At Brooker Creek Protect, the Associates Path was the primary loop established a few years earlier than its environmental schooling heart and bigger community of trails opened to the east.
Surprisingly quiet regardless of sharing a fence with a rural subdivision, it’s largely an immersion in pine flatwoods, a pleasure to hike.
Alongside the loopIn stark distinction to the Wilderness Trails within the southeast nook of the protect, it’s additionally a dry hike with a minimal of doubtless soggy spots.
Pine needles fallen throughout the forest ground make for a continuously cushioned treadway on this well-maintained path.
Cushioned pathNumbered posts present stops to study in regards to the protect and its vegetation alongside all the loop.
Obtain their detailed interpretive brochure earlier than you go to, or reap the benefits of the posted QR codes to activate an audio tour.
First of the interpretive markersSources
Overview
Location: Tarpon SpringsLength: 1.9 milesTrailhead: 28.129464, -82.670659Address: 929 Lora Ln, Tarpon SpringsFees: FreeRestroom: NoneLand Supervisor: Pinellas CountyPhone: 727-453-6800Open 7 AM to at least one hour earlier than sundown. No canine or bicycles permitted.
Hikers could not use the equestrian path that begins at this trailhead, and horses aren’t allowed on the mountain climbing path.
Instructions
Hike
Enter via a pedestrian gate within the chain-link fence to comply with a straight line forest highway west.
Carpeted in pine needles, it adjoins a deep ditch constructed way back to empty what was a naturally swampy space to create pastures.
Drainage ditchFeeding into Brooker Creek, the ditch now serves as flood management for adjoining neighborhoods. It’s a deep one, the water in it tannic however clear.
Birdsong turns into the dominant characteristic of the soundscape. After 0.2 mile, flip proper to stroll to the statement tower.
Spur pathIt overlooks a re-created moist prairie and cypress strand planted in 1998 on pastureland as mitigation for close by roadwork.
Returning to the principle path, flip proper, passing by the south finish of the wetland.
Wetland view from the elevated deckA tough left at Marker 3 carries the path throughout a bridge above the ditch. Deep, delicate pine duff cushions the footpath via a thicket of mature noticed palmetto.
At 0.4 mile, a red-tipped put up with a hiker image marks the loop junction, with Marker 4 close by.
Loop path junctionProceed straight forward to stroll a counterclockwise loop via the pine flatwoods. Crimson blazing and signage factors out the route.
Slash pines and laurel oaks dominate the forest, with clusters of noticed palmetto breaking apart an in any other case open understory.
Sharp flip earlier than equestrian path crossingNot far previous Marker 5, sweep to the left of after which cross the signposted equestrian path at 0.6 mile. Signage warns in opposition to taking the unsuitable path.
Scattered remnants of pine plantation are a reminder the forest was commercially logged via the Nineteen Seventies.
Path crossingWinding between the timber, attain Marker 6, denoting a portion of the forest impacted by wildfire in 2018. Grassy patches intermingle with the noticed palmetto understory.
Previous a small part of footpath barely raised alongside a furrow to permit runoff, sweetbay joins the combo of timber, a touch that the habitat is getting damper.
Furrow alongside the footpathSlip previous a pure nursery of younger slash pines in a sun-splashed spot, their dad and mom looming excessive above.
Extra bay timber inexperienced up the understory as southern magnolias, additionally in the identical household, tower amongst them. Thoughts the roots poking out of the footpath.
Slash pine nurseryAs your environment develop damper, sword fern, cinnamon fern, and marsh fern edge the path in a tangle.
Trapped between partitions of noticed palmetto briefly, the hall wriggles via a dense understory. Crimson maples bathe leaves on a footpath now damp in spots.
Ferns fill a curveA minor ascent results in a sudden sharp left at 0.9 mile. This time, the waterway the path parallels could seem like a ditch, however it’s certainly Brooker Creek.
Rising from moist prairies and cypress domes to the northeast, Brooker Creek flows fifteen miles to Lake Tarpon, nourished by the waters of twelve feeder streams.
Method to Brooker CreekLike many Florida streams, it’s ephemeral, drying up when rainfall is minimal and surging when it pours.
Its higher reaches are protected by Brooker Creek Headwaters Protect close to Lutz, and you’ll stroll alongside its outflow to Lake Tarpon at John Chesnut Sr. Park.
Brooker CreekNear a 3rd of its watershed lies inside Brooker Creek Protect. Few of the paths intersect it. This one follows alongside it briefly.
In lower than a tenth of a mile, make a pointy left, ascending into the drier pine flatwoods.
Leaving the creekside strollCrimson blazes mark the furrowed, cushiony footpath winding between the noticed palmetto. A number of the slash pines are giants, their bases mounded in pine needles.
Curving previous Marker 8 on the bay timber, comply with a straightaway as much as Marker 9.
Among the many pinesThe understory opens up once more on the strategy to a second crossing of the equestrian path at 1.1 miles, laurel oaks and slash pines once more dominant.
Yaupon holly additionally grows right here, with vivid crimson berries amongst its shiny leaves.
Yaupon hollyMarker 12 factors out a gallberry shrub. Bluestem palm joins bay timber in sprouting in damp spots.
One other sharp flip at 1.4 miles brings the footpath close by of the preliminary ditch you paralleled.
Paralleling the south aspect of the ditchStroll close by of the ditch, wiggling previous clumps of noticed palmetto and cabbage palms among the many pines and oaks.
Inside a tenth of a mile, a curve results in the conclusion of the loop. Flip proper to exit.
Crossing the bridge over the ditch, return straight alongside the forest highway to the trailhead to finish this 1.9 mile hike.
Bridge over the ditchPath Map
Discover Extra!
Be taught extra about Brooker Creek Protect
Brooker Creek Protect The most important nature protect in Pinellas County, Brooker Creek Protect protects a mosaic of vanishing habitats whereas decoding their worth alongside 6.2 miles of trails.Video
Climbing the Brooker Creek Associates Path
Slideshow
See our pictures from the Brooker Creek Associates Path
Close by Adventures
John Chesnut Sr. Park Weaving via floodplain forests and cypress swamps, the boardwalks and trails of John Chesnut Sr. Park add a spot to pause for wildlife alongside a wild stretch of shoreline on Lake Tarpon.
Brooker Creek Headwaters With almost 4 miles of footpaths adjoining the paved Higher Tampa Bay Path, Brooker Creek Headwaters explores the rise of a waterway that nourishes Lake Tarpon.Path Map and Interpretive Information (PDF) Official Web site
Creator of over 40 books, Sandra Good friend established FloridaHikes.com in 2006 to develop on the sphere analysis she’d accomplished for her first six mountain climbing guides. She has been honored with lifetime achievement awards from the Florida Path Affiliation and the Florida Outside Writers Affiliation.
