50 Hikes in Central Florida

by Sandra Friend

  2. River Ramble. Follow the White Loop clockwise and skip the side trip to the campsite: go directly to the Curry Ford, the other beauty spot in the preserve, for a 3.6-mile round-trip.

  3. White & Red Loops. Adding the Red Loop to the White Loop makes for an 11.9-mile day hike.

  4. White & Yellow Loops. Add a walk around the Yellow Loop to the White Loop for a different 11.9-mile hike, either as a day hike or an overnighter.

  CAMPING AND LODGING

  Hidden River RV Park, 15295 E Colonial Drive, Orlando, FL 32826 (407-568-5346)

  Hilton Garden Inn Orlando East/UCF, 1959 N Alafaya Trail, Orlando, FL 32826 (407-992-5000, hilton.com)

  Prairie Lakes Loop

  Total distance: 11.4 miles in a figure eight loop

  Hiking time: 5 hours to overnight

  Difficulty: Moderate

  Usage: $3 per person (or $6 per vehicle for 2 or more people) parking fee per day. Open 24 hours. Backpacking and tent camping, free permit required. Leashed pets welcome.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 27.9277, -81.1249

  Contact Information: Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, Prairie Lakes Unit, 1231 Prairie Lakes Road, Kenansville, FL 34739 (352-732-1225, myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/wmas/lead/three-lakes)

  A broad landscape of prairies and pine flatwoods between three major lakes—Lake Kissimmee, Lake Jackson, and Lake Marian—Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area protects an astounding 63,000 acres in the heart of the Kissimmee River watershed. A little less than 9,000 of those acres comprise the Prairie Lakes Unit, in which the Florida Trail Association built an outstanding trail system soon after the state acquired the land from ranchers and opened it as a state park. Now under management of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, it remains one of the best places to hike and camp in the region.

  The Prairie Lakes Loop has two stacked loops, the North and South Loops, each close to six miles long. They can be hiked individually or together, since there is easy access to the central point where they meet. The route of the statewide Florida National Scenic Trail follows one side of each loop, connecting to additional trails to the north and south in the greater Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. Check regulations in advance regarding hunting seasons—camping is restricted during general gun season—and always wear bright orange when hiking here during any scheduled hunts. A free permit is required in advance for camping at any of the campsites along this hike; call 352-732-1225 to arrange yours.

  GETTING THERE

  From US 192 in St. Cloud, which can be reached by Florida’s Turnpike, follow Canoe Creek Road south for 25.4 miles. The entrance to Prairie Lakes is well marked. Turn right on Prairie Lakes Road. The Prairie Lakes trailhead is on the right side of the road. Close to the meeting point of the North and South Loops, in Parker Hammock, there is a small pulloff suitable for day use parking (27.906468, -81.133955) along Road 16 (Prairie Lakes Road). You may also park in the large parking area at the end of Boat Ramp Road at Lake Jackson (27.910790, -81.149664) to access the west side of the South Loop. Pay your parking fee at an iron ranger at the Prairie Lakes trailhead.

  THE HIKE

  A figure-eight loop, the Prairie Lakes Loop is blazed in two colors: orange for the official Florida Trail route, and white for the other side of the loop. When you are standing at the Prairie Lakes trailhead, the white-blazed trail immediately catches your attention, heading into the pine flatwoods paralleling Canoe Creek Road. It provides a sweeping view of an open prairie with a cypress dome in its middle. After 0.25 mile, the trail turns away from the highway and the pine forest becomes more dense. You cross a graded road, Road 19. In the oak hammock on the other side of the road, a picnic bench sits on a bluff above the slough. The trail works its way down into the floodplain, balancing on bluffs before leading you through the cypress knees. Along the next set of bluffs, peer down into the slough to see just how tall some of the larger cypress knees are. Giant bromeliads and orchids cling to the live oaks.

  Crossing a bridge over the outflow of Pole Cypress Ponds after 1.6 miles, the trail comes to the end of its dance with Parker Slough at a forest road that ends at the waterway. The white blazes jog between saw palmetto down a tree line on the edge of the prairie before emerging briefly along the preserve’s boundary fence. Watch for blazes as the trail makes a couple of turns on forest roads before emerging through clumps of saw palmetto into an open area under the oaks. A cove of open prairie sweeps between the oak hammocks, a lone loblolly bay tree rising from the grassland. Expect rough going under the shade of the oaks where hogs have torn up the forest floor. At 2.6 miles, you reach a junction with a blue-blazed trail. It’s a 0.5-mile side trail that beelines across the prairie to a group campsite, with picnic tables and a vault toilet.

