10.3 miles. The Florida Trail east of Camel Lake is one of the most fascinating hikes in the Apalachicola National Forest.
The pine flatwoods and swamps are particularly beautiful, occasionally challenging, and enjoyable to traverse.
Broad vistas of towering longleaf pines yield to dark tunnels through gum swamps and leafy walls of titi, where carnivorous plants thrive.
Rolling sandhills cradle creeks and ponds. Showcasing such a variety of complementary habitats, this is one of the best hikes on the Florida Trail for botanical diversity.
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Overview
Location: Apalachicola National Forest
Length: 10.3 mile linear
Trailhead: 30.219030, -84.885719
Fees: Day use $5 at Camel Lake
Restroom: At Camel Lake
Land manager: US Forest Service
Phone: 850-643-2282
Cars can be left for multiple days for a fee (gates are locked at night) should you wish to use Camel Lake as a launch point for a hike across the Apalachicola National Forest southbound. Just check with the camp host before doing so.
Because it is so remote and the crossing is lengthy, Shuler Bay can be troublesome to cross if it’s flooded. Check the water gauge for the region in advance of your hike.
The Apalachicola National Forest is a popular destination for hunters. Hikers may only use designated campsites during deer season.
Check hunt dates as a part of your trip planning, and always wear bright orange clothing during hunting seasons.
Directions
Campground and day use recreation area, parking for Florida Trail access. $3 per vehicle per day.
Small trailhead corral at the ghost town of Vilas south of Telogia
This section of the Florida Trail lies 12 to 13 miles south of SR 20, west of Tallahassee, between Hosford and Bristol. From Capital Circle West, follow SR 20 for 28 miles to Hosford to reach CR 65. Go south for 3 miles to the crossroads at Telogia. Continue another 10.4 miles to the turnoff onto CR 120, a left turn just before the New River bridge. If you pass it and cross the bridge, you’ve gone too far. Less than a half mile along CR 120, an unpaved road, you’ll find the Vilas trailhead on the right hand side after the old railroad crossing. There is space for 3-4 cars.
For the western terminus of this hike, continue along SR 20 another 11.2 miles past Hosford to CR 12 south in Bristol, the last traffic light before the bridge over the Apalachicola River.Drive south 11.5 miles on CR 12, passing the Savannahs trailhead and the Apalachicola National Forest Work Center just before you see a sign for Camel Lake. Turn left onto FR 105 and drive 2 miles on this sometimes-bumpy unpaved road to the recreation area on the right.
Hike
Leaving Vilas trailhead, follow CR 120 west over the railroad tracks to SR 65. Look for purple pitcher plants blooming in the ditch on the right each April.
Use the crosswalk to cross SR 65, a high-speed two-lane highway. Turn left and cross New River on the highway bridge. Turn right onto FR 112 west.
Enter the forest at a stile at 0.8 mile. For the next mile the trail follows the ecotone where pine flatwoods meets titi swamp, jumping on and off forest roads to skirt around the titi.
The footpath gets squishy, then wet, then underwater as you enter the New River Swamp. Figure out a route between the roots and deep holes.
On the north side of the swamp, the habitat opens up into pine flatwoods but remains boggy underfoot. Look for carnivorous wildflowers like pitcher plants, butterwort, and sundew.
At 3.2 miles join FR 112-I to cross the Hostage Branch floodplain. Make a left into towering pine flatwoods beyond the bridge.
Losing elevation, the trail slips into the bogs along the ecotone before entering a titi tunnel. When you reach the first gum swamp, you’ve hit the eastern edge of Shuler Bay.
Expect to get soggy and muddy until you hit the first of three back-to-back boardwalks. Together, these plank boardwalks form the longest puncheon traverse of a swamp in Florida.
Crossing Bracel Branch at 4.7 miles, the last boardwalk ends soon after and the trail ascends into a majestic stand of longleaf pine.
A mile later, cross FR 112-L in the pines. Join FR 112-K where the corridor is squeezed between private property and a stream edged with titi swamp.
Make a 90-degree turn into the woods west at 6 miles, plunging through titi before rising into sandhills with turkey oaks and an open understory.
Pop out onto FR 108-D to cross a major intersection of forest roads. Look for the next blaze in the shade of an oak tree.
The trail continues through sandhills before arcing past a towering stand of loblolly bay trees in a basin below.
A colorful sign alerts you to the intersection with the Trail of Lakes at 6.9 miles. Cypress-lined Bonnet Pond and the Bonnet Pond campsite are just past the junction.
A mile later, circle around a large shallow sinkhole, grassy with pines in the middle, in the midst of the sandhills.
Reaching FR 105 at 8.5 miles, make a sharp left onto the forest road to cross Big Gully Creek. Watch for tricky blazing on the opposite side for the return to the sandhills.
Cross a number of two-track roads. At 9.4 miles a sudden plunge into a titi thicket leads, of course, to a swamp crossing, a stream in gum swamp bridged by a plank boardwalk.
Dropping out of the sandhills a half mile later, traverse a rare Atlantic white cedar swamp, nourished by seepage into a thick layer of spagnum moss.
Continue through the sandhills on the approach to Camel Lake, crossing several more two-track roads. An FNST sign announces the edge of the campground.
The trail circles the campground through the woods to the right and has a blue-blaze to the recreation area at 10.3 miles, the end of this hike.
Southbound / Northbound
Florida Trail, Jewel to Vilas 14.3 miles. Delving deep into the swampy heart of the Apalachicola National Forest, this section spans some of the gnarliest titi and gum swamps you'll see outside of Bradwell Bay.
Florida Trail, Camel Lake to Savannahs 5.3 miles. Wet feet are expected on this traverse of the pine savannas along the edges of Johnson Juniper Swamp in the Apalachicola National Forest.Suggested Articles
Plan your Florida Trail Hike Thinking of section hiking, thru-hiking, or simply backpacking the Florida Trail? Plan ahead with this step-by-step guide of what to do in advance of hiking the Florida Trail. 
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Learn more about the Apalachicola section of the Florida Trail
Florida Trail, Apalachicola In Florida’s largest national forest, this 78 mile segment of the Florida Trail through the Apalachicola means soggy feet and spectacular botanical diversity south of Tallahassee.Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
Nearby Adventures
More worth exploring nearby
Trail of Lakes Using a portion of the Florida Trail to make a loop, the 9.5 mile Trail of Lakes circles wildflower-filled pine flatwoods, sandhills, and titi swamps, connecting two backpacker campsites near Camel Lake.
Camel Lake Loop Explore robust sandhill habitats on a short loop hike around cypress-lined Camel Pond at Camel Lake Recreation Area in the Apalachicola National Forest. 
Wright Lake Trail At Wright Lake Recreation Area near Sumatra, a day hiking loop along the western edge of the Apalachicola National Forest features an unusual bridge and numerous pitcher plant bogs.
Tates Hell State Forest One of Florida's more enormous state forests with over 202,000 acres, Tate's Hell is a vast coastal swamp sliced and diced by timber barons before being preserved by the state.
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