50 Hikes in Central Florida

by Sandra Friend

  Angler’s Resort, 12189 S Williams Street, Dunnellon, FL 34432 (352-489-2397, anglersresort.us)

  Dinner Bell Motel, 12094 S Williams Street, Dunnellon, FL 34432 (352-489-2550, dunnellonmotels.com)

  Citrus Trail

  Total distance: A 39.1-mile hike along the perimeter of a trail system made up of four stacked loop trails, broken into segments of 11.1, 13.9, and 14.1 miles. Segments are based on the locations of designated primitive campsites along the loop.

  Hiking time: 3 days

  Difficulty: Moderate to difficult

  Usage: Free. Open 24 hours. Hunting season precautions must be taken. Leashed pets welcome.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.799305, -82.384676

  Contact Information: Withlacoochee State Forest/Citrus Tract, 4399 Trail 10, Inverness, FL 34452 (352-797-4140, freshfromflorida.com)

  With nearly 158,000 acres spread over four counties, Withlacoochee State Forest is Florida’s third largest state forest, and arguably the most popular for outdoor recreation. Its largest tract, Citrus, contains the state’s longest backpacking loop trail in a single contiguous forest. This is Central Florida’s most rugged backpacking trail, with aggressively rolling sandhills, steep descents into sinkholes, and rock-strewn footpaths providing a stunning array of contrasting habitats. It is a well-groomed trail, easily followed, with a clearly defined footpath and signposts at trail junctions. Established in the 1970s by the Suncoast Chapter of the Florida Trail Association, it remains a premier backpacking destination thanks to their ongoing care of the trail. A portion of the statewide Florida National Scenic Trail follows the east side of the loop.

  Backpacking the Citrus Trail takes some logistical planning because water sources are at a premium. There are no surface streams. Karst features—sinkholes and solution holes—seasonally retain rainfall, as do flatwoods ponds. The recreation areas have tap water, plus there are a couple of horse watering cisterns that can be used to filter water in a pinch. Finalize your route beforehand if you need to cache water jugs at forest road crossings before you start hiking.

  No permits are required, but check your hiking schedule against the hunting dates posted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on their website. The Citrus Tract is one of the region’s most popular deer hunting grounds, so hiking is not recommended during deer season in the fall and winter. Always wear an orange safety vest if any type of hunting is going on along the Citrus Trail. If you modify this hike to fit an easier daily mileage for yourself, you’ll probably need to reserve a campsite at either Mutual Mine or Holder Mine Recreation Area. A camping fee applies at those sites.

  Primary trailhead at Holder Mine Recreation Area

  GETTING THERE

  From I-75, take exit 329, Wildwood. Turn west on FL 44, driving 11 miles to Inverness. Continue west on FL 44 into Inverness to CR 581, located opposite Whispering Pines Park. Turn left. Drive 2.5 miles, passing the fire tower, to the sign for HOLDER MINE RECREATION AREA. Turn right. The road becomes sand after the first mile and continues for another mile as FR 10 into Holder Mine Recreation Area. Pass the hunt check station and campground. The trailhead is on the left at the kiosk. Note that signs inside Withlacoochee State Forest, as well as online maps, refer to Trail 10, Trail 13, and the like; all of these are forest roads, most of them very rough and some not open to vehicles. The land was initially managed by the US Forest Service between 1936 and 1958. Only Trail 10 and Trail 13, both of which can be rough in places, do not require a high-clearance vehicle and/or four-wheel drive for access.

  THE HIKE

  day one (11.1 miles)

  Start and end your backpacking loop at Holder Mine Recreation Area, but fill up on potable water first. When you sign in at the kiosk, specify how long you plan to be on the trail. Walk over to the road and turn left, following the blue blazes until they veer right, into the forest. After you pass a low depression, you cross two horse trails. The Citrus Tract has separate sets of trails for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians. A color band around the trees designates horse trails. Florida rosemary forms neat patches under the sand pines. Reindeer lichen blankets the glittering white sand. As the trail ascends sharply, it enters a forest of turkey oaks and sand live oaks with scattered wiregrass, which gives way to oak scrub.

  The blue-blazed connector trail ends after 0.8 mile, at the LOOP A sign. Turn right to begin following the orange blazes of the statewide Florida Trail, our National Scenic Trail in Florida. Only a portion of the 39-mile loop is painted in orange blazes, and that’s the portion that’s officially part of the linear Florida Trail. The rest of the loop’s blazes are painted yellow.