  Open prairie along the North Loop

  Soon after the junction, the trail leaves the shade of the oak hammock to enter sun-drenched scrubby flatwoods. In the dense understory, you must be careful not to follow game trails instead of the white blazes. Once the trail returns to the shade of the ancient live oaks, you’ve entered Parker Hammock, with the first of several camping areas along this loop. Blue blazes lead to a picnic table and pitcher pump; camping is in the oak hammock beyond the PARKER HAMMOCKS sign. You’ve hiked 3 miles. After a zigzag under the oaks, the trail emerges at the south end of the North Loop, the bridge over North Canal. The orange blazes to your left lead back to the Prairie Lakes trailhead. To continue on the figure-eight hike, cross the footbridge and turn left to stay on the white blazes of the South Loop. Walk beneath a bounty of giant bromeliads in the oaks before crossing Road 16 (Prairie Lakes Road). Along this next stretch of trail, the oak hammocks are quite impressive, the limbs of the live oaks laden with resurrection fern. Look for greenfly orchids high up in the trees, and more giant bromeliads clinging to branches and vines.

  North Canal, where the North Loop and South Loop meet

  At 3.6 miles, there’s a sign pointing down a side trail to the observation deck at Lake Marian. It’s worth the extra 0.25 mile out and back for the view. This side trail is an old road that tunnels beneath a showy oak canopy draped in Spanish moss. Be alert for alligators sunning themselves along the waterway. A ramp leads up to the deck and its panorama of Lake Marian, the second largest of the Three Lakes at 5,800 acres. With most of its shoreline protected by Three Lakes WMA, it’s a beautiful sight.

  Back on the white blazes, you round a small grassy cove before returning to the shade of the oak hammocks. It’s often hard to determine where the footpath is when the understory under the oaks is so open, so be mindful of the blazes. They lead down a corridor flanked with cabbage palms, before crossing a plank bridge over an ephemeral waterway that flows out of the wet prairie. Tacking between oak trees, the trail offers expansive views of the prairies that make up most of the isthmus between Lake Marian and Lake Jackson.

  After a sharp left turn onto an old track, the trail crosses a sometimes-soggy grassland to what was once a ford for cattle crossing the South Canal. The trail crosses the ford on a bridge at 5.4 miles, and turns sharply right to parallel the canal, occasionally jogging away from it to cross a tributary at a drier spot. Wading birds, especially great blue herons, browse through the marshes on the canal’s far shore. Reaching Road 16, the trail crosses it and continues through an oak hammock to a footbridge over an often-dry waterway, with a bench on the bluff on the other side. This is the south end of the South Loop, where the white blazes end. It’s time to start following the orange blazes back along the opposite side of the figure-eight loop. You’ve hiked 6 miles. Turn left to go north on the Florida Trail.

  Walking beneath streamers of Spanish moss on a berm between two low-lying areas, note how cattle ranching shaped what once was a vast wetland between the lakes into drier prairies drained by ditches and canals. The trail reaches another bench and a footbridge that crosses the paralleling ditch. Turning left, you enter a picturesque hammock of live oaks and cabbage palms, more dense than most of
the hammocks you’ve encountered thus far. Watch for the orange blazes through this maze of tree trunks. It’s almost a jolt to leave this ethereal hammock and emerge into the tall prairie grasses. The trail points towards a lone oak in the prairie and passes under its crown before aiming towards the shoreline of oaks rimming the other side of the prairie. Once under the oak canopy, you see more than one sign for the Dry Pond campsite. At 7.6 miles, this backpacker’s campsite has a picnic table, pitcher pump, and plenty of flat space for tents under the oaks, with a panorama of the prairie beyond.

