At Linear Park in Palm Coast, immersion in the outdoors is offered for all ages and abilities. Picnic pavilions and a playground are near a canoe launch into the St. Joe Waterway.
Trails for hiking and biking radiate from its core. A StoryWalk walks through the pages of a picture book on a numbered route along a central paved loop.
Playground and StoryWalkHard-packed natural surface trails explore deeper into the woods, each with its mileage posted at access points.
Beyond the 2 mile walk outlined, interconnections with the St. Joe Walkway and the Graham Swamp Trail let you extend this hike well beyond the boundaries of Linear Park.
The St. Joe Walkway connects to other Palm Coast parksResources
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Overview
Location: Palm Coast
Length: 2 miles
Trailhead: 29.559931, -81.194695
Address: 31 Greenway Ct, Palm Coast
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land Manager: City of Palm Coast
Phone: 386-986-2323
Open 7 AM to 7 PM. Leashed dogs welcome; pick up after your pet. Mosquito repellent advised.
Nature walks offered; see kiosk or their website for details.
Directions
From Interstate 95 exit 289 drive east on Palm Coast Pkwy 1.1 miles to Colbert Ln. Turn left. Make the next right into Greenway Ct, the entrance road for the park. Drive 0.2 miles, passing a municipal complex before arriving at the parking area facing the picnic pavilions and playground.
Hike
From the parking area, walk around the left side of the playground to follow the paved path between it and the restrooms.
Bear right in front of a picnic pavilion, coming up to a bridge. Take the signposted Palmetto Trail to the right.
Pathway to the Palmetto TrailA showy cinnamon fern spreads its fronds in from of a bank of sword fern backed by saw palmetto.
Hard-packed orange sands form the curving route past stands of palmetto under the oaks and pines.
Orange-tinted sands from coquinaSlash pines, laurel and live oaks, and cabbage palms shade the pathway through this mesic hammock.
A wooden span bridges a narrow ephemeral channel. Keep alert for mountain bikes on a singletrack that crosses the footpath.
BridgeThe canopy lifts, sweetgum joining the mix as the understory becomes denser. Round a curve under the towering trees, briefly emerging into a sunny grassy clearing.
The “Poison Ivy” sign soon after refers to the name of the singletrack bike path at its next crossing.
Curve before the Poison Ivy crossingHalfway through the loop, the habitat shifts to a leafy hardwood hammock. Sand live oaks lean over the footpath.
At a sunny, grassy curve, meet a junction with an incoming path from a crosswalk over the eastbound lanes of Palm Coast Parkway.
Incoming pathA directional sign soon after adjoins another bridge over the ephemeral waterway and the next Poison Ivy Trail crossing.
Pass between stout-trunked live oaks, snaking around a series of curves close to the singletrack.
Curve where trails touchExiting the Palmetto Trail after a half mile, turn right to follow the paved path past a picnic pavilion back to the playground.
Use the path on the right to reach the bridge at the start of the Palmetto Trail to the St. Joe Canal Pathway, signposted as the St. Joe Walkway throughout the park.
Bridge over the St. Joe CanalCrossing the canal, proceed straight across the linear path under the powerlines to the next natural surface loop.
An interpretive sign marks the start of the Sabal Palm Trail, a walk into an old-growth hardwood hammock.
Start of the Sabal Palm TrailDespite its name, tall, thick-trunked pines and live oaks dominate the canopy. The first stand of palms provides a backdrop to an incredible specimen of a live oak.
Its upper branches bear thick streamers of Spanish moss. Bluestem palm, their folded fronds shaking in every breeze, shelter under American beautyberry.
Big trees in the hammockAlthough traffic on Palm Coast Parkway rumbles close, the forest is thick enough to blot out seeing vehicles pass by.
After several curves, face an opening where slash pines rise in an adjoining flatwoods.
Pine flatwoodsBurrow into the shadowy canopy again, the transition to mesic hammock obvious as spaces open between the trees.
Sabal (cabbage) palms reappear as the footpath draws to its conclusion, the splash of bright light ahead the St. Joe Walkway.
Conclusion of the Sabal Palm TrailEmerging onto the pavement at 0.7 miles, turn right. Walk a tenth of a mile on the pavement under the powerlines to pass the bridge back to the trailhead.
Crossing it to the parking area results in a 0.9 mile hike. For the longer walk, continue along the paved corridor past the entrance to the Sabal Palm Trail.
Decision point for longer routeJust past it is a small arboreteum. Edging both sides of the St. Joe Walkway, the linear path proceeds under the power lines, curving right at a Crosswalk Ahead sign.
Tunnel through a thicket of understory to a crosswalk at Colbert Lane at a mile. Cross carefully.
Colbert Lane crosswalkContinue through the hammock and turn off the pavement onto the Live Oak Trail. Tall pines rise above the live oaks that canopy this natural-surface arc to the north of the paved path.
Pass through a grassy area within sight of Palm Coast Parkway, slipping away from it beneath fern-laden cabbage palms and red cedars.
Live Oak TrailEmerging at the St. Joe Walkway, turn left to start the return trip towards the trailhead. At 1.2 miles, cross a bridge on the right to begin the Magnolia Trail.
Diving into the lush hammock, pass the entrance to another off-road bicycle trail, Woop Woop.
Start of the Magnolia Trail and access to Woop WoopThe paved path wriggles under a breathtaking canopy of old-growth forest, with towering magnolias beneath the ancient live oaks.
Where the singletrack bike trail crosses, an outdoor ampitheater occupies a shaded niche.
Lush canopyTurning a corner, briefly parallel Palm Coast Parkway to a traffic light at Colbert Lane at 1.5 miles.
The crosswalk to the right connects Linear Park to the Graham Swamp Trail. To return to the Linear Park trailhead, proceed across Colbert Lane using the crosswalk signal.
Colbert Lane crossingMake a left to walk the sidewalk beside Colbert Ln, crossing the entrance road to Linear Park at Greenway Ct.
Continue along the pedestrian side of the bridge over the St. Joe Canal, where the Shredding It mountain bike path starts on its south side.
Pedestrian bridge along Colbert LaneMeeting the St. Joe Walkway at 1.7 miles, seal the western loop through Linear Park. Turn right to return east along this paved corridor.
Cross the bridge over the canal past the Sabal Palm Trail. Return to the trailhead to complete a 2 mile walk.
Return to trailheadTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking Palm Coast Linear Park
Slideshow
See our photos from Palm Coast Linear Park
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Graham Swamp East Hiking Trail A surprisingly rugged hike along a ridgetop threads between two sides of a mountain bike loop on the eastern side of Graham Swamp Preserve.
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