  Oak scrub gives way to sandhills. Be alert as the trail veers right after crossing a track, rising into a forest of longleaf, slash, and sand pines. Gopher apple grows in shady spots. You pass a longleaf snag heavy with resin—lighter pine, the heartwood of a dead longleaf pine, is a perfect fire-starter.

  Sand live oaks under the pines north of the Florida Trail connector junction (Loop A)

  The open understory impresses upon you the size of this forest as the wiregrass fades into the distance, a taupe fog. You start a long, slow descent down the sandhill. When you reach Trail 8 at 1.6 miles, there are trail signs on both sides of the road. Usually, these signs indicate on the back which road you’re crossing, which makes it easy to find your place on the map. Descending under the longleaf pines, you enter a grove of sand live oaks, with their trunks and branches all swept toward the left. The orange eruptions of pocket gophers pockmark the footpath. As you climb up and down the sandhills, watch for gopher tortoise burrows and rounded armadillo holes. At 2.1 miles, the Florida Trail leaves the Citrus Trail on its way north into Inverness. Continue along the yellow blazes to stay on the loop.

  At 2.9 miles, you cross Haven Street, a paved road. After climbing up and over a ridge, the trail drops around Bull Sink, a prairie that hosts an ephemeral pond. Forest roads crisscross the trail as it winds through the dense shade of an oak hammock. The trail starts a long uphill, crossing Trail 6 up into a longleaf forest, through a narrow corridor of dense sand live oak, until it emerges in a clearing along the bottom of a steep sandhill, nearly 100 feet high. Returning to the woods, the trail turns right and climbs the sandhill, reaching an open forest of turkey oaks at the top. Oaks yield to pines as the trail descends, crossing Trail 11 and continuing to descend through a hunt camp into an oak hammock, where Five Mile Pond lies in the open prairie. It’s another ephemeral pond, so don’t count on it as a water source.

  After 5 miles, you reach the A–B Cross-Trail junction. Turn right to remain on the outer loop. The trail makes a long slow climb through the sandhill before crossing Trail 6, rising into a mix of turkey oaks and longleaf pine. On the downhill, the trail passes tightly between two longleaf pines; one sports a catface, a deep cut in the trunk that is now healed, from tapping its sap for turpentine. Watch for scattered clay pots, relics of the turpentine era in Florida, a century or more ago. Undulating over the sandhills, the trail drops through a longleaf forest on a needle carpet so thick that it buries the wiregrass.

  At the bottom of the hill, the trail winds through an oak hammock, then rises into the sandhills, meeting Trail 13 at 6.8 miles. Trail 13 is the most accessible road through the forest, and the trail crosses it six times over the course of the loop—use it as your water drop point if you opt to cache water. Just beyond Trail 13 is the first permanent water source along the trail, a massive concrete cistern for watering horses. Because of its proximity to the road, it isn’t a great water source. Be sure to strain and filter the water if you use it.

  The habitat changes from sandhills to sand pine scrub as the trail crosses Trail 2 and enters an oak scrub, where you might see a Florida scrub-jay. You’re on the extreme northern edge of the forest, so traffic noise from FL 44 filters in. After crossing an oak scrub, you reenter a stand of tall sand pines, its understory dense with myrtle oaks. The trail meanders through stands of saw palmetto under
the longleaf pines, the habitat shifting to scrubby flatwoods as it crosses Trail 4 and Trail 4A in quick succession.

  Climbing up through the pines, the trail crosses Trail 6 at 9.1 miles. Expect wildlife sightings in this remote corner of the forest, as you spy the white flags of two retreating white-tailed deer. Look for bobcat tracks along the footpath. Trail 17 sits in a deep ditch, making the crossing a little tricky. The trail continues downhill under the longleaf pines into a dense corridor of sand live oaks, making a long, slow descent to Trail 8. Just after you cross Trail 8, start watching for the campsite sign, at 10.9 miles. Follow the blue blaze right for 0.2 mile as it jogs through the forest to the Jackson Campsite (PCZ-B), an open spot under a gnarled live oak. Set up your tent, pull up a log, and enjoy the serenity of an evening away from the sounds of civilization. Need water? There is a pitcher pump 0.5 mile due west (28.812750, -82.475017) of the campsite along the Dixie Land Trail, an equestrian trail, and it’s painted orange, so it’s visible from a distance. It can be reached via Trail 8 or Trail 10A too.

