At Hickory Point Recreation Park, it’s not the hickories that impress, but the cypress. The park is largely a recreational facility with plenty of lakefront on Lake Harris.
Its hiking trail is a somewhat hidden feature. Beginning near the Hickory Point Pavilion, it features a boardwalk through a floodplain forest with moss-draped ancient cypresses.
In the cypress swamp at Hickory PointResources
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Overview
Location: Tavares
Length: 1.4 miles
Trailhead: 28.74431, -81.76911
Address: 27341 SR 19, Tavares
Fees: Free
Restroom: Near the trailhead
Land Manager: Lake County Water Authority
Phone: 352-324-6141
Since it’s an important launch point for Lake Harris, the park is open 24 hours with leashed dogs permitted.
Best walked during daylight hours, the boardwalk has a lot of twists and turns. No dogs or bicycles, please.
Directions
From the junction of SR 19 and US 441 in Tavares, follow SR 19 south 5.3 miles to the park entrance on the right immediately before the Lake Harris Bridge.
Hike
Given its distance from parking areas for non-boaters, finding the start of the trail is a trick.
Aim for the enormous Hickory Point Pavilion, which sits along the waterfront in the vicinity of the pier, adjoining a playground and beach volleyball area
Walk past the pier into Lake HarrisFollow the sidewalk behind the building, passing the access to the pier, towards the restrooms. Circle around them.
On their opposite side, the sidewalk leads to the boardwalk. It begins 0.2 mile from the main parking area.
Sidewalk to the boardwalkA broad walkway with railings, the boardwalk turns towards the shoreline of Lake Harris, curving through an panorama of the lake from an observation deck.
Becoming a straightaway, it makes a series of right-angle turns with peeks out towards the lake.
Lake HarrisAs it delves deeper into a slender strip of floodplain forest on the lake’s rim, surrounding cypresses become more impressive in height.
A bumpout contains a bench for a pause among the grand trees. Look over the railing, too.
Entering the showy cypress strandCypress knees rise from the floodplain swamp, surrounded by a symphony of textures among marsh ferns, royal ferns, and giant leather ferns.
In the canopy above, heavy draperies of Spanish moss wave in the constant breeze.
Bridge in the boardwalkCross a bridge within the boardwalk before a stretch through tall columns of cypress trunks.
Islands of cypress knees host dahoon holly among a puzzle of dark swamp coated in water spangles.
Islands in the swampPast the next bumpout before a zigzag through the swamp, bay trees adding a touch of green overhead in winter.
After another bumpout, take a side spur of the boardwalk to a bench below a true giant of this forest. At 0.4 mile, this cypress appears to have two trunks fused together.
Among the giant cypressesThe boardwalk jogs beneath more impressively sized cypress, their fluted trunks adjoining the railings. Another double-trunked cypress scrapes the sky.
Turning sharply right past one last bench, the boardwalk ends at a half mile at a T with a footpath and a signpost. Make a left to continue onto the Extended Trail.
Approaching the junction with the orange grove roadCrossing a broad footbridge, amble into the sunshine to a road into what is presently an orange grove but we suspect will become a subdivision.
Sticking with the Extended Trail, walk straight ahead to parallel a cypress swamp in a deep swale.
Footbridge past the trail junctionCross a footbridge over a fern-lined trickle of a channel. This loop follows the edge of the cypress swamp.
Floodplain forest crowds the opposite side of the footpath, sizable bay trees and red maples towering overhead.
The upper end of the cypress swampAfter the next bridge, the pathway curves with the end of the swamp, revealing a new subdivision crowding the park’s perimeter.
Swing inward to the opposite side of the swamp to begin the return trip. Still sticking close to the swamp, this pathway is broader. Gaining elevation, it meets the road to the orange grove.
Junction with a return route we decided againstHere’s where we sampled the route ahead; it sticks close to maintenance sheds. For a more scenic return, turn right to cross the causeway over the swamp.
Make a left at the clearing to return across the footbridge to the boardwalk, reaching it at 0.9 mile.
The final decision point on your return routeOnce again, there are choices as to the return route. At this point, the return distance is equal.
The “Short Cut” straight ahead dumps out onto treeline for a walk around the beach volleyball courts.
The Short Cut only spends a little time in the woodsFor a more scenic return route, turn right and enjoy the majestic cypresses along the boardwalk once more, as well as the observation deck on Lake Harris.
Walk back to your parking spot the way you approached the boardwalk to complete a 1.4 mile hike.
Passing by the Hickory Point PavilionTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking Hickory Point Park
Slideshow
See our photos from Hickory Point Park
Nearby Adventures
Sarah Maude Mason Nature Preserve Explore a floodplain forest along Little Lake Harris along a 1.4 mile hike on boardwalk to an observation tower and a pathway along its edge.
Palm Island Park Pairing an accessible stroll along the shoreline of Lake Dora with the fascination of following twisty trails beneath ancient trees, Palm Island Park is a Mount Dora must
Clay Island Trail Expect plenty of birds in the marshes where farms are being restored to wetlands along a segment of the Lake Apopka Loop Trail with its own series of cross trails. 
Green Mountain Overlook and Trail At Green Mountain Scenic Overlook, take in a sweeping panorama of Lake Apopka from the highest elevations in Central Florida and hike Florida's longest set of trail switchbacks.
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