This has been a busy year so far for our trail assessments. Since January, we’ve visited parks across much of the Florida peninsula from Fort Lauderdale to Live Oak.
Our most recent trip was a revisit to Charlotte, Manatee, and Sarasota counties soon after a trip to Broward, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie counties.
In general, we’re pleased to see that most of the worst of the remaining damage is to tree cover. Hurricanes are effective pruners of forest canopies, stripping oaks of their smaller limbs.
Damage to infrastructure was worst along the Gulf Coast. Both Milton and Helene pushed some serious sand and water ashore, burying coastal roads and trails.
New passes were cut in the barrier islands at Manasota Key and Honeymoon Island, breaking apart two state parks. Toppled trees were left in the wake of Helene, with the region along the Suwannee and Aucilla Rivers taking the worst of it.
Milton threw a lot of salt spray into the coastal pine flatwoods between Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay, killing both young and old-growth pines in coastal preserves.
Fortunately, the majority of closures are over. Many parks with hurricane damage have finally reopened with partial closures to trails, boardwalks, and infrastructure damaged and not yet rebuilt.
Here are closures we are aware of as of March 2025.
Closures due to hurricane damage
- Big Shoals State Park, White Springs: Woodpecker Trail and Long Branch Trail.
- Blind Pass Park (Duisberg Trail), Manasota Key.
- Caladesi Island State Park, barrier island protecting Clearwater Harbor.
- Caspersen Beach Park, Venice. Projected reopening 2027.
- Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park, Naples: Nature Trail.
- De Soto National Memorial, Bradenton: All trails now open but visitor center damaged and closed. No restrooms.
- Don Pedro Island State Park, Don Pedro Island.
- Emerson Point Preserve, Palmetto: Nature Center and restrooms closed (portable toilets provided). Dock closed. Work underway to repair bridge and observation decks on Terra Ceia Trail.
- Fort Island Beach, Crystal River: reopened with new sand on the beach but no plans to replace the bathhouse or picnic pavilions. Portable toilets and a food truck are on site.
- Fanny Bay Trail, Osceola National Forest.
- Gary Maidhof Walk to Nature, Crystal River.
- Hillsborough River State Park, Tampa: portions of the trail system along the river.
- Holton Creek River Camp on the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail and Florida Trail.
- Lemon Bay Environmental Park, Englewood.
- Myakka River State Park, Sarasota: Severe damage to the Bird Walk and damage to the Canopy Walk had both closed when we visited in December 2024.
- Pine Island Beach at the west end of SR 50, Hernando Beach, remains closed.
- Secret Woods Nature Center, Fort Lauderdale: An ongoing rebuild of Manatee Observation Deck has cut the boardwalk loop along New River into two round trips. There is no start date yet for a revamp of the damaged nature center complex. A temporary visitor center and restrooms are now between the parking areas.
- Stump Pass Beach State Park, Manasota Key.
- Tippecanoe Environmental Park, Port Charlotte: Park open but closures of broken boardwalks on both the center and perimeter trails mean backtracking with no warning until you reach the closures.
- Turtle Beach Park, Siesta Key: Park is open, campground remains closed.
Additional closures
- Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve: New section open. Rebuild of original section underway.
- Florida Trail, Little Big Econ State Forest, Oviedo: temporary closure of Barr Street trailhead for paving. Will be complete by mid-April.
- Jelks Preserve, Venice: entrance blocked by widening of River Rd.
- Kirby Storter Boardwalk, Big Cypress National Preserve: destroyed by fire.
- Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk, Everglades National Park: rebuild underway.
- Pensacola Bay Bluffs Park, Pensacola: seeking funding for rebuild.
- Perdido Key Discovery Trail, Gulf Islands National Seashore: rebuild underway.
If you are aware of additional park or trail closures, or one of the above has reopened, please contact us with details. Thank you!
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026