Built around a natural feature, Okeeheepkee Prairie Preserve serves as a filtration marsh for stormwater.
Inflows from surrounding neighborhoods work through marshes acting as settling ponds, slowly releasing into Meginnis Arm at the south end of Lake Jackson.
Okeeheepkee PrairieAccess to the preserve and its nature trail is through Parwez Alam Park, where the county’s first nature playground immediately draws attention.
A low mound within it is evocative of one of the hidden features in this preserve, one of the Lake Jackson Mounds not on public display.
Nature playgroundResources
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.
Overview
Location: Tallahassee
Length: 0.5 mile loop
Trailhead: 30.49404, -84.30840
Address: 1294 Fuller Rd, Tallahassee
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land manager: Leon County
Phone: 850-606-1470
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome. As signs point out, be cautious of alligators around this loop. Do not approach any you see.
Directions
From Interstate 10 exit 199 in Tallahassee, exit northbound on US 27. Make the first right onto Okeeheepkee Rd. Make an immediate right on Livingston Rd. Follow it around a curve and downhill for 0.8 miles into a subdivision. Turn right onto Fuller Rd. The park is on the left; the road ends at a boat ramp past it.
Hike
On the east side of the trailhead, Parwez Alam Park provides the entry point past the colorful playground and roofed picnic shelter.
Just past the shelter, join the levee around Okeeheepkee Prairie and turn left for a clockwise circuit.
Starting pointA gradient of green fills the prairie basin, amplified by willows and other shrubs on the far shore, a line of trees beyond.
A tenth of a mile along the levee, join the first boardwalk. A concrete spillway carries overflow from a willow marsh into the prairie.
Gradient of greenBeyond the boardwalk, curve past a bench providing views across the prairie. Those vanish around the next curve.
Continue into a grassy corridor lined with pines. It affords one good peek towards open water before reaching the next boardwalk.
Bench on curveJoin the second boardwalk at 0.3 miles. It also has a spillway out of a willow marsh, the spread of concrete more prominent.
Below a scrim of vegetation on the prairie’s rim, a pool of open water may attract wading birds as well as coots, gallinules, and ducks.
Second boardwalkA straightaway beyond the prairie pond leads into the next curve. Clumps of tall grass edge this marshy end.
A cluster of red maples along the rim are putting out new growth. Rounding the east end of the prairie, return to the picnic shelter at a half mile.
Approaching the east end of the prairieAdd another 0.2 miles with a stroll to Lake Jackson by following the sidewalk inside the fence of Parwez Alam Park around the playground.
Exit towards a kiosk at the boat ramp at Fuller Landing in Lake Jackson Aquatic Preserve. What you see at the end of the ramp depends on lake levels.
Meginnis Arm at Fuller Landing when Lake Jackson is dryTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking Okeeheepkee Prairie Preserve
Slideshow
See our photos from Okeeheepkee Prairie Preserve
Nearby Adventures
Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park A clearing in the deep forest along the north shore of Lake Jackson reveals reminders of a civilization long gone from the face of Florida. 
Jackson View Park Take in two very different panoramas of Lake Jackson in Tallahassee from two almost-contiguous parks along its western shoreline.
Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park A hiker's paradise in Tallahassee, Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park offers miles of trails exploring contoured terrain and winding streams under a tall, shady canopy of majestic trees. 
Maclay Gardens Ravine Trail Under a mature canopy of hardwood forest, the mostly-level Ravine Trail at MacLay Gardens Lake Overstreet Addition makes an easy 2.2 mile hike with stunning seasonal wildflowers. 
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026