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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Climb on the Florida Trail

Florida Trail, Ross Prairie to SW 49th Ave

6.5 miles. With hilly terrain to traverse past fern-covered boulders and large sinkholes beneath the pines, this is a rugged and interesting segment of the Florida Trail on the Cross Florida Greenway.

Florida Trail, Western Corridor  |  Cross Florida Greenway
( 29.038717, -82.295367 )      6.5 miles

As a protected corridor south of Ocala, this section of the Florida Trail on the Cross Florida Greenway offers delights you just can’t imagine from the roads that bisect it.

It may look like your typical forest of scrubby-looking turkey oaks, but once you get inside it, what a surprise.

Florida Trail steep descent Shangri-La
A steep descent along the trail near Shangri-La

The digging that occurred in the 1930s to create the Cross Florida Barge Canal brought some mighty big rocks to the surface, big enough they rival glacial erratic boulders you’ll find in the North Woods.

Draped in ferns and mosses, shot through with solution holes and teetering along depressions and sinkholes, they’re both botanically and geological intriguing.

Rugged terrain adds to the fun of hiking through these shady forests with their hidden boulders.


Resources

Florida Trail Hikes book cover The Florida Trail Guide book cover Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover Florida Trail history book
Full details on this hike, including a trail map, are in our full-color guidebook Florida Trail Hikes.

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.

 
Guthook GuidesGuthook Guides GPS-driven map-based guide to the Florida National Scenic Trail with thousands of waypoints from The Florida Trail Guide. Works offline. For iPhone and Android.


Overview

Location: Ocala
Length: 6.5 miles linear
Trailhead: 29.038717, -82.295367
Fees: Free
Restroom: at both trailheads
Land manager: Cross Florida Greenway
Phone: 352-236-7143

Multiple times, the trail crosses a paved bike path where you need to watch out for cyclists whizzing past. It shares the paved bike path as it goes under CR 484 and SW 49th Ave through the underpasses. The blue-blazed trail from the trailhead to the Florida Trail is also open to cyclists. Be cautious, since it is very narrow and they can come around curves quickly.

If you are backpacking and plan to camp en route, please contact the Cross Florida Greenway for a free permit. Florida Trail members do not need a permit to camp along the Cross Florida Greenway if carrying their Florida Trail membership card, but in this urban corridor, it’s safer if you check in and let them know your camping plans.

There is one designated campsite along this section, just west of the connector to Ross Prairie trailhead. Camping is also available in a developed campground at Ross Prairie trailhead as well as in the woods nearby. Check with the camp host for details. This section has two access points to the lesser-used and quieter Shangri-La Campground, which makes a good base camp for the area.


Directions

 
Ross Prairie Trailhead: From Interstate 75 Belleview/Dunnellon Exit 324, head west on CR 484 for 9 miles. Turn left onto SR 200. Drive 1.6 miles south, crossing Ross Prairie before turning in at the trailhead. Follow the entrance road back to the parking area closest to the restrooms.
 
SW 49th Ave Trailhead: From Interstate 75 Belleview/Dunnellon Exit 324, head west on CR 484 for 2.3 miles. Turn right on Marion Oaks Course at the traffic light. Follow it 0.8 miles as it curves and becomes Marion Oaks Trail. Turn right onto SW 49th Ave and continue 0.4 mile to the trailhead on the right.

Hike

From the Ross Prairie trailhead parking area, walk to the fence line corner beyond the restrooms. That gap in the fence is where the blue-blazed connector trail around Ross Prairie starts.

Part of the Ross Prairie Loop, it winds through a nicely shaded oak forest, popping out into the sun twice to cross arms of the prairie.

After 1.1 miles, you reach a junction with the orange-blazed Florida Trail. Turn right. The next half mile is spent in the bottom of the old canal, with hills sweeping up on both sides.

