North Loop and Gobbler Ridge Trails

North Loop Trail — Hiking through a lush oak hammock on the North Loop

Most visitors to Lake Kissimmee State Park never see the lake. Certainly, they see the marina, and the Zipprer Canal that connects Lake Rosalie and Lake Kissimmee. Alligators sun on the canal banks, and you can hear airboats buzzing in the distance. But even from the very top of the observation tower, Lake Kissimmee is a mystery, off in the distance beyond a vast swath of prairie.

The lesser-used North Loop of Lake Kissimmee State Park (the popular Buster Island Loop being the other one), provides access to the Gobbler Ridge Trail, which stretches through open scrub to bring you to the shores of Lake Kissimmee. It also provides better opportunities for wildlife sightings, from box turtles to plentiful deer, rare caracara and Florida scrub-jays, and even wild turkeys out on the ridge.

See our overview of all of the hiking trails

Resources

Overview

Location: Lake Wales
Length: 8.7 miles
Lat-Long: 27.943847, -81.354761
Type: loop
Fees / Permits: state park entrance fee
Difficulty: easy to moderate
Bug factor: low to moderate
Restroom: Yes, near trailhead

If you want to backpack in to the campsite, be sure to first register at the ranger station.

Directions

From the junction of US 27 and SR 60 in Lake Wales, head east on FL 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

Like the Buster Island Loop, the North Loop starts near the 1876 Cow Camp. From the marina parking lot, follow the blue blazes through the oak hammock to the Cow Camp road. Cross the road to reach the white-blazed loop after 0.4 mile. Turn left. Entering a tall stand of pines, the trail makes its way to where you see prairie between the trees off to the left. A mirror image of the Buster Island Loop, the first portion of this trail parallels the north edge of the same open prairie. Pines and palmettos yield to an oak hammock, where a damp fur of resurrection fern covers the sprawling limbs of live oaks. Butterfly orchids grow along the thick branches of the oaks.

After you pass a flatwoods pond, the trail reaches the sign for the Fallen Oak Campsite at 1.9 miles. Turn right to check out the primitive campsite, 0.1 mile down a blue-blazed trail. The campsite is high and dry under the live oaks, with picnic tables and two fire rings. It’s similar to the campsite on the Buster Island loop (no water) but more lightly used.

Reaching the edge of the park, the trail makes a hard turn at the fence line and heads out through a hammock of sand live oak before it enters the open scrubby flatwoods. After you cross the park entrance road, a stark but compelling landscape of dense, low saw palmetto and scattered longleaf pines goes on for the next half mile, broken only by small circular wet prairies and one tiny oak hammock.

Keep alert for scrub-jays and caracara, as well as rufous-sided towhees that poke through the underbrush. At 3.2 miles, you reach an old snag catfaced for turpentining, hung with the traditional clay cups and, more untraditionally, the skull of a scrub cow.

After 4 miles of hiking, the forest becomes denser, turning to pine flatwoods that offer well-appreciated shade. Crossing the park road again, you enter a hammock of pines and oaks. Squeezed between the park road and the prairie, this narrow strip of hammock contains both the trail you’re on and the trail you’ve been on, not more than a hundred feet apart in places. Be very cautious about stepping off the footpath, as you might end up stepping back on to the wrong white-blazed trail segment!

At 5.7 miles, you reach the trail junction for the connector to the Gobbler Ridge Trail. Continue straight, following the blue blazes on this spur trail out to Lake Kissimmee. The footpath is well worn in the blinding white sand. The “ridge” is only a few inches high, but high enough to keep the sweeping prairie off to the left at bay.

North Loop Trail junction — Connector trail from North Loop to Gobbler Ridge Trail

Reaching the junction with the lime green-blazed Gobbler Ridge Trail after a bench, continue straight ahead, passing its loop junction at 6.7 miles, to get to the shores of Lake Kissimmee. If the shoreline has been mowed you can make a loop along it as shown on the map, enjoying the views. Be cautious of alligators basking along the shore.

From the end of the loop return to the cross-trail junction and turn left to follow the Gobbler Ridge Trail along the edge of the prairie back to the main picnic area and observation tower. It’s a short walk from there to the parking area by the marina to wrap up an 8.7-mile loop.