ferry.
Traffic
Bikes can use the service roads but don’t expect too many trail users.
Canine Swimming
There is easy access to the rivers if you avoid the alligators and fishermen.
Trail Time
At least an hour.
Something Extra
In 1775, 36-year old William Bartram traveled through here on an epic journey from the the foothills of the Appalachian mountains all the way to the Mississippi River, collecting specimens and sketching plants. He became the country’s first nature writer in 1791 with the publication of Travels Through North & South Carolina, Georgia, East & West Florida, an account of his adventure. The Bartram Trail Conference, was founded in 1976 to identify and mark the route of Bartram’s southern explorations and to promote interest in developing recreational trails and botanical gardens along the route. To date the most developed stretch of hiking trail runs 111 miles through Georgia and North Carolina; in Florida a 17-mile stretch of highway along the St Johns River has been named in his honor. While Bartram explored here he was forced to take shelter from a great storm that “cast a universal darkness allround.”
Lake Kissimmee State Park
Phone Number
- (863) 696-1112
Website
- floridastateparks.org/lakekissimmee
Admission Fee
- Vehicle entrance fee
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- Lake Wales; 15 miles east of town. From US 27 South turn left, east, on Chalet Suzanne Road. Continue straight as it becomes Masterpiece Road, which bends to the right. Turn left on Mammoth Grove Road and left on Camp Mack Road to the park entrance on the right.
The Park
This was open range for centuries until the 1940s. During the Civil War cattle raised here were shipped to the Confederate Army. In 1948 William Zipperer bought the land and fenced in a ranch. In 1969 the Zipperer family sold 5,030 acres bounded by Lake Kissimmee to the east, Lake Rosalie to the west and Tiger Lake to the south to the State. The near-virgin land was sculpted into a park with camping and marina facilities and Lakeland architect James Peterson designed board-and-batten park structures to blend into the natural surroundings. All was ready for an August 1977 opening.
The Walks
There are more than 13 miles of easy-going hiking trails at Lake Kissimmee, primarily on the white-blazed, 6.7-mile Buster Island Loop and the yellow-blazed 6.0-mile North Loop. Both visit pine flatwoods and hardwood hammocks where the longleaf pines and oaks are reminders of the days when the area was a busy timber and turpentine center in the late 19th century. Buster Island, named for Billy Buster who was a Seminole Indian run out of the tribe for killing the son of Chief Chippo and exiled here, is the high ground of the park. Don’t be put off by the distances - there are several blue-blazed connector trails to fashion less ambitious canine hikes.
Connecting to the North Loop, or hiked on its own from the back of the Tiger Cove parking lot, is the 2.8-mile Gobbler Ridge Scenic Loop. This high sand ridge leaves the woodlands behind as it snakes out to the grassy shores of Lake Kissimmee. Your dog will trot alternately on sand, dirt and grass roads on this open air exploration where you may well be watched by a bald eagle or osprey.
Trail Sense: The trails and connectors are well-marked and trail maps are available.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are welcome on the trails and in the campground.
Traffic
Horses can share some of these trails.
Canine Swimming
Alligators are present in the lakes and Zipperer Canal.
Trail Time
Plan on at least an hour with many more possible.
Something Extra
The Florida “cracker” got his name by the whip cow hunters used to communicate with their dogs when tracking cattle out of the swamps and scrub. Florida cowboys were a breed apart from their Spanish predecessors and the Western cowboy; they used bullwhips and dogs to herd the cattle. Cracker cows, smaller than other breeds, were hardy stock descended from cattle abandoned by Spanish explorers. Lake Kissimmee State Park maintains a heritage herd of these wiry, big-horned cows as part of an 1876-era Cow Camp that is open weekends from October through April. As part of a living history demonstration a “19th century cow hunter” cracks the signature whip.
Lake Louisa State Park
Phone Number
- (352) 394-3969
Website
- floridastateparks.org/lakelouisa
Admission Fee
- Vehicle entrance fee
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- Clermont; 7 miles south of town. From Route 50 take US 27 south to the park entrance on the right.
