Following the historic route of Henry Flagler’s spur railroad from the Florida East Coast Railway to his lands in Chuluota, the southern portion of the Flagler Trail provides a sometimes rugged, sometimes gentle ride between Geneva and Chuluota through Geneva Wilderness and Little-Big Econ State Forest.
Overview
Location: Geneva to Chuluota
Length: 10 miles
Type: round-trip
Fees / Permits: free
Difficulty: difficult
Bug factor: low to moderate
Restroom: at Geneva Wilderness
Open dawn to dusk. Parking available at both ends of the trail.
Location
Geneva Wilderness trailhead: 28.709008,-81.123964
Flagler Trail South trailhead: 28.649841, -81.130184
Details
From the parking area at Geneva Wilderness, follow the narrow, twisting Yellow Trail to the Flagler Trail along the edge of the ponds and through soft sugar sand. The Flagler Trail continues into scrub forest with more sugar sand before you reach the hand-packed berm that was once the rail line. As you draw closer to the Econlockhatchee River, the old railbed is elevated over the river floodplain.
Crossing a broad bridge over the river – shared by equestrians and hikers on their respective trails – the Flagler Trail continues as a straight-line route towards Chuluota, deeply shaded beneath tall oaks and cabbage palms. In this section, the Florida Trail shares the route before turning off into the forest on the left. The trail’s terminus and your turn-around point is at the Flagler South Trail at Snow Hill Road.
Trail Map
Explore the Trail
Biking the Flagler Trail South - While biking the Flagler Trail from Geneva Wilderness to Snow Hill Road, John discovers a few useful lessons in being prepared for what can happen on a bike ride through the woods