Hiking Buster Island Loop

Comprised of wet prairies, pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, and scrub, Buster Island in Lake Kissimmee State Park is indeed an island.

It is surrounded by three lakes – Lake Kissimmee, Lake Rosalie, and Tiger Lake – and the waterways that connect them.

The Buster Island Loop loops through a succession of varied habitats along the Lake Wales Ridge, making this a particularly interesting hike.

The beauty of Buster Island, however, lies in its old-growth live oak hammocks, where orchids and ferns peep from the thick branches above.

The primitive campsite beneath the oaks is a favorite destination for backpackers in Central Florida, especially for families just starting out backpacking.

Grassy seep along the Buster Island Loop

Resources

Our resources for exploring the area. A full writeup of this hike and others in this park can be found in 50 Hikes in Central Florida

Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover

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: Lake Wales
Length: 6.9 mile loop
Trailhead: 27.9401, -81.3586
Address: 14248 Camp Mack Rd, Lake Wales
Fees: $4-5 per vehicle
Restroom: At the marina trailhead
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 863-696-1112

Open 8 AM to sunset. Hours may change due to current events, check ahead. Leashed pets welcome but are not permitted overnight at the backpacking campsite.

Your campsite must be reserved in advance. Call ahead or check at the ranger station for availability. Allow yourself two hours before sunset to get there.

Carry plenty of water when day hiking. Backpackers must supply their own drinking water and pack out all trash.

Wildlife is abundant, so bring a camera and keep well away from alligators. Free-range cattle are along this trail. Use caution when approaching or passing them.

Directions

From the junction of US 27 and SR 60 in Lake Wales, head east on SR 60 for 9.7 miles to Boy Scout Camp Road. Turn left and drive 3.5 miles to Camp Mack Road. Turn right, following this road 5.4 miles to the park entrance on the right. After you enter through the ranger station, the park road twists and winds through the oak hammocks that dominate the North Loop. Continue along the park road past the campground and the turnoff to the Cow Camp, reaching the parking area next to the marina. All trails can be accessed here. Please sign in at the kiosk before you hike. You must let the ranger at the front gate know if you plan to backpack to the campsite.

Hike

To get to the loop, you must hike a connector trail from the marina parking area. Follow the beaten path from that parking lot west, paralleling the Zipprer Canal.

The large kiosk near the park road is the starting point for three trails. The Buster Island Loop route is blazed white, but the connector to it is blazed blue.

White blazes start at this kiosk near the marina

After the yellow blazes of the North Loop peel off, the blue blazes lead you to and across the bridge over the Zipprer Canal.

Once you’ve crossed the bridge, you’re on the island. Blazes lead up a forest road into the woods, passing a side road to the 1876 Cow Camp.

The Zipprer Canal connects Lake Rosalie with Lake Kissimmee

It’s the living history aspect of Lake Kissimmee State Park, open only on weekends. It provides a look at what life was like on the Florida range for cow hunters.

After a half mile, the blue blazes end at the sign for the beginning of the white-blazed loop trail. Turn right into the pine flatwoods to walk this loop counterclockwise.

Start of the Buster Island Loop

Look out into the open forest and start counting the deer. You’re sure to startle some as you cross their trails.

More than two miles in, you see open scrub. Thickets with loblolly bay and yaupon holly indicate that the edge of this area is usually damp.

Pine trees and path between saw palmetto

Pine flatwoods on Buster Island

As the trail enters the scrubby flatwoods, it becomes a distinct pine-needle footpath edged by grass.

At 3.5 miles, the trail enters the oak hammock. Butterfly orchids dangle overhead, catching your eye during their summer blooming season.

Pass this clump of ancient saw palmetto along the way to the campsite

Skirting a large flatwoods pond, the trail meets the sign for the primitive campsite. It has two picnic tables and several fire rings, but no water.

It’s a great place to stop and take a lunch break halfway through the hike.

In an oak hammock along the loop

Leaving the campsite, walk beneath a spectacular canopy of live oaks, the prairie visible in the distance.

The trail leaves the shade of the live oaks and heads straight into a patch of scrub, part of the Lake Wales Ridge.

A deer along the trail

After 6.1 miles, the trail enters the vast prairie at the heart of Buster Island to cross it.

To the left, you can see the sweep of treeline in the distance, the route through the oak hammock and pine flatwoods you just walked.

Reach the beginning of the white trail loop at 6.5 miles. Turn right, retracing your steps back to the parking area along the blue-blazed trail.

A scrub cow on Buster Island

Trail Map

Trail map for Buster Island Loop

Explore More!

Learn more about Lake Kissimmee State Park and its trails

Lake Kissimmee State Park

Discover the beauty of the land between the lakes east of Lake Wales while exploring the vast prairies and fern-laden hammocks of Lake Kissimmee State Park

North Loop

Crossing the Lake Kissimmee State Park park drive multiple times, the 6.8-mile North Loop is the easiest trail to access within the park, offering excellent birding

Gobbler Ridge Trail

From its showy start with a climb up an observation tower to its breezy loop along Lake Kissimmee, the Gobbler Ridge Trail offers scenic views all along its length

Flatwoods Pond Trail

The sole interpretive trail at Lake Kissimmee State Park, the Flatwoods Pond Trail shows off habitats and history in a short loop not far from the campground