Protecting 845 acres of the whitest, brightest sand on the Lake Wales Ridge, Lake June-in-Winter Scrub Preserve State Park has one of the highest concentrations of rare and endemic plants in North America. A pristine snapshot of Florida’s scrub, the land is an ancient sand dune. A short nature trail follows Tomoka Run, a fern lined waterway {crosslink}, but the delights of the scrub are along the larger trail system starting near the entrance gate. Look for diminutive trees like scrub hickory (Carya floridana), pygmy fringe tree (Chionanthus pygmaeus), and scrub plum (Prunus geniculata), and clusters of sand squares (Paronychia rugelii) against the blinding white sand. It’s easy to spend the day here, photographing or sketching nature’s bounty, but bring plenty of water—it’s as close to a desert as you’ll find in Florida.
Resources
Overview
Location: Lake Placid
Length: 3.3 mile trail system
Lat-Long: 27.296503, -81.424316
Type: Loop and round-trip
Fees / Permits: State park entrance fee, self-pay
Good for: wildlife, botanical wonders
Difficulty: easy
Bug factor: low to moderate
Restroom: privy
Watch for poison ivy along the trail.
Directions
From US 27 north of downtown Lake Placid, follow CR 621 west for 5 miles to Daffodil Road. Turn left and follow Daffodil Road until it ends. The park entrance is on the left. Drive down to the parking area to hike the nature trail, or park at the entrance gate to hike the main trail system.
Hike
The Bobcat, Eagle, and Deer Trails start at the park entrance near a sign that says “South Boundary 1 mile.” The blazes follow old jeep roads through the blinding white sand of the Lake Wales Ridge. This is truly Florida’s desert, so take lots of water – although you will splash through Tomoka Run a little ways down the trail.
The beauty of the Lake Wales Ridge is in its diversity of plant life. Keep alert for the many scrub plants you see along the hike. Some are large and obvious, like the aromatic silk bay tree, the scrub hickory, and the pygmy fringe tree, which fills the air with its fragrant blossoms each spring. Some are small and precious, like scrub mint, pinweed, and the clusters of sand squares growing out of the blinding white sand.
You meet the Eagle Trail after 0.4 mile. Keep going straight. The trail veers away from the fence line into mature scrubby flatwoods and meets the Deer Trail at 0.8 mile. Turn left into the open scrub. You’ll see sign of deer here, including tracks and scrapes. The junction with the Eagle Trail (your return loop) is at 1.3 miles. Keep going.
The trail passes an eagle nest in a tall slash pine and ends at the group campsite, from which you can see the lake and the city of Lake Placid on the far shore. Take a break here, then turn around to return to the Eagle Trail. Follow it back to the Bobcat Trail, keeping left at the T. Turn right on the Bobcat Trail to return to the trailhead.