This Trailwalker hike at Goethe State Forest has quite a few interesting features making it a great little day hike.
A short boardwalk makes easy for birders to sit along the edge of Buck Island Pond edge and scan activity to their heart’s content.
In the surrounding restored sandhill habitat, wildlife encounters are highly probable. And many of the trees are just plain huge.
Boardwalk along the pondResources
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.
Overview
Location: Dunnellon
Length: 2 mile loop
Trailhead: 29.18377,-82.574319
Address:
Fees: $2 per person day use
Restroom: At the nearby forest office along CR 337
Land manager: Florida Forest Service
Phone: 352-566-5225
Open sunrise to sunset. This is an interpretive trail with a keyed map. You might find one in the kiosk.
Directions
From Dunnellon, follow CR 40 west to CR 336. Turn right and drive 4.1 miles along CR 336. Turn right on CR 337, passing the Tidewater trailhead soon after the turn. Watch for the Buck Island Pond sign on the left after 4.7 miles. On the dirt road leading to the trailhead, take the right at the T intersection to continue to the parking area. From US 19 between Inglis and Gulf Hammock, take SR 121 north and turn right on CR 337, continue south 2.1 miles from that intersection to the trailhead on the right, not far past the forest office and the Apex trailhead.
Hike
From the kiosk at the parking area, follow the path downhill to the boardwalk. A lime-green blazed trail comes in from the right.
The boardwalk leads straight to the end of the pond, ending in a big observation deck with a picnic table.
Straightaway to the pondWalk back up the boardwalk and turn right to follow lime-green blazes clockwise around Buck Island Pond.
Pass a “no horses” sign. Beyond an enormous pine, drop into an oak hammock with scattered pines.
Among the pinesBeyond a stand of young slash pines, descend to parallel the fringe of the pond within a stand of cypress.
Meet a T intersection at 0.2 miles. Turn right to descend to the edge of the pond for another water-level view.
Along the edgeWalking back uphill beneath the gnarled limbs of sand live oaks, pass a twin-trunked slash pine with gallberry growing between its trunks.
Pines dominate this forest. Fallen needles drape over every branch and shrub, pine cones lie on the forest floor, and mounds of pine straw connect.
The pines are truly hugeOne massive slash pine rises above it all. Just beyond it is a sign: “Beware the Cypress Knees.” It made us laugh, since the knees are the tiniest of nubs.
But they protrude in the footpath, and are a trip hazard in one squeeze between the twinned trunks of a loblolly bay tree.
Pause to look up, so as not to tripTurn right to follow the edge of the pond’s floodplain. The ground is somewhat rough underfoot and can flood. Bigger cypress knees are off to the right.
Passing an oak tree with goldfoot fern and resurrection fern growing in its nearest crook, start uphill towards planted pines.
On the uphillWithin sight of a sand road at a half mile, drop towards the cypresses again. Reach the other side of the “Beware of Cypress Knees” zone at 0.6 miles.
Continue the twisting, winding path. Past Marker B, the Wood Duck Box, a spur trail leads through the saw palmetto to the edge of the pond.
Wood duck box at the pond’s edgeResume the clockwise loop. Just past a picnic table is Marker C, “Slash Pine Plantation.” Pass a tall clump of saw palmetto as the trail climbs into the sandhills.
Marker D is for the gopher turtle, although no burrow is obvious nearby. The footpath is more distinct on this side of the pond than it was at the beginning.
SandhillsAt a mile, there’s a sharp turn. A depression in the landscape could have been an old road. Transition into a healthier pine flatwoods.
A thick understory of saw palmetto edges the footpath. Marker E shows off older saw palmetto standing up on its roots.
Marker EPast an old road headed towards a cypress dome is Marker F, pointing out red-cockaded woodpecker and its need for mature longleaf pine.
Keep alert for these not-so-common birds. We spotted one in this section.
Among the longleafSnake through the thicket of saw palmetto to Marker G, about the turpentine industry. Watch for catfaced pines, carved into for the tapping of their sap.
Well defined, the trail cuts through dense saw palmetto. The forest floor is drier, hosting reindeer moss and low-bush blueberries beneath myrtle oak and rusty lyonia.
Dense saw palmettoAt 1.5 miles, descend towards the pond into a wet flatwoods, reaching the back side of a sign. It marks the junction of a shared portion of trail.
Continue straight as the trail widens to get everyone through the bayhead swamp.
Pine needles cover an old gravel road through this area, which adds just enough elevation to keep your feet from getting wet.
Choose wiselyA side trail at Marker H follows a short boardwalk to a seepage bog with a handful of hooded pitcher plants.
These carnivorous plants love the acidity of the pine needles and dampness of the wet flatwoods. Look for their blooms in late March or April.
Returning to the main loop, turn right, passing a clump of large saw palmetto. Continue through the wet flatwoods.
Marker H boardwalkAt a double blaze, the multi-use trail diverges at a sign, horses going straight ahead, hikers to the right. Turn right.
The footpath narrows greatly, the ground springy from pine needles. Coming face-to-face with a tall pine, turn right.
The footpath transitions to sand underfoot, the boardwalk up ahead. The trail turns left to parallel it uphill. Exit towards the parking area to complete the 2 mile loop.
A picnic area adjoins parkingTrail Map
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from the Buck Island Pond Trail
Nearby Adventures
Big Cypress Trail Deep in the heart of an ancient swamp, the Goethe Giant - one of Florida's largest cypress trees - stands tall at the end of a boardwalk in Goethe State Forest.
Watermelon Pond Preserve With more than 4,200 acres in this FWC Wildlife Environmental Area, Watermelon Pond Preserve offers both solitude and scenery along a vast system of prairie habitats.
Prices Scrub State Park Hidden amid the horse farms of northern Marion County, Price's Scrub State Park protects an island of biodiversity within the North Marion Greenway.
Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve Immerse in the beauty of an expansive coastal estuary at Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve in Yankeetown to take in the panoramic views.
- Hal Scott Yellow Trail - November 3, 2026
- Hal Scott Preserve - October 28, 2026
- Tradewinds Park - October 27, 2026