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.
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.
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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, please contact the Cross Florida Greenway for a free camping permit. There are designated campsites just west of the connector to Ross Prairie trailhead and one just east of SW 49th Ave trailhead.
Florida Trail Association members, carry your membership card in lieu of a permit. Either way, check in to let them know you’re out here.
Camping is also available in developed campgrounds at Ross Prairie trailhead and the lesser-used and quieter Shangri-La Campground, which makes a good base camp for the area.
Directions
29.040913, -82.201004
29.038717, -82.295367
29.048199, -82.288598
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.
Backtrack to the orange blazes and keep heading compass east. As evidenced by the spring, limestone karst is close to the surface here. 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.
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.
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
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, 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.Suggested Articles
Florida Trail Backpacking Backpackers will appreciate the many places the Florida Trail provides a pleasant overnight, three-day-weekend, or multi-day hiking experience to escape to the outdoors.
Cross Florida Greenway History: Bridge to the Future The history of the Cross Florida Greenway's birth and the building the Land Bridge - and the Florida Trail - across this new stretch of public land in Central Florida in 1999.
Cross Florida Greenway History: Finding a Route A visit to the Barge Canal Diggings near I-75 after 13 years of the Florida Trail on the Cross Florida Greenway reveals steady changes over the years, shown in a series of photos.
Cross Florida Greenway History: The Land Bridge A landmark along Interstate 75 near Ocala, the Land Bridge remains one of the more popular destinations for hikers, bikers, and equestrians on the Cross Florida Greenway. Explore More!
Learn more about the Cross Florida Greenway section of the Florida Trail
Florida Trail, Cross Florida Greenway 43.8 miles. A prime destination for backpacking and day hiking south of Ocala, the Florida Trail follows the Cross Florida Greenway between the Withlacoochee and Ocklawaha Rivers.Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
Nearby Adventures
Cross Florida Greenway Multiuse Path Over fifteen miles long, this linear paved path along the Cross Florida Greenway connects Santos to Ross Prairie with direct access from several trailheads.
Ross Prairie Loop Circling the largest prairie ecosystem on the Cross Florida Greenway, the 3.5 mile Ross Prairie Loop showcases massive oaks and panoramic views.
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.
Sholom Park Privately owned, Sholom Park in Ocala is a place for meditative walking among gardens and a labyrinth along meandering trails through its well-manicured 45 acres.Official Map (PDF) Interactive App Reserve a Campsite Official Website
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