The Park
The waters of the Green Swamp drain slowly northward through a chain of 13 lakes known as the Palatlakaha, of which Lake Louisa, the southernmost, is the largest. Settlement began in the early 1900s when John and Louise Driggors Hammond established a homestead that included a turpentine still, sawmill, shingle mill and barrel-making operation. A narrow gauge railway hauled logs from the Lake Louisa swamp to the sawmill and steamboats and barges transported goods across Lake Louisa. In 1943 the Bronson family acquired the property and scalped the hillsides for cattle ranching and orange groves, some of which can still be seen above Dixie Lake. The state opened the park, now over 4,000 acres in size, in 1974.
The Walks
Lake Louisa boasts a somewhat odd trail system but once you establish a game plan for your dog there is plenty of tail-wagging fun to be had here. Essentially the main hiking route is a 3.5-mile linear trail, blazed in orange, that starts at the ranger station at the highest point on the property and rolls down to the parking lot at the edge of Lake Louisa. This is an ideal park for a two-car shuttle.
Along the way are diversionary loops such as the Hilltop Loop where longleaf pines have been re-established and a Cypress Loop on the sandy shores of Lake Louisa. Parking is limited to a pair of two-vehicle lots in the middle of the hiking trail system so your dog may define her day here exploring either end of the linear path. Your dog can also test the park hills on 16 miles of horse trails, best accessed at Dixie Lake across Big Creek.
Trail Sense: The trails are meticulously blazed but you will require a trail map to decipher them; the main trail goes by different names as it progresses through the park.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are welcome on the trails and in the campground.
Traffic
Some of the trails are multi-use.
Canine Swimming
Lake Louisa, approached across glistening white beach sand, is a splendid place for your dog to cool off in the sandy shallows. The tea-colored waters are safe, the lake shallows are stained by the decaying vegetation washed down from the Green Swamp.
Trail Time
Up to a full day possible.
Something Extra
Dean R. Gilmore grew up with 18 brothers and sisters on a farm in Millheim, Pennsylvania, south of Williamsport. A life-long fascination with airplanes led him to the Army Air Force where he flew 91 missions in Africa, Sicily and Italy during World War II, logging 194 combat air hours. First Lieutenant Gilmore returned stateside late in 1944 where he was appointed as a flight instructor at Bartow Army Air Field in Florida. On November 14 Gilmore was leading four junior pilots on a two-lap circle around Lake Louisa when on the second leg of the mission his Mustang P-51 went into a gradual descent and slammed into the lake, exploding in a fiery ball on impact. Gilmore died under his half-deployed parachute. It was his 23rd birthday. It was not until 2001, when Florida was in the throes of a three-year drought and the water levels of Lake Louisa had dropped to a hundred-year low that the wreckage of the plane was discovered. Dean Gilmore’s accident had been forgotten by that time but when the mystery was unraveled a monument was erected in his honor with a chunk of the Mustang propeller tip embedded in the top.
Little Big Econ State Forest
Phone Number
- (352) 732-1225
Website
- floridaforestservice.com/state_forests/little_big_econ.html
Admission Fee
- Trail fee
Park Hours
- Sunrise to sunset
Directions
- Oviedo; 3.3 miles east of town on the right side of CR 426 to reach the Barr Street hiking trailhead. Other trailheads can be accessed by continuing to Old Mims Road and turning right and right again on Snow Hill Road.
The Park
The Little Big Econ State Forest takes its odd name from a mashing of the Little Econlockhatchee River and the larger Econlockhatchee River, a north-flowing, 54-mile-long blackwater tributary of the St. Johns River. The State began buying land here for conservation and recreation in 1990 and today the forest sprawls across nearly 10,000 acres in two tracts.
The Walks
The namesake Econlockhatchee River is the star of the canine hiking in the state forest and this is the best streamside hike your dog can take in Central Florida. The most popular way to experience the Econlockhatchee is launching from the Barr Street Trailhead using the Florida National Scenic Trail to complete the state forest Kolokee Trail Loop, a journey of 4.8 miles. The footpath snakes along the heavily vegetated riverbanks on sandy bluffs. A variety of conveyances are available to move your dog across low spots and channel cuts.
The turn-around point is the ram-rod straight Flagler Trail, once the railbed of the Okeechobee branch of the Florida East Coast Railway and today a hard-surfaced, multi-use recreational path. As you loop back towards the trailhead you enter the flatwoods and longleaf pine restoration areas. If you opt to extend your dog’s hiking day here and try some of the grassy horse trails the wide passages will make it seem as if you are trundling down dog-leg par fours at the local golf club.
