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Palm fronds along a footpath

Little-Big Econ Kolokee Loop

Tieing together the Florida Trail, the Kolokee Trail, and the Flagler Trail, the 5.6-mile Kolokee Loop in Little Big Econ State Forest shows off the best facets of the its humid subtropical forest.

Little Big Econ State Forest  |  Oviedo
( 28.687403, -81.159278 )      5.6 miles

493 shares

One of the most scenic places to hike in the Orlando metro, Little-Big Econ State Forest offers a day hike loop best accessed from the Barr Street trailhead.

Named the Kolokee Loop after a turn-of-the-century railroad town along the Florida East Coast Railway, it’s along the Florida Trail and includes three trails.

Palm tunnel Tunnel of palms along the Kolokee Trail


Rugged and rooty in many places, the hike includes high bluffs and bridges, campsites along the route, and several benches for stops to savor the views.

Enormous alligators sun on river banks and in the swamps below the trail. Keep alert for raccoons in the trees and flocks of songbirds winging through.

Flagler Trail sign and tree tunnel Straightaway section on the Flagler Trail


It takes a 1.1 mile hike on the Florida Trail to the white-blazed Kolokee Trail, a 1.2 mile connector to the Flagler Trail.

Following the Flagler Trail a half mile to the Econlockhatchee River, you catch the Florida Trail’s most scenic piece along the river bluffs and river swamps back to your starting point.

View of river from bluffs River view along the Florida Trail


Resources

Resources for exploring the area

Florida Trail Hikes book cover The Florida Trail Guide book cover Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in Central Florida 5 Star Trails Orlando 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: Oviedo
Length: 5.6 mile balloon loop
Trailhead: 28.687403, -81.159278
Fees: $3 parking at Barr Street trailhead
Restroom: None
Land manager: Florida Forestry Service
Phone: 407-971-3500

Leashed dogs welcome. Insect repellent a must. Primitive campsites available at West Camp, must be reserved in advance.

The short portion of the loop that utilizes the Flagler Trail (from the east end of the Kolokee Trail to the Econlockhatchee River bridge) is multi-use.

An problem along this route is unauthorized equestrian use, obvious from holes knocked through bridge decks on footbridges not meant to carry the weight of a horse. Use caution.

Swamp with alligator sunning

Check ahead regards flood conditions along the Econlockhatchee River. At flood stage, this trail is unsafe to hike.


Directions

 
From downtown Oviedo, follow Geneva Dr (CR 426) east towards Geneva. The trailhead is on the right not long after you pass Lockwood Blvd.

Hike

Starting at the Barr Street trailhead, follow the white blazes through a dense, humid hammock of cabbage palms and large live oaks festooned in resurrection fern.

Watch your footing, as it’s rooty underfoot. You reach the orange blazes of the Florida Trail after 0.2 mile. Turn left.

trail junction with bridge Junction of trails at Salt Creek


Cross the bridge over Salt Creek. The trail turns right and parallels the creek as it flows down to the Econlockhatchee River, ducking in and out of tunnels of shade before it reaches benches on the bluff.

West Camp starts to the left, paralleling the forest road, with the group campsite #1 nearest. Walk past the sign and look for the turnoff towards the river bluff.

Bluff above river with bench Bluff looking towards Salt Creek confluence


Follow the Florida Trail along the bluff, where it offers views of the river between screens of vegetation. A memorial bench perches at one scenic point.

The trail turns towards the forest road again, rejoining it. Pass Sites 2 and 3, and a side channel flowing into the river that serves as a water source.

Campsite under pines Site 2 at West Camp


The trail leaves the forest road for the narrow footpath through the oaks, pines, and hickories along the bluffs, the river only visible down little social paths to the bluffs.

Beyond the LE-30 sign at 0.8 mile, the trail leaves West Camp and the pine forest for the lush humid hardwood forest that makes up most of the rest of this hike.

Footbridge in forest First footbridge past West Camp


Passing what remains of the crossed palms in the ditch, you come up to the first in a series of many footbridges in this section. Many show age or damage, or both. Watch for holes in the flooring.

The trail becomes a sandy path in the hardwood forest, reaching the white-blazed Kolokee Trail at the LE3-32 sign at 1.1 mile. Turn left.

LE-32 white sign and wooden sign Trail junction with the Kolokee Trail


Cedars and oaks dominate the canopy, with the softly draped fronds of bluestem palm in the understory. Low spots cradle tannic waters.

During fall and winter, sweetgum and red maple sport autumn colors through the sparse forest canopy to the left, revealing floodplain swamps where cabbage palms thrive.

hint of fall color in forest A hint of fall color in the floodplain


In a quarter mile, the trail reaches a collection of benches just before a bridge over a deep but narrow waterway. Oaks tower on higher ground, with more palm hammocks beyond.

The humidity created by the river and these floodplain swamps covers the tree limbs above in a soft fur of bromeliads.

benches and bridge Benches and a bridge beyond


The forest gets denser, closer, a tunnel in places, with palm fronds grazing you as you hike. Dark water creeps up to the edge of a low bridge along a cypress slough.

A floodplain is up ahead, with the start of a two-plank boardwalk evident. Follow it around the treed swamp and it leads to higher ground, the habitat transitioning to pine flatwoods.

bridge adjoining cypress knees Low bridge and cypress knees


Pass the LE-34 sign before the trail reaches the next bridge at 1.9 miles, a strudy short one built as an Eagle Scout project. Beyond it, the habitat becomes palm hammock.