  day two (13.9 miles)

  After packing up your gear, follow the blue blazes for 0.2 mile to return to the yellow-blazed loop trail. Turn right. As the trail descends through scrubby flatwoods, blueberry bushes crowd the forest floor, a perfect feeding ground for bears or for your breakfast, if you hike through here in April or May. Where the understory opens, yucca grows in scattered clumps between the wiregrass. Crossing Trail 10A, the trail veers left to parallel the road briefly. Climbing uphill, you cross two narrow tracks in quick succession. The trail goes downhill. After crossing Trail 3, the trail veers left, reaching a power line, then crosses Trail 17 at 1.3 miles. Most of the older longleaf pines along this section of the trail bear the scars of catfaces, some embedded with metal shaped like a broad V to channel the resin into the turpentine cup. As the trail drifts west towards the community of Lecanto, you hear traffic on CR 491. The trail climbs a steep sand slope. At the top of the hill, take in the view of longleaf forest stretching off on both sides.

  You reach the signpost for the B–C Cross-Trail junction after 2.7 miles. Continue straight ahead through a stand of southern magnolias. Descending steeply into an oak hammock, the trail makes a sudden sharp left. Watch the blazes carefully through this section, as the trail zigzags through the forest on and off forest roads. Pass a giant split oak, its trunk cleaved in three sections, sprawling across the ground, sending up limbs as thick as trunks themselves. Skirt around Mansfield Pond when you reach it. Because of its size and location, it’s not a reliable water source, as it can go dry. As the trail veers from the pond, it passes under a canopy of tall live oaks, climbing back into the scrubby flatwoods. Crossing Trail 14, the trail continues past the Youngblood Campsite (PCZ-C) at 4.5 miles. When you approach the edge of the meadow, walk softly. It’s an ideal place to watch for deer. The trail crosses Trail 16, paralleling a longleaf pine forest.

  Two live oaks form a gateway into the pine forest, where maidencane bamboo grows tall in damp spots along the trail. The forest becomes a dense mix of oaks and pines as the trail twists and turns through a corridor of saw palmetto. When rocks appear in the footpath, you’ve reached the rolling karst hills of the central forest. Limestone outcrops appear on the surface as small rocks and large boulders. Look for a dark pit, an entrance to a cave. Karst is a landscape shaped by the action of water on rock, where rainfall trickling through tannic oak leaves becomes an acidic solution that etches pathways through soft bedrock. Karst features in this forest include caverns and sinkholes, and rough exposed limestone along the trail. In karst, water flows down instead of out, so what few seasonal streams flow through the Withlacoochee State Forest are gobbled up into sinkholes.

  You cross Trail 13 at 7 miles, dropping down into a karst valley, which drains into a plugged-up cave entrance. Limestone-loving spleenwort grows in clusters on the bare rock. Climbing up into an oak hammock, the trail reaches the signpost for the C–D Cross-Trail junction. Turn right to stay with the yellow blazes, climbing up through the scrubby flatwoods to cross Trail 18A and Trail 18 in quick succession. The trail merges onto a forest road, veering left through the flatwoods before rising through an oak hammock to cross Trail 13 again. As you cross an old railroad bed and then descend a rocky slope, you’re back in a karst valley. Sweetgum and American holly crowd the trail. There is an open area with a depression. If you leave the trail and walk through the depressions, you’ll find a sinkhole that sometimes holds water, a duckweed-choked pond.

  Rugged karst bluff along Lizzie Hart Sink, Loop D

  Watch for two sharp turns as the trail ascends out of the valley into scrubby flatwoods. You continue uphill through a low oak understory, with bracken ferns spilling across the forest floor. After crossing Trail 20 at 9.1 miles, a divided road with a power line, the trail descends under the pines. The flowering plants with waxy green leaves and ivory blossoms are sandhill milkweed, attracting dozens of colorful butterflies, including the long-tailed skipper. In this section of the trail, you’ll cross over numerous horse trails, each marked with a different-colored band. After the trail rises through a stand of tall pines, it crosses Trail 15 down in a deep ditch. Pines yield to sandhills—in this part of the forest, many of the sandhills were planted over with longleaf pines after the original forest was logged, so it’s difficult to determine the habitat.

