Hiking

From the Gulf of Mexico coastline, riversides, and lakeshores to environmentally sensitive and deeply forested, a third of Hernando County land is devoted to outdoor recreation. Leave the roads behind and find fun on trails, in recreation areas, and in vast natural spaces away from it all. View nature, soothe your soul, get outside. 

Step outside onto our numerous hiking trails and view landscapes from hilly to coastal plains. Walk among longleaf pines and cypress knees. Miles of paved trails trace the relatively flat terrain of former train tracks and nearby highways. Other trails include the challenging topography of Brooksville Ridge and its rolling hills. There is something for every trails enthusiast with many miles of scenery to explore year-round in Nature’s Place to Play.

A great place for hiking enthusiasts, Cypress Lake Preserve offers 600’of frontage on the Withlacoochee River where you can enjoy the peace and tranquility of the walking and hiking trails. A 1.7 mile portion of the Florida Trail runs through this protected area, one of Hernando County’s Environmentally Sensitive Public Lands, which is home to a variety of uncommon wildflowers and uncommonly large cypress trees.

The Chinsegut Big Pine Tract  features a 1.25-mile loop weaving through towering old-growth longleaf pines, aptly named the Longleaf Loop, with several short side trails to explore. Keep a lookout for Red-headed or Pileated woodpeckers tapping away high in the pines and the white flag of a deer’s tail as it bounds away into the brush. A 2-mile Prairie to Pines connector trail joins the Nature Center and Big Pine Tracts.

The Croom Loop Trails offer hilly walking through deeply forested ravines on the northern section, gently rolling sandhills to the south, and low-lying floodplain forests along the river. Named one of the “10 Coolest Places You’ve Never Been in North America” by the World Wildlife Fund, Withlacoochee State Forest is a haven for the outdoor enthusiast.

The Weekiwachee Preserve offers a rich mosaic of habitats including several miles of Weeki Wachee River frontage, portions of the Mud River, dense hardwood swamps, freshwater and saltwater marshes, and pine-covered sandhills. The Preserve is home to variety of birds and wildlife, including the elusive Florida Black Bear.