Palms yield to pines. A paralleling forest road, a designated equestrian trail, is obvious to the left. The footpath may get mucky here. Pass under low-hanging oak limbs.

Palm hammock Beautiful palm hammock two miles along the hike


The next bridge is narrow and older. Not far beyond it, you see light up ahead, the habitat changing to sandhill.

At 2.4 miles, the white-blazed Kolokee Trail ends at a prominent intersection with the Flagler Trail. Two shaded benches flank the corners. Turn right at the Mile 6.5 marker.

pair of covered benches Covered benches where trails meet


Built as a spur off the Flagler Railroad over a century ago, the railbed sits above the surrounding floodplain swamps.

Pass a white-blazed turnoff on the left, a separate trail leading to forest headquarters.

The straightaway is deeply shaded and surprisingly brief. It ends above another bowl of swamp, the trail itself jogging to the left through a depression.

Oxbow pond Oxbow pond near the Econlockhatchee River


Cross a sturdy bridge and follow the footpath down to the right, between the old wooden piers of the railroad. The trail jogs left.

Dead ahead is another broad bridge, this one over the Econlockhatchee River itself. You meet the Florida Trail’s orange blazes here at 2.9 miles.

River and old bridge piers Old trestle piers along the Econlockhatchee River


After taking in the river views from the bridge, backtrack and follow the orange blazes along the river bluffs past a bench. You cross a narrow bridge over a tributary soon after.

Oaks tower in this lush forest. The trail slips around a swamp covered in duckweed before passing the LE-40 sign, meandering into palm hammocks soon after.

lush forest Sunlight filters through the forest


One incredibly tall loblolly pine should catch your attention, between the girth of the blazed trunk and how it towers above the rest of the forest.

The trail edges to the river bluffs, with views through palm fronds and pine needles, before it reaches a bridge at the LE-41 sign at 3.4 miles.

River view past palms River view from the bluffs


Heading to the bluffs soon after, it affords both panoramas and a spot to scramble to a small beach where a live oak stretches far out over the water.

A sharp curve in the trail soon after provides a look at a curve in the river, where we saw alligators of enormous proportions sunning on the sandy shores below.

River through screen of palms and bromeliads Peeking at the river through palms and bromeliads


The trail makes a hard jog away from the river on bluffs above a vast bowl of swamp. Here, too, are massive alligators, fortunately well below the footpath.

Eventually the trail drops to water level, but it climbs quickly again, with sweeping views of the green-coated swamp. Turtles sun on logs.

river swamp with big alligator A huge alligator suns along the swamp’s edge


Bromeliads deck the oaks and magnolias through the deeply shaded forest beyond the swamp. The trail affords another river view before it curves right to follow a tributary upstream.

Reach a long, high bridge just before the LE-42 marker. Pieces of the former bridge are scattered far below where the trunk of a cabbage palm arcs across the waterway.

Sunlit palm trunk in ditch The former bridge was along this fallen palm


Circling another swamp basin, the trail is crowded by bluestem palms. Pop out on a crumbling bluff where a relocation is in progress. As the river fluctuates, the sandy bluffs erode.

At 4.2 miles, the next bridge is old and tired but short. The sandy path leads to another great river view, this of a peninsula between a side channel and the river.

peninsula in river View of peninsula from bluffs


Amid hickories, oaks, and magnolias, loblolly pines tower once more as you near the LE-43 sign. Cedars form a screen behind which a bowl of swamp sits.

You close the loop after 4.5 miles, reaching the fork where you took the Kolokee Trail.

Continue straight ahead through familiar territory, across bridges and bluffs and past West Camp, to complete this 5.6 mile hike.

crossed palms The Crossed Palms between the Kolokee Trail and West Camp


Trail Map

Kolokee Trail Map
Red: Kolokee Loop. Blue: Connecting Trails. Orange: Florida Trail north and south.

Explore More!

Learn more about Little Big Econ State Forest

Econlockhatchee River at Flagler Trail

Little-Big Econ State Forest

Spanning from Oviedo to Geneva and Chuluota, Little Big Econ State Forest encompasses more than 10,000 acres of diverse habitats.

Video

A virtual walk in the woods on the Kolokee Loop


Slideshow

See our photos of the Kolokee Loop


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Trail through palm hammock

Florida Trail, Little Big Econ State Forest

One of the most beautiful hikes near Orlando is rugged, too: the Florida Trail atop bluffs above the Econlockhatchee River through Little-Big Econ State Forest.

Trail mile marker on unpaved rail trail

Flagler Trail South

Following a historic railroad route, the southern portion of the Flagler Trail provides a sometimes rugged, sometimes gentle offroad ride between Chuluota and Geneva.

Geneva Wilderness

Geneva Wilderness Area

Showcasing prairie ponds amid scrub on the edge of a pine flatwoods, Geneva Wilderness Area offers two loops of gentle paths on which to explore the habitats.

Lake Proctor Wilderness

Lake Proctor Wilderness Area

Protecting 475 acres of marshlands, prairie, and scrub forest, Lake Proctor Wilderness Area is one of the best places near Orlando to see sandhill cranes

Trail Map (PDF) Reserve Campsite Official Website

Category: Central Florida, Day Hikes, Florida Trail, Hikes, Loop Hikes, TrailsTag: Big Trees, Dog-friendly, Econlockhatchee River, Florida State Forests, Florida Trail, FT Orlando, Geneva, Historic Sites, Little Big Econ State Forest, Orlando, Oviedo, Riverfront, Sanford, Scenic Hikes

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