50 Hikes in Central Florida

Diversity is the name of the game in Central Florida, a transition zone with some of the state’s longest stretches of trail and awesome rugged hikes in the Central Highlands. With its massive population centers, the region is also home to many short nature trails that enable urban dwellers to explore natural Florida in their own backyard. You can climb to the top of a 50 foot sandhill and survey the scrub as scrub-jays play in Lyonia Preserve, wade through coastal pine flatwoods on Merritt Island, walk the vast open prairies at Hal Scott Preserve, and clamber over the rocky rim of a giant sinkhole as you backpack the 43 mile circuit at the Citrus Tract of Withlacoochee State Forest. Explore these 50 sites for your hiking pleasure, from a 1-mile loop around a sinkhole to a 4-day backpacking trip.

This second edition guidebook is fully updated, with every trail revisited – and nearly half of them replaced to spur you to get outside and explore new ground throughout Central Florida.

50 Hikes in Central Florida
Second Edition
ISBN 0-88150-523-4
Countryman Press, 2011
Softcover. 272 pages, $19.95

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CONTENTS
I. Central Highlands
1 Rainbow Springs State Park
2 Holly Hammock Hiking Trail
3 Johnson Pond Trail
4 Potts Preserve
5 Citrus Trail
6 Fort Cooper State Park
7 Chinsegut Hill WEA
8 Flat Island Preserve
9 Hidden Waters Preserve
10 Withlacoochee River Park
11 Circle Bar B Reserve

II. St. Johns River
12 Silver River State Park
13 Bluffton Nature Trail
14 De Leon Springs State Park
15 St. Francis Hiking Trail
16 Hontoon Island State Park
17 Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park
18  Spring Hammock Preserve
19 Geneva Wilderness Area
20 Lake Proctor Wilderness Area
21 Moccasin Island Trail

III. Orlando Metro
22  Lake Lotus Park
23 Split Oak Forest WEA
24 Hal Scott Regional Preserve
25 Tibet-Butler Preserve
26 Disney Wilderness Preserve

IV. Lake Wales Ridge
27 Crooked River Preserve
28 Catfish Creek Preserve State Park
29 Lake Kissimmee State Park
30 Crooked Lake Prairie
31 Tiger Creek Preserve

V. Suncoast
32 James E. Grey Preserve
33 Hillsborough River State Park
34 Lettuce Lake Park
35 John Chesnut Sr. County Park
36 Honeymoon Island State Park
37 Caladesi Island State Park
38 Eagle Lake Park
39 Sawgrass Lake Park
40 Fort De Soto Park
41 Little Manatee State Recreation Area
42 Alderman’s Ford Preserve

V. Atlantic Coast
43 Ponce Preserve
44 Lyonia Preserve
45 Smyrna Dunes Park
46 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
47 Enchanted Forest Sanctuary
48 Maritime Hammock Sanctuary
49 Turkey Creek Sanctuary
50 Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area