Black Hammock is a bit of Old Florida still clinging to the old ways along the shores of Lake Jesup.
Despite the crush of ever-expanding subdivisions nearby, folks still grow celery and strawberries and ride their horses down dirt roads.
Old sand roads crisscross part of the preserveIt’s a delightful place to visit, and the trail showcases what’s best about Black Hammock—the lush upland hammock, dense with bromeliads and ancient cabbage palms.
It also leads into a vast upland along the St. Johns River, including pond pine forests and scrub reminiscent of those found in the parks of the Wekiva River basin.
Walk a little and just enjoy the boardwalk and hammock, or go for the mileage— it’s a linear trail with a loop at the end.
Cabbage palms tower along the boardwalkResources
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.
Overview
Location: Oviedo
Length: 4.5 mile lollipop loop
Trailhead: 28.699408, -81.159226
Address: 3276 Howard Ave, Oviedo
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land manager: Seminole County
Phone: 407-665-2211
Opens at sunrise. You must leave the parking lot before sunset or they’ll lock you in.
Leashed dogs welcome. Equestrians and bicyclists permitted; please follow marked routes. Boardwalks can be slippery when wet.
Directions
From SR 417 exit 44, follow SR 434 towards Oviedo. After 1 mile, turn left at the Black Hammock sign on the curve onto Deleon Street. Continue down Deleon Street to where it ends at a T. Turn right onto Howard Street. Follow it for 3 miles until it ends. Please drive slowly, as there may be equestrians or children on the road. Be respectful of private property along the road. Park only in the parking corral at the trailhead.
Hike
From the parking area, the trail enters a beautiful, bright open scrub habitat with glistening sand and diminutive shrubs.
Stop and sign in at the kiosk, which has information about the trail and maps to take with you.
Trailhead kioskContinue down the crunchy seashell path through the scrub. Saw palmetto lines the trail, and behind them, there are loblolly bay—an interesting interface of dry and wet habitats.
The habitat quickly transitions into an oak hammock approaching the boardwalk. It’s dedicated to a resident who fought to preserve Black Hammock’s rural heritage.
Start of the boardwalkIf you can do no more, simply hiking the boardwalk is worth the visit. It’s narrow and long, tunneling through the woods.
A few feet above the floodplain forest, it is shaded by tall spindly cabbage palms as well as lower canopies of palms.
Boardwalk among palmsMarvel at the tall trees, but take the time to peer over the railing, too, to see the thickets of ferns.
At a quarter mile, the boardwalk ends at an island with tree roots in the footpath, a hardwood hammock with needle palms in the understory.
Colorful flora in the leaf litterColorful fungi peeps out from fallen logs. Follow the footpath to the next boardwalk, bromeliads overhead making the limbs of the oaks fuzzy.
Tall cedars and loblolly pine intersperse with cabbage palms and sweetgum trees. High humidity nourishes the riot of vegetation.
Hardwood hammock at end of boardwalkThe second boardwalk drops you into a forest dense with southern magnolias. Blue and silver markers mark the distinct path.
At nearly a mile, cross a bridge over an ephemeral creek that drains towards Lake Jesup. The trail rises into pine forest.
Pine flatwoodsAt a T intersection turn right to follow a forest road through a very open area edged by pond pine.
These pines are particularly distinctive as their its needles emerge out of the trunk as well as at the end of limbs.
Pond pine with trail markerAt the fork, turn left, following the arrow. The sand gets soft underfoot. There is little to no shade. Shiny lyonia sports magenta blooms in springtime.
At 1.4 miles, reach a trail junction. Continue straight. Pennyroyal grows in nice beds around the trail. Reach a bridge over an ephemeral waterway and a bench thereafter.
PennyroyalUnless you really, really love walking in soft sand to explore scrub habitat, turn around here for a 2.8 mile round-trip.
Immediately after the bench is a trail junction, the start of a 2.5 mile loop back to this point.
Loop junctionStill going? Continue straight ahead into a pine forest with a very dense understory. In a few moments, reach the beginning of the loop, which is well marked. Continue straight.
Keep an eye on the arrows, since this scrub is criss-crossed with firebreaks and alternative trails where you can get lost if you don’t carefully stay to the main route.
Denser pine flatwoodsLoblolly bay grows on both sides. The trail goes through an area that gets seasonally wet.
A little elevation gain and you’re into the scrub, with Chapman and myrtle oak growing in the bright white sand.
Scouting for birdsAfter a prairie with tall chalky bluestem in hues of wheat, there is a bench at 2.1 miles.
Turn right and continue into the sand pine scrub. It looks like good Florida scrub-jay habitat, with scrub oaks and lyonia.
Blooms on shiny lyoniaAt the T intersection, turn left. It’s soft sand, roughed up by horses, and difficult to walk in.
Climbing uphill, you can see houses in the distance to the right. At the bench, the trail turns left to start back along the loop.
Bench with unexpected potteryTurn right at the next fork, and the trail drops back into the pond pine flatwoods, thankfully out of the sugar-soft sand. Keep going straight ahead at the next trail junction.
Coming up around a corner framed by young pond pines, meet a bench at 2.6 miles, and just beyond, a pond pine with serious curves in its trunk.
A “witches broom” on a pine beyond the oaksPines close in more thickly and the walls of saw palmetto rise taller as the trail continues its moderate descent.
At the unmarked fork in the trail, turn left and look for an arrow on a pine tree, a confirmation blaze.
Marked junctionAt the next intersection, which comes up suddenly, it isn’t obvious you’ve completed the loop. Turn right to see the back side of the sign points to “Entrance.”
Return along the route that brought you here: over the bridge past the bench, through a right at the next trail junction and then a left. Keep watching for the arrows.
Bench and bridgeA 3.4 miles is a pine with a deep scar, a catface, indicating its historic use for turpentine tapping.
Amble out of the pines into the shady hammock with its magnolias, and back across the boardwalks to finish this 4.5 mile hike.
Following the boardwalk back to the entranceTrail Map
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from Black Hammock Wilderness
Nearby Adventures
Lake Jesup East Tract Savor the bird's-eye view of one of the largest lakes in the Orlando metro from a tall observation tower along this 2.1-mile loop hike in Oviedo
Florida Trail, Little Big Econ State Forest One of the most beautiful hikes near Orlando is rugged, too: the Florida Trail atop bluffs above the Econlockhatchee River through Little-Big Econ State Forest.
Little-Big Econ Kolokee Loop Tieing together the Florida Trail, the Kolokee Trail, and the Flagler Trail, the 5.6-mile Kolokee Loop in Little Big Econ State Forest shows off the best facets of the its humid subtropical forest.
Econlockhatchee River Paddling Trail Along a blackwater river surrounded by dense subtropical forest, the Econlockhatchee River Paddling Trail offers a remarkable perspective of Florida landscapes from the water. 
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026