Hiking Nice Wander Trail

Having been present for the ribbon cutting of the Nice Wander Trail, it’s a delight to know that this loop along the Florida Trail remains a popular destination for birders.

In 2006, it was touted as an accessible-with-assistance natural surface trail, but the firm-packed base it was built on has not stood the test of time.

On our last hike here, marshy spots, sandy spots, and deadfall meant that only the part of the trail on FR 208, a graded road, might remain accessible with assistance.

However, immersion in the longleaf pine forest — especially to see a nesting colony of red-cockaded woodpeckers — continues to make this a compelling day hike.

This graded surface along FR 208 provides one half of the loop

Resources

Resources for exploring the area

North Florida Panhandle Explorers Guide book cover

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Overview

Location: Olustee
Length: 1.7 mile loop
Trailhead: 30.212617, -82.389083
Address: Battlefield Trail Road, Sanderson
Fees: Free
Restroom: At state park visitor center
Land Manager: Osceola Ranger District
Phone: 386-752-2577

Open daily sunrise to sunset. No entrance fee except during special events at Olustee Battlefield.

Leashed dogs welcome. Foot travel only. Wear blaze orange during hunting season. Bring bug spray, sunscreen, and plenty of water.

Primitive camping is allowed in Osceola National Forest. Random camping is allowed except during deer hunting season. Bear bags or canisters must be used at all times.

Directions

From Interstate 10 west from Jacksonville, use exit 324 at Sanderson to follow US 90 west for 5.5 miles to the entrance to Olustee Battlefield. From Interstate 75 exit 427, Lake City, drive 18.6 miles east on US 90 to the state park entrance. After you cross the railroad tracks, the trailhead is immediately to your left.

Hike

Start your hike by crossing a short bridge to the trailhead kiosk. Follow the blue blazes past the fire tower at Olustee Battlefield and the picnic grounds.

Beyond the picnic grounds is a historic cemetery between the forest and US 90, a resting place that adjoins the old railroad line that the highway parallels.

Trailhead kiosk at the Olustee trailhead

Control of that rail line railroad tracks brought two armies together at this spot in 1864 in Florida’s largest Civil War battle.

Blue blazes meet orange where the Florida Trail makes its own arc past the cemetery as it comes in from the west and boomerangs northwest.

White and orange blazes on longleaf pine in forest — The Nice Wander Loop is blazed white along its length.

Join the orange and white blazes down the footpath into the longleaf pine forest. The understory is very open with only scattered patches of saw palmetto.

As the forest becomes denser, listen closely, and you can hear the tap of woodpeckers on pine trunks.

In the longleaf pine forest

After 0.4 mile, the trail reaches an intersection with a two-track road and the Loop A sign, which points to the return route to the left.

Only take that if you’re looking for the shortest possible loop of 0.8 mile. Otherwise continue straight ahead along the orange and white blazes.

Crossover junction at the Loop A sign

Watch for the white-banded pines. These are the ones where the red-cockaded woodpeckers live, and you’re most likely to see them active at dawn.

This endangered species only nests in old-growth longleaf, and many of these banded trees are more than a century old.

Red-cockaded woodpecker on a foggy morning

After a half mile, look up into the trees to see the sap dripping down the sides of the pines from the nest hole, looking much like candle wax.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers do this to protect the entrance to their nests from predators such as rat snakes.

The “candle wax” effect on a pine in this forest

Loop B turns off to the right. Continue straight. You can see a break in the trees to the left where a there is a seasonal marsh.

In this part of the pine forest, low spots that stay damp host clusters of carnivorous plants, including the very showy hooded pitcher plant.

Speckled leaves and blossoms of pitcher plants

Hooded pitcher plant along the Nice Wander Trail

After 0.8 mile, the trail ascends a gently sloping boardwalk through a wet area. There are two benches on a platform here, a nice place for a break.

Past the platform, the trail emerges through saw palmetto out to a forest road, FR 208. It’s here that the orange and white blazes part ways.

Platform near the north end of the loop

To the left, the orange blazes of the Florida Trail lead northbound towards the Cobb Hunt Camp and Ocean Pond Campground, which is 4.9 miles north.

Following the white blazes, the Nice Wander Trail turns to the right onto FR 208.

Orange blaze and paper map on tree near forest road

This double blaze marks where the Florida Trail continues north and the white blazes of the Nice Wander Loop turn south back towards the trailhead

Being on a forest road, the return walk is pretty straightforward and mostly in the sun. You meet the Loop B crossover at 1.1 miles, and the the Loop A crossover at 1.3 miles.

Passing some old cattle pens, you complete the Nice Wander Loop after 1.6 miles, meeting the blue blazes again.