One of Seminole County’s nicest natural lands, Black Bear Wilderness Area offers some of the best birding and wildlife watching in the region
True to its name, it was a place to find bear scratches on trees, bear prints, bear scat … and Florida black bears themselves.
We saw this mother and cubs on our first visit as we were leaving, and another bear in the woods on our most recent visit. Hunting is not allowed in this preserve.
Read about our bear encounter at Black Bear Wilderness.
There are several options for hiking at Black Bear Wilderness:
1) The original round-trip to an overlook on the St. Johns River (2 miles).
2) The 7.1-mile Black Bear Wilderness Loop Trail. It follows a series of levees out to the St. Johns River and back around to the original route.
The trail is mostly in the shade and perched atop the levees, often high above the marshes, canals, and forests but sometimes right down at their level.
It is not an easy hike by any means: we’d rate it moderate to difficult, given the slippery steep grades in many places. A hiking stick is must.
This route requires a commitment to complete the entire loop. There are no shortcuts, although there is a primitive campsite halfway along the loop.
This is certainly one of Florida’s most beautiful hikes. We strongly suggest you follow the loop clockwise to enjoy the river breezes on your return trip.
3) A round-trip of whatever length you like to enjoy the views along the St. Johns River, best done by following the loop counterclockwise.
The terrain gets rough once you get past the overlook on the St. Johns, turning into a narrow footpath with steep dropoffs, very rooty and muddy in places.
Bring a hiking stick for balance. A good turn-around point is the new primitive campsite near the 3 mile mark, but you can turn around anywhere before that.
Explore More
Slideshow
See our slides of Black Bear Wilderness
Hiking Options
Black Bear Wilderness Loop Trail
Trot out your sense of adventure for an immersion into one of the wildest trails you’ll find near Orlando, the 7.1-mile loop in the Black Bear Wilderness Area in Sanford.
Black Bear Wilderness Walk
Discover the beauty of the St. Johns River floodplain along this 2 mile round-trip to the rivers edge in wildlife-rich Black Bear Wilderness Area
you have a great site and a great presentation of this wonderful piece of Florida nature. Sadly we local residents are fighting the very County Commission who created it from destroying it by allowing rampant development right up to its doorstep. We hope youll contact the Seminole County Commissioners and tell them to oppose high density close to the Preserve. We had a mom and cub killed on Orange Blvd late last year and Florida Fish & Wildlife are afraid the dense development close to the preserve will be detrimental to the future health of the bears. We need as many people speaking for the bears as possible. You can reach us at the contacts below. Thanks
I will contact my commissioners. Recently they tried to swap farm land for a wilderness area in Oviedo on Old Lockwood Road in order to develop it. Thankfully- some of the commissioners heard our voices and voted against this deal.
Are you allowed to bring your pet?
Because of the wildlife here it would be best not to. Seminole County generally does allow pets in natural areas but rules vary.
Apparently we need a permit to camp here. How would one acquire a permit?
Contact Seminole County Natural Lands at 407-665-2211 to arrange your free permit. Be sure to call on a weekday during business hours.
Hi. My wife and I plan on visiting the park on 28th May. Is there a cover charge to get in to the area? Where can we park our car? Also is the black beat encounter still on? Can we see bears? 🙂
There is no charge for this park. Parking is at the trailhead found at the coordinates provided. Will you see bears? Never guaranteed, but maybe. Enjoy your hike.
Beautifully put! This place was amazing and we saw a huge, fluffy, black bear right in front of us on the trail!