Last Updated on April 29, 2025 by JJ
A Trail That Whispers Instead of Roars
If you’ve hiked in the Rockies, Appalachians, or Sierras, Florida might not even register on your adventure radar. No switchbacks. No elevation. No alpine lakes. Just… flat?
But then you step onto the Florida Trail, somewhere deep in the Ocala National Forest, and the silence hits you like a wave. A sandy trail blazes orange through longleaf pine savannas, where sunlight needles through 60-foot trees, and the only sound is the crunch of your boots on quartz sand and the occasional screech of a red-shouldered hawk.
It’s not dramatic. It’s not loud. But it’s the kind of trail that gets under your skin slowly, like sunlight after winter.
America’s Quietest National Scenic Trail
Few people realize Florida has a National Scenic Trail—one of only eleven in the U.S.—that stretches from the swamps of Big Cypress to the white sand bluffs of Pensacola Beach. That’s 1,500 miles of cypress knees, palmetto tunnels, and sawgrass plains.
The Ocala section is the first part ever blazed, cut in the 1960s by a man named Jim Kern and a band of idealists with machetes and mosquito nets. It runs for roughly 72 miles through the Ocala National Forest and offers some of the most unique backcountry hiking in the Southeast.
This is a trail of contrasts: wide-open pine scrub one minute, shaded hammocks the next. It smells like warm sap and wild mint. And every so often, it reminds you that Florida is wilder than you think.
What Makes Ocala Different
Unlike other parts of the Florida Trail—where you might be ankle-deep in swamp water or dodging cow pastures—the Ocala stretch feels like true backcountry. Dry, remote, and blessedly silent.
You’ll pass through:
- Longleaf pine flatwoods that look like watercolor paintings in motion
- Scrub oak forests—gnarled, ancient, and full of whitetail deer
- Sinkholes and hidden springs, including the stunning Juniper Springs recreation area
- Pinecastle Bombing Range, where signs politely ask you not to wander off trail. (It’s still active. Yes, really.)
Campgrounds dot the trail at wide intervals—Hopkins Prairie, Hidden Pond, and Juniper Springs among them—but this is no walk in the park. Water sources can be scarce, sand spurs infiltrate your socks like landmines, and summer heat is brutal. But with a little planning, the payoff is enormous.
Recommended Route: Salt Springs to Juniper Springs (22 miles)
If you’ve only got a weekend, this is the stretch to hike. Here’s why:
- Day 1: Salt Springs to Hidden Pond (10 miles)
Begin near Salt Springs Recreation Area and follow the trail south through pine scrub and wiregrass. Hidden Pond is an ideal overnight—remote, pristine, and famous for its cool, swimmable water. - Day 2: Hidden Pond to Juniper Springs (12 miles)
Continue through shaded oak corridors and past prairie clearings. Near the end, stop for a dip at Juniper Run—a gin-clear spring stream considered one of the prettiest in the state.
Pro tip: In spring, carpeted blooms of wildflowers erupt in random patches, turning pine barrens into color fields for a few fleeting weeks.
📍 Florida Trail – Ocala Section Info
Wildlife You’ll (Probably) Meet
You won’t see moose or mountain lions here—but keep your eyes open. This stretch of the trail is home to:
- 🐗 Feral hogs, which you’ll hear long before you see
- 🦉 Barred owls, calling across the dusk in rhythmic who-cooks-for-you loops
- 🦅 Bald eagles, nesting near lakes and soaring overhead
- 🐍 Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes—rare but possible, so step sharp
- 🐻 And yes, Florida black bears—shy, curious, and generally harmless
Most hikers report more woodpeckers than people, especially on weekdays.
Where to Stay (If You’re Not Sleeping in a Hammock)
🏕️ Juniper Springs Campground
Tucked under ancient oaks with access to the springs. Great basecamp for day hikes. Visit site
🛏️ Salt Springs Cabin Rentals
Cozy A-frame cabins just outside the park. Good for those who want a bed, a fire pit, and a hot shower after a long trek. Visit site
🛌 The Yearling Cabins (Near Cross Creek)
Rustic lodging with literary roots, not far from the trail. Bonus: the restaurant next door serves gator tail. Visit site
Where to Refuel After the Trail
🥩 The Yearling Restaurant (Cross Creek)
Rustic Florida cuisine at its best—smoked catfish, venison stew, and sour orange pie. Visit site
🥪 Salt Springs Pizza
After 20 miles in the woods, a giant slice of supreme pizza and an icy Coke hits like religion. Visit site
🫖 The Dam Diner (Fort McCoy)
Low-key, old-school diner with cheap coffee and friendly locals. The kind of place where you can eat a biscuit and stare into space, still hearing the wind in the trees. Visit site
The Solitude You Didn’t Know You Needed
The Ocala stretch of the Florida Trail is not dramatic, and that’s the point. It’s not here to impress you—it’s here to remind you what it feels like to walk without purpose, to listen to your own footsteps, to remember that nature doesn’t always need to roar. Sometimes it just breathes.
You’ll leave with sand in your boots, pine sap on your pack, and a kind of quiet stitched into your bones.
And if you run into the lone hiker who’s been walking the entire trail from Big Cypress to the Alabama border, he might hand you an orange and a story about the time he fell asleep in a thunderstorm under a palm tree. Shake his hand. You’ve both found something rare.