  Rambling through the oak hammock beyond Dry Pond, you’ll notice more giant bromeliads in the trees, looking like chandeliers in green. It doesn’t take long to walk right up to the picnic table at Campsite #3 at Lake Jackson, the best of the campsites in this vehicle-accessible camping area. A side trail leads to a vault toilet and the parking area at the end of Boat Ramp Road. Like Lake Marian, the short side trip at this 8-mile mark lets you see the lake from the parking area. A raft of white pelicans floated serenely across the bright blue water on our visit. Watch for alligators along the shoreline. The lake is the water source for the campsite.

  Paralleling, then crossing, Boat Ramp Road, the orange blazes lead you into a younger oak hammock, making a sharp turn down a straight corridor. Patches of marsh fern collect under the loblolly bay trees in low-lying spots. The trail turns to enter another lush hammock of palms and live oaks before emerging onto a forest road to cross a culvert over a waterway. Tacking northeast, it draws close to North Canal, providing a view up the steep-sided waterway before it reaches the north junction of the South Loop at the footbridge after 9.1 miles.

  You crossed this bridge earlier when you were headed south on the white blazes. Cross it again, this time following the orange blazes up the bluff along the North Canal, with views of the water control structure and floodgates beneath the road. Floodwaters rose so high after Hurricane Irma in 2017 that it was necessary to reconstruct portions of the canal (and replace the footbridge) due to extreme erosion. Although it may not feel like it, the entire Prairie Lakes Loop can get pretty soggy at certain times of year, including having standing water in the palm hammocks.

  Passing a bench on the bluff, the trail crosses Road 16 and goes past another bench before turning left into an oak hammock. Younger oaks provide shade, while ferns grow in damp spots. The change in habitat is quite distinct when the orange blazes lead you into the pine flatwoods. Tall longleaf pine dominate this forest, with prairie grasses and saw palmetto making up the understory. You cross a sand road amid the pines before reaching another stretch of mature oak hammock. It’s an island in the pine forest, as the blazes lead you under a power line at 9.9 miles and into an impressive panorama of pines. Look carefully at some of the more mature trees, as they bear catface scars from having turpentine tapped from their trunks decades ago. If you look behind you, there is a fire tower not all that far away.

  A wall of vegetation marks the edge of the pine forest: a cypress strand and a linear swamp with a stream flowing through it at certain times of year. It’s known as the Pole Cypress Ponds, perhaps from the logging days of long ago. A boardwalk winds through the cypress, providing one final bench along the trail at 10.4 miles. After the trail leaves the boardwalk, the footpath may be mushy underfoot. This is a good spot to look for sundews, tiny carnivorous plants that glisten like globs of raspberry jelly. This final stretch, winding through grasslands between the cypress domes and strands, offers a bounty of wildflowers in spring and fall. Pines are sparse here, offering little shade. Traffic slips by in the distance on Canoe Creek Road. The mowed path winds through the grassland and around a cypress dome before you catch a glimpse of the Prairie Lakes trailhead. Crossing the entrance road, you reach the trailhead after an 11.4-mile hike.

  View looking north from the Lake Jackson Tower

  OTHER HIKING OPTIONS

  1. North Loop Day Hike. Right inside the preserve gate, the 5.4-mile North Loop showcases wide-open prairie, particularly within the first two miles in either direction from the trailhead. The trailhead itself is one of the best places to catch a sunrise or a sunset, thanks to the panoramic view to the south.

  2. South Loop Day Hike. The 6-mile South Loop begins on the south side of the footbridge over Parker Slough. It keeps largely to the oak and palm hammocks near the lakes, providing sweeping views of prairie from under the shade of the oaks. A side trail leads down to the lakes. At Lake Jackson, a walk between the campsites takes you down to the boat ramp area and views along the shore. At Lake Marian, there is an observation deck to perch on for the panorama.

  3. Lake Jackson Tower Trail (27.891467, -81.173683). Park at the Lake Jackson Tower Trail parking area for a short walk on an old road along the prairie’s edge. A nature trail diverges from the road and dives into the palm hammock to add a little variety to this short hike, popping out again onto the blue blazes of a connector to the Florida Trail. Turn left to walk to the Lake Jackson Tower, which offers an expansive view of the lake from several stories up. Follow the old road back to the parking area. The full loop to the tower and back on the three trails is 1.2 miles.