  Where the trail descends a steep grade into an older forest of pines, keep alert, as needles obscure the footpath, making it easy to miss where the trail veers right. Rocks come to the surface again in a cedar grove, where the trail passes through dense pines and oaks before reaching Trail 22 at 10.4 miles. From here, the trail drops steeply downhill past a deep gully into a mixed forest of elms, hickory, southern magnolias, and cedar. Look over the rocky lip of Lizzie Hart Sink, a massive depression cradling numerous caves. Because of the rocky terrain, the footpath becomes indistinct. Follow the orange blazes carefully, watching your footing, and be respectful of this fragile, unusual terrain. The trail twists and turns around obstacles, including a colossal swamp chestnut oak and a rocky bluff with a cave.

  When the trail leaves Lizzie Hart Sink, it crosses a forest road and descends into a forest of oaks and sweetgum. Brush Sink, swampy and water-filled, hides behind the bushes on the right, another potential water source. The trail rises steeply, reaching the CR 480 crossing at 12.5 miles. Carefully cross the highway, then head into the rolling sandhills. The trail turns to follow a dry streambed, then turns to cross it. This seasonal stream flows a significant distance, cutting a deep ravine along the trail’s edge until it plunges into a large sinkhole fed by several similar streams.

  Stay right at the fork. At the top of the hill, the trail turns right, crossing Trail 13. You wind through a rocky forest of oaks and hickories to reach the campsite sign at 13.8 miles. Turn right and follow the blue blaze for 0.1 mile to select your spot at the Taylor Campsite (PCZ-D). After this interesting but tiring hike, it won’t be long before you’re sleeping soundly.

  day three (14.1 miles)

  After packing up, return up the blue blaze to the main trail and turn right. Rocks poke out of the footpath. Descending into the sweetgum forest, the trail becomes a narrow track. A marsh lies to the right, surrounded by dense forest. After a forest road, a large open area looms—Stage Pond, a permanent and reliable water source about a mile into your hike. Netted chain fern grows along its edge. The trail follows an old track along the eastern edge of the lake, with two good access points for filtering water. After the trail turns right, it veers through an oak hammock to cross CR 480 again at 1.6 miles. This is where you rejoin the orange blazes of the Florida Trail.

  Cross the road and enter a forest of scattered sand pines, longleaf pines, and scrub oaks. In the early morning, the sandhills are alive with the furious activities of birds darting between the trees—blue-gray gnatcatchers, yellow vireos, cedar waxwings, and downy woodpeckers. Crossing Trail 22, you pass between two live oaks, and the trail veers right, fl
anked by the profuse blooms of sandhill milkweed. Crossing Trail 11, the trail descends beneath sand live oaks, continuing an undulating route over the sandhills. After you cross Trail 20 at 3.4 miles, keep alert for several sharp turns as the trail enters an extensive laurel oak forest. Emerging into the sandhills, the trail jumps on and off old roads before reaching Trail 18. Blue flag iris bloom in a damp area along a seepage slope.

  At 4.9 miles, you meet the sign for the C–D Cross-Trail. Turn right to stay with the orange blazes. The landscape opens into scattered longleaf pines. Icicles of hardened amber resin drip from one catfaced pine. Crossing a dry, windy hilltop, you reach Trail 18A and discover another old railroad bed, this one still decorated with the ballast used under the rails. Beyond Trail 9A, Trail 16 runs in a deep ditch. Cross Trail 7 and enter a stand of longleaf pines. The trail rises to a bench and the sign for the connector trail to Mutual Mine at 6.4 miles. This developed campground sits along the edge of one of the phosphate pits dug during the early 1900s and offers potable water, picnic tables, restrooms, and grills. It’s a pleasant place to camp, and you may want to adjust your hike to start and end here. Today’s trek, however, continues on to finish the full Citrus Hiking Trail loop.

  Rising through a young longleaf forest on the sandhills, the trail traverses open grassland replanted with longleaf pines before crossing Trail 7. Beyond Trail 9, prickly pear grows in the open spaces between myrtle oaks and Chapman oaks. Watch for gopher tortoises browsing through the underbrush, and fox squirrels scampering up the trees. The habitat yields to a more mature forest on the sandhills, with wiregrass and scattered oaks underneath a tall canopy of longleaf pine. You cross Trail 11, then Trail 14, climbing up into the pine-forest sandhills.