Trail Sense: There are alot of trails rambling through Little Big Econ so take a moment to sort them all out. There are maps and blazes and directional signs in the park to help out.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed to hike in the Little Big Econ State Forest.
Traffic
Mountain bikers have their own trail system here, as do equestrians. Flagler Trail can house most anything except motorized vehicles.
Canine Swimming
Several times the trail dips down to sandy beaches on the shores of the Econlockhatchee River for your dog to enjoy.
Trail Time
Two hours to a half-day and more possible.
Something Extra
Henry Flagler, a failed salt miner, went into the oil refining business with John D. Rockefeller in 1867 and together they built the biggest business empire in the world. On a wedding trip to Florida with his second wife in 1881 the Flaglers visited St. Augustine where they were charmed with the town’s Old World Spanish flavor. In short order Flagler gave up day-to-day operations at Standard Oil and set about developing St. Augustine as “the Newport of the South.” His vision would soon extend down the Florida peninsula, however, investing $50 million in his railroad and development all the way to Key West by 1912. The Flagler railroad through here was a spur used for lumbering and its trestle (supports still visible) was the first means of crossing the Econlockhatchee River.
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park
Phone Number
- (407) 884-2008
Website
- floridastateparks.org/lowerwekivariver
Admission Fee
- None at Route 46 parking lot; $3 user fee at Katie’s Landing
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sundown
Directions
- Sanford; nine miles west on the north side of Route 46. For Katie’s Landing continue a short way on Route 46 to Wekiva Park Drive and turn right to the parking lot.
The Park
The Weikiva River is one of only two rivers in Florida to be designated as a National Wild and Scenic River by the National Park Service. Before state and federal protection arrived, however, the old growth cypress was logged out of the river and floated down to eager sawmills. To preserve six miles of the St. Johns River and the lower four miles of the Wekiva River and Black Water Creek the State of Florida acquired 5,000 acres here in 1976. Today the park covers almost 18,000 acres and is penetrated by 18 miles of multi-use trails.
The Walks
The primo walk at Lower Wekiva River-Southeast Unit is the Katie’s/LW Loop that is blazed in red and covers 4.5 miles through a thickly wooded dry hammock and pine flatlands. The route, that takes advantage of wide, sand roads, can be accessed from either Katie’s Landing on the Wekiva River or via a half-mile connector from Route 46. If your dog prefers the shield of the leafy canopy to the open pine scrub you can confine your canine hiking to the two-mile, figure-eight Sandhill Nature Trail that is blazed in white and shares the passage with the orange-blazed Florida Trail. Seldom crowded, this sandy path littered in pine straw will prove a delight for any level of canine hiker. Backpackers and dogs looking for an all-day hike can visit the park’s Northwest Unit (east of Route 44 via Swift Road) where over ten miles of trails await in a series of long loops.
Trail Sense: The best trail map for distances in Central Florida is available on site - you can select exactly how far you want to hike with your dog at Lower Wekiva River Preserve down to the tenth-of-a-mile.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are welcome to hike these trails.
Traffic
These are multi-use trails so you can chance to see a horse, a bike or even a park vehicle.
Canine Swimming
Alligators are present but your dog can slip in and cool off at Katie’s Landing, which is an excellent launch site for a canoe trip on the Wekiva River with your dog.
Trail Time
Anywhere from an hour on up.
Something Extra
Long before the Spanish explored this area in the early 1500s American Indians lived off the bounty provided by the sparkling waters of the Wekiva River. The only telltale presence of their time along the river are many mounds or “kitchen middens.” These piles, that include pottery shards and snail shells, might have been built for ceremonies or possibly they are just ancient trash heaps.
Ocala National Forest
Phone Number
- (352) 236-0288
Website
- fs.usda.gov/main/ocala
Admission Fee
- Vehicle fee in day-use areas
Park Hours
- Sunrise to sunset
Directions
- Altoona; east of town on CR 42 for the Clearwater Recreation Area. For Alexander Springs Recreation Area take US 19 north of Altoona to CR 445 and turn right (paved all the way). For Juniper Springs take US 19 north to Route 40 and go west to the entrance on the right.
