Florida Trail, Dunnellon

Envisioned as a connector to join the Cross Florida Greenway and the Withlacoochee State Trail together to benefit the route of the statewide Florida Trail, the paved 2.5-mile Dunnellon Trail crosses the cypress-lined banks of the Withlacoochee River on a massive bridge with great views.

Resources

Overview

Directions

Hike

The pavement starts at CR 39, but your hike starts at the trailhead kiosk with a map of the route. Flanked by a dense forest of oaks in climax sandhill habitat, the trail curves along a former railroad route with a broad grassy berm.

Shade begins in earnest as the trail enters the floodplain forest of the Withlacoochee River. The big bridge over the Withlacoochee River fills the horizon ahead.

Reaching the bridge after 0.8 mile, enjoy the views from the top. Observation platforms provide a place from which to watch birds, boaters, and alligators along this cypress-lined waterway.

The far side of the bridge has a bench cleverly built into it. Walk through the deep shade of the floodplain forest for the next half mile, admiring the cypress swamps.

Access points on both sides of the path are for residents of a small community. On the left, you start seeing glimpses of the Rainbow River. While you can’t see its confluence with the Withlacoochee, it’s beyond the dense swampy forest.

At 1.3 miles, the trail curves past a bench and a paved path. That path to the left leads to Blue Run Park and the city of Dunnellon.

Backpackers wanting to access services in town – Dunnellon makes a good zero day stop – can do so via sidewalks by following this connector a quarter mile to CR 484.

Cross over paved San Jose Blvd. The trail makes a sharp turn to the right to leave the powerline easement for a short jog through an oak hammock.

After passing ballfields on the left, this paved section ends at the trailhead on Bridges Rd. There is usually a portalet in place but no water. If you need water, walk over to the ballfields to find a spigot.

Trail Map

Explore More

Slideshow

Our slides from the Dunnellon Trail

Nearby Outdoor Destinations

Other nearby trails and parks you may enjoy

Florida Trail, Pruitt to Ross Prairie

Scrambling up and over the historic diggings of the failed Cross Florida Barge Canal, the Florida Trail between Pruitt trailhead and Ross Prairie tunnels through dense hardwoods

Johnson Pond Trail

Just south of the Withlacoochee River lies the Two Mile Prairie Tract of Withlacoochee State Forest, where the Johnson Pond Trail provides a walk through sandhills and oak scrub, touching on prairies along its 2.7-mile loop.

Rainbow Springs State Park

A place of beauty that morphed from phosphate pits to botanical attraction over the course of a century, Rainbow Springs State Park cradles one of Florida’s most beautiful first-magnitude springs and the river it creates in a wrap of shady forests and gardens.

Oxbow Trail

With two loops along an oxbow in the Withlacoochee River, the Oxbow Trail is the northernmost trail in Withlacoochee State Forest and a scenic short walk.