  4. Sunset Ranch Interpretive Trail (27.904028, -81.098106). South along Canoe Creek Road, this interpretive trail leads through similar habitats as those seen on the Prairie Lakes Loop, but on a much smaller scale, as a 2.2-mile loop hike to an observation point on Lake Marian.

  CAMPING AND LODGING

  Lake Jackson Campground (27.910790, -81.149664), (352-732-1225), tents only.

  Lake Marian Paradise RV Park & Motel, 901 Arnold Road, Kenansville, FL 34739 (407-436-1464)

  Middleton’s Fish Camp Too, 4500 Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville, FL 34739 (407-436-1966, mfctoo.com)

  Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area

  Total distance: A 6.4-mile loop along the outer perimeter of the preserve

  Hiking time: 3.5 hours

  Difficulty: Moderate

  Usage: Free. Open 8 AM–8 PM during summer months, and 8 AM-6 PM during winter months. A limited number of permits are issued for equestrian use; call 407-254-6840 for details.

  Trailhead GPS Coordinates: 28.3532, -81.2111

  Contact Information: Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area, 12901 Moss Park Road, Orlando, FL 32832 (407-254-6840, orangecountyfl.net or myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/wmas/lead/split-oak-forest)

  It is a haunting cry, the call of the sandhill crane, as the birds glide overhead, casting giant shadows across the prairie. It is an unmistakable cry, a mournful, raspy rattle, naturally amplified through the nostrils of the crane’s massive bill. Standing up to 4 feet tall, with a wingspan of up to 7 feet, the sandhill crane is a bird that quickly captures your attention, whether it is soaring overhead or striding through tall grasses. Migrating from the grasslands of Nebraska to the vanishing open prairies of Florida each winter, greater sandhill cranes look for open prairie with wetlands to shelter them from the cold for the season. Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area is managed as habitat for both these seasonal visitors and a subspecies, the Florida sandhill crane, which spends all year in the Sunshine State. The South Loop trail circles their habitat, while the northerly trails wind along lakeshores, marshes, and into scrub and sandhill forest critical for gopher tortoise habitat.

  These prairies were purchased for conservation in 1994 with funds from a mitigation bank, a program allowing developers to pay the state to preserve habitat in exchange for a green light to destroy similar habitat. It is a sad irony that not only are subdivisions creeping up the entrance road to the preserve, but there is a push to drive an expressway right through Split Oak Forest to open up yet more of this region to development. The preserve is managed jointly by Orange County (via Moss Park) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

  GETTING THERE

  From the Orlando International Airport, follow FL 528 (Beachline Expressway) east to exit 13. Take CR 15 (Narcoossee Road) south for 7 miles to Clapp-Sim
ms-Duda Road, passing a turnoff for Moss Park and the FL 417 exchange on the way. Turn left on Clapp-Simms-Duda Road and follow it 1.6 miles to the parking area and trailhead.

  THE HIKE

  Start your hike at the kiosk by picking up a trail map. Each trail has its own distinct blazes, but the recent addition of orange blazes for a future relocation of the Florida National Scenic Trail mixes things up. Since the centerpiece of the park is the Split Oak, hike the northerly trails first.

  Numbered green markers lead around the perimeter of the preserve on the North/South Trail. Walk from the trailhead into the shade of the live oaks, and turn left at Marker 2 to follow the North Loop. Moss-draped live oaks yield to turkey oaks as you emerge on the edge of a scrubby flatwoods. Gallberry and saw palmetto predominate, with rusty lyonia adding texture as its crooked branches reach for the sky. The purple blooms of deer’s tongue and blazing star add color to the scrub. Watch for tarflower, a fragrant white flower with pink stamens, on the taller shrubs. Although it is not a carnivorous plant, insects get caught on its sticky blossoms.

  After a left turn, the trail enters a forest of tall longleaf pines and laurel oaks, where cinnamon ferns rise from the thick cover of needles on the forest floor. Bald cypresses emerge from a cypress dome. After 1.2 miles, you reach the blue-blazed Lake Loop. The orange blazes turn right. Turn left into the pine forest, passing a massive saw palmetto. Deer moss and reindeer lichen cluster under the turkey oaks. An unusual forked longleaf pine sprouts thick, equal-sized trunks. The trail winds between the saw palmettos into a stand of laurel and live oaks.