The Park
On November 24, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt designated 202,000 acres of scrub as national forest lands, today known as the Ocala National Forest, a derivative of the Timucuan Indian term meaning “fair land” or “big hammock.” It was the first national forest east of the Mississippi River and the second within the Continental United States. Dense sand pine, xeric oak scrub and infertile, dry sandy soil made the Ocala Forest a poor choice for settlement and agriculture. The sand pine here is the largest concentration in the world. Today the Ocala Forest covers approximately 607 square miles - exactly half the size of the state of Rhode Island.
The Walks
Dogs are not allowed in the day-use areas of the Ocala National Forest which puts a serious crimp in day hiking opportunities for your best trail companion. The nearest hiking at Ocala to Orlando is at the Clearwater Lake Recreation Area where you can jump onto the Florida National Scenic Trail and hike as long as your dog’s tail keeps wagging before turning around. Also available here is the Paisley Woods Bicycle Trail that rolls ten miles on piney sandhills to the Alexander Springs Recreation Area and loops back. There is a short connector that divides the 22-mile trip into a pair of 11-mile loops, digestible on a single canine hike. Unlike many of the bike trails in Central Florida this one uses single-track passages through the longleaf pines so stay alert to step your dog aside - it is a bike trail first. Of course, as with any national forest, your dog can make his own fun here with a nose to exploring the jeep roads that riddle the vast woodland.
Trail Sense: The trails are blazed which will serve you until you decide to wander onto forest roads.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are not allowed in the day-use areas of Ocala National Forest.
Traffic
If you find the desingated trails too crowded you can disappear down a forest road.
Canine Swimming
No swimming in the day-use area springs but there are more than 600 natural ponds and lakes in the Ocala National Forest.
Trail Time
Days and days and days.
Something Extra
During the Great Depression, with 25% of the American population out of work, President Franklin Roosevelt put millions of men to work in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). “Roosevelt’s tree army” set up in rural areas building roads, working on flood control and starting beautification projects. Nationally the CCC was responsible for 3,470 fire towers, 126,000 miles of roads and trails, 89,000 miles of telephone lines and over two billion trees planted. Within the Ocala National Forest the CCC handiwork includes cabins, campgrounds,
monuments, and swimming areas around the many springs. The stone-and-shingle Millhouse at Juniper Springs is a good example of the rustic design emblematic of CCC architecture.
Palm Bluff Conservation Area
Phone Number
- (386) 329-4404
Website
- None
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- Sunrise to sunset
Directions
- Osteen; north of town on the east side of CR 415.
The Park
Historically, the standard Central Florida activities of timbering and cattle ranching went on here but these woods also supported the Russell Alligator Farm, one of 57 farms licensed by the State back in the 1990s to raise the reptiles for their hides and meat. Apparently operators wanted more eggs than their herd of 4,500 gators were producing. Using aircraft launched from two airstrips on the property alligator nests along the St. Johns River were spotted and then raided by airboat. The illegal poaching ring collected hundreds of eggs a week until the operation was uncovered by wildlife officials in 1992. Some $20 million in Florida Forever funds were used in 2009 to acquire 3,321 acres around the Deep Creek basin, a tributary of the Middle St. Johns River.
The Walks
You say you want to go for a long walk with your dog in the woods? You have come to the right place. The marquee canine hike at Palm Bluff is the Red Loop Trail that, with a half-mile connector from the trailhead, covers seven miles of mostly shady flatwoods. The namesake palms are congregated near Deep Creek near the back of the loop and much of your early going will be in pine plantations. The southern leg of the loop passes through the remnants of the alligator farm with the overgrown airstrips and four artificial holding ponds. Other relics on the property include a cabbage palm cabin that was constructed in the 1980s as a hunt cabin. If your dog is just hitting his stride on these wide jeep trails after an hour and the Deep Creek isn’t living up to its name, you can add the 2.1-mile Yellow Loop to your journey. For canine hikers who aren’t seeking such a full day there is a White Loop at the Red Loop trailhead that runs through mostly wetlands and will limit your dog’s fun at Palm Bluff to two miles.
Trail Sense: The trails are reliably blazed but there are more pathways out there than are shown on the map (available on site) so stay alert.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed on the trails.
Traffic
The length of the trails are better suited to equestrians so don’t be surprised if your dog is sharing the trail with horses.
Canine Swimming
Deep Creek, ditches and depression ponds stand ready to cool down your dog on a hot day.
Trail Time
Many hours possible.
