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Palm fronds draping over trail

Hightower Trail System

Strongly influenced by nearby Tampa Bay, Terra Ceia Preserve State Park protects unique landscapes where marine and terrestrial ecosystems blend seamlessly.

Terra Ceia Preserve State Park   |  Bradenton
( 27.58083, -82.57266 )      4.1 miles

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Terra Ceia Preserve State Park protects 2,000 acres of coastline along Tampa Bay, rich in ecological diversity.

Mangroves, palms, oaks, and pine stand together alongside salt and freshwater marshes, attracting an array of wildlife.

The Hightower Trail System provides several different routes to follow. This moderately easy hiking loop showcases the variety of habitats within the preserve.

pine-palm flatwoods Trail through the pines


Resources

Resources for exploring the area

South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Palmetto
Length: 4.1 mile loop
Trailhead: 27.58083, -82.57266
Address: Hightower Rd, Palmetto, FL 34221
Fees: Free
Restrooms: None
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 941-723-4536

Open sunrise to sunset. Dogs are allowed on a leash.

Trail through palm hammock


Directions

 
From the intersection of SR 41 and Interstate 275, head south for 0.4 mile, turning right at 73rd St E. In 0.3 mile, make a slight right onto Bishop Harbor Rd and continue for another 0.3 mile before turning left onto 77th St E. Continue straight for 1.4 mile as the road changes to Terra Ceia Rd, making a slight right onto Hightower Rd. The trailhead is at the end of the road in half a mile.

Hike

From the trailhead gate, head north, keeping an eye out for a kiosk on the left.

The kiosk contains information about restoration, native and invasive species on the property, maps, and a note of current trail conditions.

Kiosk with map Kiosk for the Hightower Trail System


Initially, the path is a combination of the orange, white and blue trails. Continue northward along a service road bordered on each side by salty marshes.

Oaks, palmettos, and mangroves line the edges, occasionally leaving a gap that offers a glimpse of the surrounding wetlands.

Mangroves in brown water A mangrove marsh


Follow this avenue through increasingly lush jungle of cabbage palms for about a half mile, to the first main trail junction.

Turn right, starting a clockwise loop on the blue and white trails.

Cabbage palms flanking trail Cabbage palms along the trail


A freshwater pond becomes visible through tall grasses on the left, its outer edges covered in bright green aquatic vegetation.

The trail rounds the east side of this body of water, then another pond before opening to a small prairie.

Blue water of pond with grasses foreground A peek at the hidden pond


At the next blue and white marked post, turn left to follow a road through the middle of the prairie. This landscape is noticeably different.

It’s predominantly covered in tall gold and green grasses except for one scraggly little longleaf pine in the middle of the field.

Path through coastal prairie Lone pine in the prairie


At a mile, the white trail continues north, and the blue trail branches off.

If the trail conditions on the main kiosk indicated the trails were wet, the white trail northward may be under water.

This portion of the loop can be skipped by continuing the blue trail loop to the east.

Trail junction with markers Blue and white trail intersection


Follow the white trail towards the salt marshes at the north end of the park.

The path becomes a bit muddier as it leaves the prairie, passing between marshy landscapes lined by palms and pines.

Puddles in the trail A bit muddy along this stretch


Trail markers become scarcer towards the end of the road as the path opens to a grassy clearing.

Follow a trail to the right, through a tunnel of trees, revealing expansive tidal flats.

The ground is surprisingly solid, allowing easy exploration of the mangrove-bordered habitat.

Dark sand in tidal basin Tidal flats


From this point, head back south to the blue and white trail junction, turning left to continue the loop.

The path takes a short jog to the east, then south, skirting the prairie edges before returning to the woods.

Trail junction at blue marker Edge of the prairie


After a few twists and turns through columns of charred cabbage palms and over a small footbridge, the trail descends into a dense oak hammock.

Huge live oak branches covered in Spanish moss and resurrection ferns cast shadows over a thick understory of palmettos.

Blue trail marker in oak hammock Oak Hammock


Ample posts with blue blazes designate the path as it winds through a subtropical jungle, emerging on the other side into a clearing of pines.

Continue west for a quarter mile before turning left onto the main trail marked with orange, blue and white blazes.

Follow the road between salt marshes, returning to the parking area after another 0.2 mile.

Under the oaks on Hightower Trail Oak canopy along the trail


Trail Map

Terra Ceia Preserve State Park Trail Map
Red marks trails scouted

Explore More!

Learn more about Terra Ceia Preserve State Park

Mangroves in brownish water

Terra Ceia Preserve State Park

Home to many wading birds, Terra Ceia Preserve State Park is an aquatic preserve protecting the ragged northern shoreline of the island of Terra Ceia

Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Cabbage palms adjoining a trail

Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve

Directly across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, two loop trails in Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve navigate restored wetlands and a lookout point known as Mount Cockroach.

Emerson Point Preserve

Emerson Point Preserve

Where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico near Bradenton, Emerson Point Preserve protects the Portavent Mound, one of Florida’s most ancient temple mounds

Robinson Preserve

Robinson Preserve

Farmland turned back to mangrove marshes: that’s Robinson Preserve, with more than 4 miles of hiking on shell and wild pathways along Tampa Bay at Bradenton.

De Soto National Memorial

De Soto National Memorial

Commemorating the landing of Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto, De Soto National Memorial is a significant archaeological site where the Manatee River flows into Tampa Bay.

Preserve Map (PDF) Trail Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: Biking, Day Hikes, Hikes, Loop Hikes, Off Road Biking, Southwest Florida, TrailsTag: Birding, Bradenton, Dog-friendly, Fishing, Florida State Parks, Mangroves, St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay, Wildlife Viewing

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