Surrounded by farmland south of the Ocala Nationwide Forest, Sawgrass Island Protect protects over 1,100 acres, together with a big marsh that drains into Lake Yale.
The property has been managed by the Lake County Water Authority since 1994, and steps have been taken to return swaths of previous agricultural land to a extra pure state.
Mountain climbing by a hardwood hammockTwo giant trailheads are situated on the western aspect of the protect, and a smaller entry level is to the east on the finish of Julia Blvd.
A sequence of interconnected trails hyperlink collectively, showcasing quite a lot of communities as they wrap round wetlands on the middle.
Tucked right into a shady oak hammock, a pair of primitive backpacking websites are alongside the route.
Primitive campsiteAssets
Overview
Location: UmatillaLength: 7.7 milesTrailhead: 28.952972, -81.756417Address: Sawgrass Island Rd, UmatillaFees: FreeRestrooms: NoneLand supervisor: Lake County Water AuthorityPhone: 352-343-3777
Open 8 AM to sundown. No pets allowed.
Primitive backpacking websites can be found, name prematurely for allow.
Instructions
Hike
Beginning on the trailhead kiosk, make sure to sign up and seize a map earlier than heading by the gate and turning proper to observe crimson blazes alongside a sandy highway.
Stay oaks draped with Spanish moss lean over the path because it follows a straight path southward.
Trailhead kioskThe pathway traces alongside dense forests close to the underside of a slope that transitions to former pastureland.
Options of sandhill habitat embrace clusters of wiregrass, garberia, and an occasional turkey oak.
Close to the mile mark, sand pines start to dot the panorama because it takes on extra components of a scrub group.
Sandhill restoration spaceThe path curves again to the north at 1.7 miles, following the property line behind neighboring homes in some sections.
Reaching the south trailhead, keep outdoors of the gate and search for a faint path resulting in the left of a small pond to stay on the primary loop.
Returning to the north trailhead at 3.5 miles, observe orange blazes eastward on the Sawgrass Causeway Path, crossing a pair of bridges with views of the marsh past thick foliage.
Bridge close to the sawgrass marshOn the subsequent junction, flip left as inexperienced blazes paved the way alongside the Bent Pine Path.
Nearing 5 miles, the trail passes a well-placed bench overlooking a picturesque pond earlier than getting into a former pine tree farm.
Bench overlooking prairie pondKeep to the left on the subsequent couple of intersections, following white blazes previous the east trailhead and reaching the purple blazed Hammock Path at 5.5 miles.
This appropriately-named turns to wind by a jungle of noticed palmetto below a cover of giant oak and magnolia timber.
Hammock PathBecause the path hooks again north, it passes two effectively maintained campsites, one to the proper, and one other to the left in just a few hundred ft.
At 6.4 miles, flip left onto the blue-blazed Lavatory Button Path, the place the little white namesake flowers sprout alongside the trail’s edges.
Returning to the Sawgrass Causeway Path, flip left, following the highway for 0.7 mile again to the trailhead.
Lush understory progressPath Map
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Video
Mountain climbing Sawgrass Island Protect
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Path Map (PDF) Official Web site