Something Extra
In the Deep Creek wetlands of the Palm Bluff forest you can chance to see a hooded pitcher plant growing. In this sandy, nutrient-challenged environment these ewer-shaped plants lure insects into a deadly trap for consumption by a cocktail of digestive fluids in the
pitcher. Tiny hairs pointing downward prevent the trapped insects from crawling out to freedom. This carnivorous plant is considered a threatened species in Florida due to the destruction of the state’s wetlands.
Rock Springs Run State Reserve
Phone Number
- (407) 884-2008
Website
- floridastateparks.org/rockspringsrun
Admission Fee
- Vehicle parking fee
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Directions
- Sorrento; from I-4, take Exit 101C onto SR 46 west and go ten miles to the entrance road on the left.
The Park
In 1893, A. E. and H. S. Wilson of Saginaw, Michigan bought the Noah J. Tilghman & Son sawmill in Palatka, up in Putnam County. The mill primarily processed cypress lumber. Renamed the Wilson Cypress Company, operations expanded and at its peak, it was the second largest cypress mill in the world. To feed the beast, massive old-growth cypress was harvested along the Wekiva River and the Rock Springs Run and shipped to the St. Johns River on elevated tram roads. By the early 1940s the river basin was logged out and the sawmill closed in 1944. With an eye to protecting the watershed and preserving a wildlife-rich habitat, land was first acquired here by the State of Florida in 1983.
The Walks
This is the Godzilla of Orlando-area trail systems. Here are some numbers: 13,700 acres of land, 14 miles of hiking trails, 17 miles of equestrian trails, 27 miles of canoe trails. All of it is completely undeveloped and when you bring your dog take heed of the park admonition to “Take plenty of water, a compass and a map.” There are three parking sites from which to launch your dog’s Rock Springs Run adventure from the lone park road: the hiking trails from Site 1; the bike trails from Site 2 and the horse trails from Site 3. The main hiking loop here is called the Lake Loop, and although your dog can smell the water he will never see it. It is an honest three-mile trek with many, many more miles possible. After about a half-mile of single--track footpaths through thick saw palmetto and a mixed forest you will join the horse and bike trails in the wide open pine scrub where the view of the scattered longleaf pines won’t change for hours. This is easy trotting for your dog, however, often on the 12-foot wide, packed sand former logging roads.
Trail Sense: There is a trail map brochure available at the trailhead but it is a mash-up of colored squares and circles that provide no sense of proportion to the vastness of the property. Your better bet is to study the hand-drawn map on the information board and, better yet, snap a picture of it with your smartphone to take with you. Once the paw meets the ground there are mile markers and directional blazes to heed.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed on the trails but not in the primitive camping area.
Traffic
Mostly multi-use trails, save for the introductory hiking trails into the system.
Canine Swimming
Only the most athletic dogs will make their way to the oak-shaded crystal waters of Rock Springs Run.
Trail Time
At least an hour and many more.
Something Extra
At one time biologists estimated that as many as 12,000 black bears lived throughout Florida. Today it is believed only about 1,500 black bears remain. A healthy bear population requires 400,000 acres of wetland and upland habitat and there are just eight locations in Florida where black bears live freely. The Wekiva River corridor is one of the most active bear habitats and the park is loaded with dewberry, the wild snack of choice for Florida bears. More than 50 bears are killed on Florida roads each year and two wildlife underpasses have been constructed on SR 46 to facilitate the wanderings of the 50 or so bears that live here.
Saddle Creek Park
Phone Number
- (407) 742-7800
Website
- saddlecreekpark.com
Admission Fee
- None for Saddle Creek Park; $3 for Tenoroc FMA
Park Hours
- 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. for Saddle Creek Park; sunrise to sunset for Tenoroc FMA, Friday-Monday only
Directions
- Lakeland; From I-4 take Exit 38 south on Route 33. Bear left on Route 659 (North Combee Road). Turn left on Morgan Combee Road into the park and turn left to trailhead parking.