At Spring Park, the equestrian campsite has a picnic table and a large clearing under the pines. The spring itself is in a deep sinkhole and has been dry for years. It’s still interesting to look down into it.

Spring Park
Sinkhole spring at Spring Park campsite

Backtrack to the orange blazes and keep heading compass east. As evidenced by the spring, limestone karst is close to the surface here. You walk by boulders half-hidden by pine duff.

The trail crosses a natural bridge across a line of sinkholes that likely delineate an underground stream. More massive boulders are strewn about, cloaked in mosses and ferns.

Climbing up and out of the diggings, the trail emerges under the shade of live oaks to meet an equestrian path. Off to your left you can see CR 484. Join the equestrian trail to get down the hill to the underpass.

On the opposite side of the highway, there is a confusion of trails. Look for the orange blazes and markers leading left off the paved path and into the open sandhills.

The limestone service road you cross at 3.3 miles leads 0.9 miles east to the Shangri-La Campground and trailhead.

Crossing the paved bike path, the trail climbs uphill onto another set of diggings. More boulders are scattered. The landscape drops off around a horseshoe curve on the right. A 0.9-mile blue-blazed trail on the right also leads to the Shangri-La trailhead.

Fern-topped boulder along the Florida Trail
Fern-topped boulder along the Florida Trail

It’s hard to believe this sort of terrain exists in Ocala, but that’s the legacy of the Cross Florida Barge Canal project, a plan to cut Florida in two to speed up shipping between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

Fortunately, the project was permanently stopped in 1969 and the land turned over to the State of Florida nearly two decades later.

It’s why we now have the Florida Trail and paralleling bike and equestrian trails stretching from Dunnellon to Ocala and beyond.

Rising up into sandhills and scrub, the trail crosses the paved bike path two more times amid open rolling hills with scattered hammocks of live oaks.

Florida Trail SW 49th Ave underpass
The SW 49th Ave underpass is shared with cyclists and equestrians

Meeting the bike path again as the trail clambers down to the underpass beneath SW 49th Ave, it diverges from it on the other side. Keep left.

When you see the sign that points out the blue blaze to the SW 49th Ave trailhead, turn here. Follow the blue blazes across the paved path and uphill through the sand pines to the trailhead to wrap up a 6.5-mile hike.

NORTHBOUND: SW 49th Ave to Land Bridge Trailhead
SOUTHBOUND: Pruitt to Ross Prairie


Explore More

Slideshow

Our slides from hiking the Florida Trail, Ross Prairie to SW 49th Ave


Cross Florida Greenway History

Entrance to the Land Bridge from Land Bridge Trailhead

Cross Florida Greenway History | The Land Bridge

Cross Florida Greenway History | The Land Bridge

Cross Florida Greenway History | Finding a Route

Cross Florida Greenway History | Finding a Route
Land Bridge ribbon cutting

Cross Florida Greenway History | Bridge to the Future

Cross Florida Greenway History | Bridge to the Future

Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

A marshy area on Ross Prairie

Ross Prairie Loop

3.5 miles. Circling the largest prairie ecosystem on the Cross Florida Greenway, the Ross Prairie Loop showcases massive oaks and panoramic views

Florida Trail Pruitt switchback

Florida Trail, Pruitt to Ross Prairie

7.5 miles. With switchbacks, scrambles, and ancient oaks, the Pruitt section of the Florida Trail along the Cross Florida Greenway offers a fascinating hike into the history of the Cross Florida Ship Canal

Florida Trail near Land Bridge trailhead

Florida Trail, SW 49th to Land Bridge Trailhead

3.6 miles. Bookended by soft sand pines and ancient oaks, this particularly fascinating hike along the Cross Florida Greenway includes a massive dune-like slope and the Land Bridge over Interstate 75.

Florida Trail, Land Bridge to Santos

Florida Trail, Land Bridge Trailhead to Santos

6.7 miles. Between the Land Bridge Trailhead and Santos, the Florida Trail winds its way around horse farms to meander through stands of oaks and pines.

