Providing unparalleled views of the Peace River from its high bluffs on the eastern shore, Morgan Park has a trio of interlocking trails with differing characteristics.
With many rest stops and shady spots, the broad concrete-surfaced arc of the North Trail is an easy walk for all ages and abilities.
North TrailThe River Loop teeters high above the river basin. The South Trail has the longest continuous views of the Peace River from its bluffs.
The outer circuit of the three loops through this 240 acre conservation area totals 3 miles, but you can choose several shorter routes.
Upriver from the River LoopResources
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Overview
Location: Arcadia
Length: 3 miles
Trailhead: 27.224733, -81.875733
Address: 1100 W Hickory St, Arcadia
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the picnic area
Land Manager: DeSoto County
Phone: 863-491-7507
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome. A playground and picnic area flank the start of the North Trail.
Directions
From US 17 in downtown Arcadia, follow W Hickory St (SR 70) east 0.6 mile through downtown. At a curve in SR 70, make a quick right onto Wilson Ave and an immediate left onto Hickory St. to stay with the old highway. Follow the road to where it ends facing a bridge now closed to vehicle traffic. Turn right at the Morgan Park sign to drive up the park road past the caretaker’s home to the dirt parking area at the end of the road.
Hike
Aim for the open area beyond the handicapped parking spaces to find the main trail junction and large park kiosk across from the restrooms and large picnic pavilion.
Although it’s not obvious, the gravel road to the left is the return end of the North Trail and the paved path straight ahead is the beginning of the same loop.
Paved trail leading to the main day use areaStraight ahead, a North Trail sign and a kiosk with trail map marks the start of this outer counterclockwise loop. Walk straight up the broad paved path into the hardwood hammock.
Live oaks are the showiest and largest of the trees offering shade, but there are laurel oaks and water oaks too. Cabbage palms and red maple are a reminder that floodplains are near.
Kiosk at the start of the loopSmall interpretive signs call out specific tree species. A wide wooden bridge carries the trail over a tannic stream flowing towards the river.
Sunny for a stretch, the trail returns to the shade of the live oaks briefly after curving past a bench. A sunny straightaway follows.
First bridgePass a park bench facing the oak canopy above the saw palmetto, the paved path a corridor between walls of woods.
A sun-soaked bench sits at a curve where the canopy vanishes, a few ragged oaks and downed tree trunks testimony to the ravages of Hurricane Ian.
Bench in the sunPast this rough-up spot, the shady oak hammock soon resumes, fern-laden oaks arching over the corridor. Flanked by cabbage palms, a gap in the woods reveals a railroad track.
It’s the defining boundary of the east side of this park. The gentle curve of the path under the oaks yields to another straightaway.
StraightawayJust past an open grassy spot with a bench at 0.6 mile, a broad grassy path arcs to the left. It’s the natural-surfaced west side of the North Trail, but isn’t signposted.
A sign along the paved path warns it ends soon, but doesn’t mention it’s the start of the River Loop, a don’t-miss half mile extension beyond the North Trail for outstanding river views.
The second Pavement Ends signDrawing very close to the railroad as it continues towards the river, the paved path ends at 0.9 mile. A bench across the trail at pavement’s end slows unwary cyclists just in time.
Emerge onto a high bluff above the Peace River, 25 feet above sea level. Virginia willow fringes the river shoreline on the far side. Make a sharp right, following the river bluffs.
Sand bluff above the Peace RiverEnjoy a parade of outstanding views between stretches of forested rim. Pause at a bench in a clearing to admire the broad tannic waterway below.
The Peace River varies wildly in depth, its flow dependent on both rainfall and the amount of water withdrawn for phosphate mining.
Downriver viewLeaving the bluffs, enjoy the shade of the tree canopy briefly. Pass a bench and a tall cabbage palm in the middle of the cleared corridor, tall grass outlining both sides.
After a distinct inward curve, reach the end of the River Loop at 1.3 miles when it meets the North Trail.
Approaching a bench in the shadeA bench overlooks the outflow of a culvert eroding a channel into a willow marsh. To the left, the North Trail returns to the grassy turnoff you’d passed by the first “Pavement Ends” sign.
To continue along the outer loop of the trail network, turn right, the direction the Main Trail sign is pointing.
Bench at the trail junctionLargely dappled in shade from the oaks above, the forest road makes for a pleasant walk. Look up into the oak limbs to spot the many bromeliads.
Cross a culvert where a tannic stream flows under the path. As the oaks overhead become more showy, you reach another decision point.
Nearing a trail junctionA quarter mile south of the River Loop junction, a bench sits in the shade at the junction for the South Loop.
Continuing straight ahead along the North Trail completes a 1.9 mile circuit of the park, but at the expense of skipping more excellent panoramas of the Peace River.
Unless you need to trim your hike, turn right at the bench to cross a wide wooden bridge over a river oxbow swamp.
Wooden bridgeA grove of ancient live oaks adjoins the start of the South Trail loop at 1.7 miles. Bear right, passing a bench as the path makes a languid curve.
The well-defined two-track pops out into the sun amid live oaks obviously scalped by past hurricane winds.
South TrailA jug-handle loop to the right adds an extra tenth of a mile, reaching the bluffs not far from where the streams you’ve crossed through this park merge into the Peace River.
No matter whether you took the extra loop or not, the views are outstanding. Five feet closer to water level than the River Loop, you’re still quite a ways up.
View downriverAtop the grassy bluff, savor views of the expanse of a river curve and its massive sandy beach for nearly a quarter mile.
Looking back at this side of the river bluffs from the perspective at the end of the curve, it’s obvious just how deeply floodwaters undercut these bluffs.
Bluffs below the trailThe South Trail swings away from the river views down the familiar grass-edged corridor.
Curve around to a wide wooden bridge over a oxbow marsh with a nearly-permanent pond where alligators tend to lounge, crossing it at 2.6 miles.
Oxbow marsh pondGraveled in spots where water may sit after a rain, the path weaves between stands of oaks and around a large clump of saw palmetto.
An unmarked path descends to the left before the park setting of large live oaks above a grassy expanse comes into view.
Grassy oak groveFinishing the loop on the South Trail facing the Main Gate sign, turn right. Spanning the oxbow marsh, the broad boardwalk meets the North Trail junction at 2.8 miles.
Turn right, again following the arrow on the Main Gate sign. Nicely canopied by the oaks, their limbs making low archways, the last portion of the North Trail is a delight.
Canopied trailWhere your surroundings change and look a bit rougher because of a pile of fill used to grade the trails, curve into an open expanse of grass.
Head towards the trailhead kiosk by the restrooms to complete the full circuit of trails. Turn right to exit along the paved path to the parking area to finish the 3 mile loop.
Finale of the North TrailTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about the Peace River
Peace River Rising from marshes in the Green Swamp basin in Lakeland, the Peace River winds through fossil-rich Bone Valley west of the Lake Wales Ridge, reaching the Gulf of Mexico at Charlotte Harbor.Video
Our circuit of Morgan Park by foot and bike
Slideshow
See our photos from Morgan Park
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