The Park
In 1881 Captain Francis LeBaron was surveying the lower Peace River for a United States Army Corps of Engineers canal when he began to find prehistoric fossils in the sand bars. Noticing a phosphatase quality to the fossils LeBaron packed up nine barrels and shipped them to the Smithsonian Institution for analysis. Turns out he had stumbled onto the world’s largest deposit of phosphate rock which came to be known as the Bone Valley Deposit. Here at Saddle Creek, the upper-most tributary of the Peace River, high grade phosphate - a key ingredient in agriculture fertilizers - was found close to the surface. The Coronet Fertilizer Company aggressively extracted the ore between 1960 and 1978 before donating 6,058 played-out acres to the State in 1982. Using funds for reclamation, the clay pits were filled to create lakes which were stuffed with largemouth bass, panfish, and black crappie. The rims of the mining pits were formulated into hiking trails and Saddle Creek Park and Tenoroc (“Coronet” spelled backwards) Fish Management Area created.
The Walks
After bounding from the car in Saddle Creek Park your dog will be confronted with a choice of trailheads. To the right is the free Nature Trail, a linear 1.2-mile ramble that hooks around a series of lakes on a commodiously wide path. Your dog will enjoy a bit of elevation change here before the trail dead-ends. Ignore the narrow side paths that are souvenirs of scout work and likely overgrown.
More meat-and-potatoes hiking awaits your dog on the pay-to-play Tenoroc trails. Here narrow footpaths lead up and down the spoil mounds and along reclaimed lakes to an observation tower with scenic views. Further exploration comes for an extra mile on the Flatwoods Trail where, unlike the Nature Trail and Lake Loop that are among central Florida’s shadiest walks, the hiking is much more exposed.
Trail Sense: The Tenoroc trails are blazed and there are just enough markings on the Nature Trail to get you started. No take-along maps here.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed to hike in both parks and stay in the campground.
Traffic
Hiking only; no bikes and no vehicles and no horses.
Canine Swimming
Alligators are present in the many lakes.
Trail Time
Allow two to three hours to complete all three trails.
Something Extra
The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail was created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to link 500 birding sites across a 2,000-mile self-guided highway trail. Saddle Creek Park is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail as a well-known stopping point for more than 150 migratory bird species. Saddle Creek’s open freshwater marshes are especially noted for the rail-like Limpkin, a South American species found in the United States only in peninsular Florida. If you are hiking with your dog in the early dawn hours you will likely hear the piercing wail before you see the bird with its namesake limping walk.
Seminole Ranch Conservation Area
Phone Number
- (386) 329-4404
Website
- sjrwmd.com/recreationguide/seminoleranch
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- Dawn to dusk
Directions
- Christmas; northeast of town. For the Conservation Area take Hatbill Road south of SR 46 (marked for Hatbill Park).
For the Wildlife Management Area take SR 50 to CR 420 north and turn right on Wheeler Road.
The Park
In 1981, the Florida Legislature created the Water Management Lands Trust Fund, funded from documentary stamp tax revenues from real estate transactions, for the acquisition and restoration of water resources. To date, the Save Our Rivers Program has purchased 1.7 million acres of land and 12 miles of the St. Johns River here was the first acquisition of the program. Today 29,145 acres are protected on both sides of the river. The 6,000 acres to the west of the St. Johns River are part of the Wildlife Management Area where hunting is allowed; no hunting is permitted on the east side.
The Walks
Canine exploring may be more apropos than canine hiking at Seminole Ranch, especially in the wet season. The best organized hiking is along the 4+ miles of the orange-blazed Florida Trail through the Wildlife Management Area that hopscotches among wide open pastureland, marshy riverland (planks and bridges help with the squishy places) and wooded hammocks. The park’s white-blazed trails can be used to shorten or extend your dog’s hiking day on the hunting grounds.
In the Conservation Area south of SR 46 you will find trailheads, although not necessarily parking, at 1.1 and 2.3 miles down the sand ribbon that is Hatbill Road. A dedicated parking area doesn’t arrive for four miles. Once on the ground there is a quiltwork of roads and sandy single-track to take your dog through everything Central Florida has to offer in the way of pines, palmettos, oaks and wetlands along with a special sprinkling of salt water springs that support species not found anywhere else in the St. Johns River basin.
Trail Sense: If you are more comfortable with blazed trails, head for the Wildlife Management Area at Seminole Ranch.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed to use these trails in and out of hunting season.
Traffic
Mostly foot traffic; motorized vehicles are not allowed.
Canine Swimming
Your dog will find lakes and streams - and sometime trails - for splashing in Seminole Ranch.
Trail Time
A few hours to a full weekend.
Something Extra
In Central Florida it is seldom a problem getting your dog into a campground but it is not always simple to get your dog to a campground, especially a primitive site. At Seminole Ranch, along Hatbill Road is a primitive site within a few hundred yards of the parking area.