Holly Hammock Hiking Trail

Holly Hammock Hiking Trail

A 2.4 mile loop showing off the habitat diversity of Ross Prairie State Forest, this easy hike provides scenic panoramas across the prairie on a mostly shaded trail.

Along the Azalea Trail headed towards the Labyrinth

Sholom Park

Meditative walking: that’s what’s expected at Sholom Park, a private sanctuary in Ocala that opens its gates daily for the public to enjoy meandering trails through its well-manicured 45 acres.


Reserve a Campsite

Ross Prairie Shangri-La


Official Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: Backpacking, Central Florida, Day Hikes, Florida Trail, Hikes, TrailsTag: Cross Florida Greenway, Dog-friendly, Dunnellon, Favorites, Florida State Parks, Florida Trail, FT Cross Florida Greenway, FT Western Corridor, Hilly, Ocala, Primitive Camping, Sinkholes, Wildflowers, Wildlife Viewing

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Our Florida Trail Books

The Florida Trail Guide

The Florida Trail GuideThe comprehensive mile-by-mile guidebook to planning section and thru-hikes along the entire length of the Florida Trail. 356 pages, $19.95 + tax and shipping.

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Florida Trail Hikes

Florida Trail HikesFifty of the best day hikes, overnights, and weekend trips on the Florida Trail, plus nine of the best section hikes. Full hike descriptions and maps, full color. 376 pages. $24.95 + tax and shipping.

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Discovering the Florida Trail

Florida Trail mini coffee table book cover of trail into palm hammock
Our virtual walk along the length of the Florida Trail, covering more than 1,500 miles from the Everglades to Pensacola Beach. Hardcover, 196 pages. $24.95 + tax and shipping.

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The Florida Trail

Florida Trail large coffee table book cover of trail down swamp causeway under ancient pines

Our history of the first 50 years of the Florida Trail, from its founding in 1966 to becoming a National Scenic Trail to volunteer efforts today.

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The Florida Trail App

Comprehensive logistics and offline maps all in one: The Florida Trail Guide is now also an interactive map-based mile-by-mile app by Guthook Guides.

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Florida Trail Updates


Get periodic recaps of changes to the Florida Trail, which we accumulate between editions of our guidebook. Find all official Trail Closures & Notices here.

Hiking the Florida Trail

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Florida Trail by Section

Porter Lake, Apalachicola National Forest

Florida Trail, Apalachicola

Florida Trail, Apalachicola
Florida Trail Big Bend view

Florida Trail, Big Bend

Florida Trail, Big Bend
Florida Trail Big Cypress

Florida Trail, Big Cypress

Florida Trail, Big Cypress

Florida Trail, Blackwater

Florida Trail, Blackwater
Florida Trail Nokuse

Florida Trail, Central Panhandle

Florida Trail, Central Panhandle
Eglin Weaver Creek

Florida Trail, Eglin

Florida Trail, Eglin
Florida Trail Kissimmee

Florida Trail, Kissimmee

Florida Trail, Kissimmee
Florida Trail at Rice Creek

Florida Trail, Northeast Florida

Florida Trail, Northeast Florida
Juniper Prairie Wilderness

Florida Trail, Ocala

Florida Trail, Ocala
Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail

Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail

Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail
Florida Trail, Okeechobee

Florida Trail, Okeechobee

Florida Trail, Okeechobee
Florida Trail at Forever Florida

Florida Trail, Orlando

Florida Trail, Orlando
Florida Trail Seashore Dunes

Florida Trail, Seashore

Florida Trail, Seashore
Florida Trail along a canal south of Clewiston

Florida Trail, Seminole

Florida Trail, Seminole
No Name Creek

Florida Trail, Suwannee

Florida Trail, Suwannee
Cypress Lakes Preserve

Florida Trail, Western Corridor

Florida Trail, Western Corridor

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