Located on the eastern side of Everglades National Park, Long Pine Key showcases rare South Florida upland habitats.
Situated on a limestone outcropping known as the Miami Rock Ridge, the pine rocklands found here once stretched from the Everglades to North Miami.
Much of the trail follows forest roads through the rocklandsVery few examples of this unique ecosystem remain outside of the National Park today. They shelter rare flora and fauna, including colorful liguus tree snails.
The Long Pine Key Nature Trail has signage indicating its route. Several unmarked paths interconnect with the main trail, providing a variety of ways to explore the area.
Liguus snails in a tropical hammockTo hike the length of the main trail, a vehicle can be staged at one end for a 5.9 mile one way trek. Or plan a round-trip of up to 11.8 miles.
The Long Pine Key Nature Trail is open to hiking and biking, although the narrative below uses a portion of the Three-in-One Trail, which is designated for hiking only.
Approaching the edge of a sawgrass prairieAt the Three-in-One Trail trailhead, a half mile hiking loop circles back through a tropical hammock to the lakeshore of the picnic area by the trailhead.
To bike the trail, start at the roadside trailhead northeast of the day use parking area.
Bromeliads in the tropical hammockResources
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Overview
Location: Everglades National Park
Length: 5.9 miles linear
Trailhead: 25.400611, -80.658833
Address: Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park, Homestead
Fees: $35 for 7 day pass for Everglades National Park
Restrooms: At the trailhead
Land manager: National Park Service
Phone: 305 242-7700
No pets allowed. Avoid touching plants you don’t know; poisonwood grows in the tropical hammocks along this trail.
Directions
From the intersection of Palm Dr and US 1 in Florida City south of Homestead, head west on W Palm Dr for 1.6 miles before turning left onto SW 192 Ave. In 2 miles turn left onto Ingraham Hwy. Continue for 6 miles to the entrance station. Stay straight on the main park road for 4 miles, then turn left at the sign for Long Pine Key. Continue for 1.5 miles to a parking area at the end of the road, next to the Three-In-One Hiking Trail trailhead.
Hike
Although the Long Pine Key Nature Trail technically begins along the entrance road to the campground and day use area, parking is limited to the shoulder.
The Three-in-One trailhead is a much nicer point to start the hike. Near the parking area, a handful of picnic tables sit in a grassy clearing.
They have views of a placid lake and the Long Pine Key campground on the opposite shore.
Picnic area near the trailheadLook for a tall rectangular sign for the Three-in-One trail across from the picnic area to begin the hike.
It follows a narrow corridor lined with saw palmettos, marlberry, and wild tamarind trees.
In less than 0.1 mile, the trail enters the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Wilderness, denoted by a post marking the boundary.
Dense forest at the wilderness boundaryAt 0.2 mile, the trail emerges from the forest at the edge of a broad sawgrass prairie. A well-trodden path leads across this seasonal wetland.
It intersects with the Long Pine Key Nature Trail on the other side. Turn left to follow an elevated roadbed as it enters pine rocklands habitat.
Sawgrass prairieIn this upland forest community, slash pines dot an open landscape covered in grasses, low lying shrubs and colorful wildflowers.
Buttery yellow coreopsis and violet tinted glade lobelias border the trail alongside marsh pinks and various milkweeds.
Pine rocklandsThe route crosses another sawgrass prairie at 1.1 miles, where limestone begins to become more evident on the surface.
Craggy formations pitted with solution holes jut out from the forest floor, some of which hold water with aquatic vegetation and small fish.
Exposed limestoneReaching an intersection of pathways at 2.3 miles, turn right at a sign indicating the direction of the nature trail.
The wide, grassy corridor continues through familiar landscapes along a 1.7 mile straight stretch before curving westward at the next trail sign.
Trail signNearing the 5.7 mile mark, the route skirts along the edge of a marshy area where the road has potential to hold water even in the drier season.
Passing around a metal gate in a quarter mile, the trail ends with a scenic view of Pine Glades Lake.
Jump into your second vehicle here to call it a hike, or retrace the route back to the Three-in-One trailhead for an 11.8 mile round-trip.
Pine Glades LakeTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park In 1.5 million acres across South Florida, Everglades National Park has outdoor experiences from accessible boardwalks and paved trails to rugged adventures in harsh wilderness.Video
Hiking the Long Pine Key Nature Trail
Slideshow
See our photos from Long Pine Key
Nearby Adventures
Pinelands Trail The Pinelands Trail is a showcase for South Florida’s weird and wonderful karst, a limestone bedrock that’s full of Swiss-cheese like holes, in a tropical forest where colorful tree snails make their home.
Pinelands Ecotone Unnamed, un-blazed, and wild, on an old jeep road, the Pinelands Ecotone is an extraordinary hike between two rare habitats – pine rocklands and sawgrass prairies.
Mahogany Hammock Trail Mahogany Hammock is a tree island, a tropical oasis in the Everglades “river of grass,” where the short boardwalk trail immerses you in the jungle-like hammock.
Snake Bight / Rowdy Bend The Snake Bight Trail in Everglades National Park leads you a wild place where tropical forests meet the mangrove shorelines of Florida Bay, where crocodiles cruise the saline shallows and mosquitoes thicken the air.
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