Seminole State Forest
Phone Number
- (352) 360-6675
Website
- floridaforestservice.com/state_forests/seminole.html
Admission Fee
- Vehicle parking fee
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- Sorrento; two entrances east of town. The north entrance (Cassia Trailhead) is off SR 44 at Brantley Branch Road and the south entrance (Bear Pond Trailhead) is off SR 46 at Wekiva River Road.
The Park
The Seminole State Forest is a 27,000-acre link in the Wekiva River Basin that is the largest contiguous undeveloped landmass in Central Florida. Since 1990 this chunk of protected land has been under the stewardship of the Florida Forest Service which promotes resource management and recreation, including hunting. Hiking is allowed in the forest during the pursuit of small game and turkey which only fills less than five weeks during the year. Hunting dates are prominently displayed on the website to plan accordingly.
The Walks
The Florida National Scenic Trail that meanders from Pensacola to Miami runs 7.5 miles down the spine of the Seminole Forest and forms the backbone of your dog’s hiking day here. To sample the trail you can simply point your trail dog to the orange blazes and go as far as he wants before retracing your steps to the trailhead or use the Florida Trail as a jumping off point for the two main hiking loops in the forest.
From the Bear Pond Trailhead leave the Florida Trail for a six-mile spin on the white-blazed Lower Wekiva Loop that is wedged between the Blackwater Creek and Wekiva River. The entire canine hike will cover over 10 miles with minimal opportunities for aborting your dog’s trip so set off mentally prepared for the challenge. From the Cassia Trailhead your destination is the North Sulphur Island Loop that will cover over eight miles but with more opportunity to lessen the journey on service roads and equestrian trails. Either way, your dog’s long walk through these woods will shift seamlessly from bottomland forests to sand pine scrub. A State Forest Use Permit will let you drive to North Sulphur Island but why take away half of your trail dog’s good times in Seminole State Forest?
Trail Sense: A trail map is available at the trailhead and if you plan any hiking away from the Florida Trail, don’t lose it.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are welcome throughout the Seminole State Forest.
Traffic
These are multi-use trails but expect hours of solo time with your dog here.
Canine Swimming
The park is lubricated by several streams although they won’t play a big part in your dog’s hiking day here.
Trail Time
Many, many hours.
Something Extra
The dominant tree in the forest, the longleaf pine, once covered 92 million acres from North Carolina to Texas. The longleaf produces the longest needles (10-15 inches) and largest cones (up to 8 inches) of any pine species in the coastal region. Its sap is rich in resin which led to its decimation to produce tar for ship hulls and sails through the 19th century. Today the longleaf is valued for its high-quality lumber and production of utility poles. Typically stands of loblolly and slash pine contain less than 15% pole-quality trees but an average stand of
longleaf pines produces more than 70% pole-quality trees. Fire is required for longleaf seeds to germinate and lightning-generated fires burned naturally in the virgin forest every three to five years. Today, prescribed fire is an essential resource management tool and in Florida aerial ignition from helicopters is employed with a machine dropping explosive “ping-pong balls” that ignite when they hit the ground.
Shingle Creek Regional Park
Phone Number
- (407) 742-7800
Website
- osceola.org/parks/160-3273-0/shingle_creek_regional_park.cfm
Admission Fee
- None
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST)
8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (DST)
Directions
- Kissimmee; at 4266 West Vine Stree (US 192) for Steffee Landing. For Babb Landing go to Old Vineland Road just to the west
and turn right on Babb Road to the park entrance on the right.
The Park
Shingle Creek is a small waterway that is considered to be the northernmost headwaters of the Everglades watershed. It got its name from the cypress trees that lined the bank in the late 1800s that were used to make wood shingles.
Tenneseee-born Millard Grady Babb migrated to Central Florida in his late teens in 1917. Babb became a citrus grower and cattle rancher here for the better part of 80 years. After he died in 1996 at the age of 95 his son was diagnosed with skin cancer and could no longer work the groves. The property was sold to the Trust of Public Land with most of the $5 million price tag being picked up with four grants from the Florida Communities Trust. The park along the Shingle Creek corridor then opened in 2009.
