Florida Trail

Hike Name: Florida Trail Location: north FL Length: 28 Submitted by: Joe Pitcher Date Submitted: 0/0/00 Rating:	more Florida trail reviews Florida national parks Florida state parks
For more trail descriptions and topo maps, try a Free Trial Offer from Trails.com

Description
The Florida Trail is roughly 400 miles long (guestimate) and is almost entirely open to the public for hiking. My adventure began at Juniper Springs, heading north on the trail (in the non-hunting region of the Ocala National Forest). This was a short trip considering my partner and I were limited to merely three days in this Florida paradise. Although Florida is a flat state, this trail offered some "topographic" hiking. On my three day trip, we spotted two deer, an eagle (not often seen in the "overcrowded state"), and a few small wild pigs. We hiked for only six miles before we stumbled across an irresistible camp sight. "Hidden Pond" is a spring fed pond at the six mile mark that offers fresh water (filtered or treated, of course), wonderful oak canopies, and is visibly off of the trail by no more than 100 yards. Further in, the trail comes across "Pat's Island" which is home to the graves of a family that resided in this secluded section of Ocala National Forest until there death (fire) in the 1920's. Pat's Island is not literally an island, but thanks to rustic signs, it cannot be missed. I inspire to embark on this trail in the near future, but I hope the next time will be a longer trip. Do not plan to hike in Florida in the summer unless you are a huge fan of extreme heat, mosquitos, insects and snakes of ALL kinds, and in the eyes of your author, a terrible time! My adventure described above took place in December, 1997.

Directions to Hike
Interstate 75 to the "Ocala - Silver Springs" exit. Head east into the Forest and Juniper Springs will be located on the left.

Contact Information
Highway 40 Visitor Center 10863 East Highway 40 Silver Springs, FL 34488

submit a new trail review

---

About Our Reviews

Many people ask us to recommend a place to go hiking. Instead of us deciding what places are best, we let the backpacking community help out. The reviews on budget-travels-tips.com have been submitted by our viewers. Some reviews are positive and some are negative. If you don't agree with a review, feel free to submit your own trail review.