The Walks
Severed by one of the world’s busiest tourist highways, seven miles from Disney World, and under the flight path of Kissimmee Municipal Airport, Shingle Creek Regional Park manages to serve your dog a slice of pre-Disney Florida. There is access to the park on the north and south side of US 192, each with a linear trail along the Shingle Creek. Unless you are canoeing with your dog on the shallow waters of the creek the two park segments are unconnected.
The park trails are serpentine ribbons of crushed gray clay but your dog is likely to have just as good a time trotting on the wide grassy shoulders and romping through the orange grove. Canine hiking at Babb Landing is completely wide open; trees are introduced into your dog’s adventure at Steffee Landing south of US 192.
Trail Sense: There is a mapboard at the parking lot which will get you properly oriented to this park.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed to hike in Shingle Creek Park.
Traffic
This is a splendid place to hike and meet other dogs.
Canine Swimming
There is easy access to Shingle Creek at the canoe launch.
Trail Time
A leisurely hour can be found with your dog in each segment of the park.
Something Extra
The Babb homestead was destroyed by an arsonist a few years back but a cluster of tinned-roof wooden work buildings remain in the park. A century old, some structures from the historic citrus operation contain antique farm equipment. Many trees in the orange grove are still producing, unaware the operation has closed down.
Wekiwa Springs State Park
Phone Number
- (352) 360-6675
Website
- floridastateparks.org/wekiwasprings
Admission Fee
- Vehicle entrance fee
Park Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to sunset
Directions
- Apopka; at 1800 Wekiwa Circle. From I-4, take Exit 94 west onto SR 434. After one mile turn right on Wekiwa Springs Road and continue to the park entrance on the right in four miles.
The Park
This area was known as Clay Springs until 1906 when the name was changed to Wekiwa, an interpretation of the Seminole word for “spring of water.” Tourists were already making their way to the springs that pour forty-two million gallons of crystal clear water into Wekiwa Springs Run every day to partake in their reputed healing powers.
Early pioneers farmed this land around the springs and it was part of an antebellum cotton plantation before the Civil War. Saw mills, grist mills and turpentine stills all operated here through the years. In the 1930s a group of young hunters began tracking game on the property. Calling themselves the Apopka Sportsmen’s Club, membership was by secret ballot and cost $50 for an initiation fee. Annual dues were $15. In 1941 members pooled their money and purchased the land from the Wilson Cypress Company with the mission of practicing conservation and preserving the natural beauty. In 1969 the club’s then 50 shareholders voted to sell the land to the state for $2.1 million, accepting a lesser dollar value to keep the property undeveloped.
The Walks
For a park that sits across from a gated golf community and gets so crowded it shuts down, you can nonetheless hike with your dog for hours here and never see another trail user. The main hiking trail covers over 13 miles and everything on the canine hiking menu in Central Florida can be found along the way. Your dog will trot through open, sparse pinelands on roomy sand trails, pick her way down jungle-like footpaths thick with sabal palms and navigate through seas of ferns and saw palmetto.
There are options for shortening the canine hike at Wekiwa Springs but any outing with your dog will be a big one. Even if you stay in the campground and never venture into the wilderness you can hike with your dog on the 1.9-mile spur between Wekiwa Springs and Sand Lake which offers a sampling of the park’s wonders from shady paths to longleaf pine-studded scrub.
Trail Sense: A trail map is available at the park and from the website; the trails are reliably blazed and numbered reference posts are at junctions.
Dog Friendliness
Dogs are allowed on the trails but not near the water at Wekiwa Springs or on the Wet to Dry Nature Trail.
Traffic
These are multi-use trails but expect hours of solo time with your dog here.
Canine Swimming
The trails touch on lakes and Rock Springs Run where gators lurk; Mill Creek offers a chance for your dog to cool off - and come out muddy.
Trail Time
A full day possible.
Something Extra
The Wekiva River basin is home to more than 50 species of plants and animals listed as endangered. Your dog probably won’t see the ones that set the heart to skip a beat such as Florida black bears, American alligators or bald eagles but a more likely encounter is with the long-lived gopher tortoise. Gopher tortoises occur in upland habitats throughout the coastal plain of the southeastern United States, with most being found in north-central Florida. The tortoises live in underground burrows that can be as long as 40 feet and house a score of animals. Look for the burrows in areas where plenty of sunlight reaches the ground. They are easy to spot because of the characteristic mound of loose sand at the burrow entrance, called an “apron.”