More than a century ago, the forests surrounding first-magnitude Rainbow Springs were a beehive of activity.
Miners dug pits in the limestone to find nuggets that made Dunnellon a boomtown: phosphate.
This area was the first place where phosphate was commercially mined in Florida. The deep pits and spoil piles left behind were recovered by the forest.
The town of Juliette, where the miners lived, was abandoned. Why Juliette? Not far up the railroad line, the tiny town of Romeo persists.
One of the Juliette mines as it looks nowNear the springs, heaps of earth dug from the pits were planted with thousands of azaleas and camellias during the 1930s to create a garden attraction.
The Yellow, White, and Blue Trails making up the Sandhills Trail venture well beyond the former attraction to explore how nature has reclaimed the mining village.
Junction of trailsResources
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: Dunnellon
Length: Up to 4.5 miles in a trail network
Main entrance: 29.10324, -82.44977
Trailhead: 29.101061, -82.433495
Address: 19158 SW 81st Place Rd, Dunnellon
Fees: $2 per person
Restroom: Near the terrace snack bar
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 352-465-8555
Open 8 AM until sunset daily. Leashed pets welcome, but not in swimming areas.
Directions
From Interstate 75, take exit 352, Ocala / Dunnellon, and drive west on SR 40 for 17 miles to US 41. Turn left; the park entrance is on the left within a mile.
Hike
To reach the hiking trailhead, you must walk the garden paths on the east side of the spring basin.
The up-and-over route is more efficient, but the riverside walk is more showy. Both join together uphill from Rainbow Falls, making a loop.
Rainbow FallsContinue straight ahead past the picnic area inside the old zoo to a sign that says “Yellow Trail.” It points down a path into the woods.
Formerly the rodeo grounds, this clearing was replanted as a butterfly garden almost two decades ago but has not been maintained.
Entrance to the hiking trailsA half mile into the park, cross a former access road for the stables to start the Yellow Trail. A kiosk used to stand at this entrance but has been removed.
Proceed ahead between two fences keeping hikers from stumbling into the old phosphate pits that flank both sides of the trail.
Y junction at end of fenced in trailAt the Y trail junction in the Yellow Trail loop, keep left. This leaves your options open on which route to take once you reach the ghost town.
After crossing another access road, the Yellow Trail makes a sharp left through a dip that appears to be a purposely dug ditch.
Dip in the landscapeServiced by the railroad that also carried phosphate away from the mind, the town of Juliette has largely vanished under a second-growth sandhill forest.
The trail emerges from the laurel oaks into an open meadow. Continue straight ahead, passing a bench in the shade.
Bench under a very old cedar treeAt a mile, reach the junction of the Yellow Trail with the White Trail, an important decision point.
The Yellow Trail loops through the remains of the mining operation, while the White Trail heads for the park perimeter to show off a beautifully restored sandhill habitat.
Important trail junctionBecause the Sandhills Trails start a half mile into the park, consider your options carefully.
Taking the White Trail straight ahead makes it necessary to double back along your entrance route in order to see the archaeological sites on the Yellow Trail.
You would exit in this direction after the White / Yellow interior loopAdding in the short-but-sweet Blue Trail to the edge of the Rainbow River to that loop tallies 3.5 miles for that trail configuration, 4 miles to reach your vehicle.
Many hikers simply opt for the Yellow Trail, which hits the highlights of the mines around Juliette, plus the Blue Trail for a 3.1 mile hike overall.
Climbing a rise in the mining areaFor the White Trail, go straight ahead. It’s a forest road / firebreak the entire way, winding its way out of tree cover into open pine savanna.
Hitting a T intersection, make a right. The trail picks up the edge of a perimeter fence for the park and follows it downhill to a 90-degree right turn.
White Trail along the downhill fencelineThe White Trail ends after another long straightaway, forming three edges of a box around the nicely restored sandhill habitat.
It comes to a junction with Blue Trail 1.9 miles into the hike. Uphill is its second junction with the Yellow Trail towards the mine village.
Junction of White and Blue TrailsTo simply tackle the Yellow Trail from the first intersection with the White Trail, follow it on a sharp right into the forest.
After a dip through cabbage palms and a rise up and over what might have been a tramway, approach the first overlook on the phosphate pits.
It’s quite a ravine below the split rail fence, entirely filled with forest but with more cabbage palms tapping the water table below.
Follow the footpath as it ducks into the forest again, curving around for a different perspective on another, perhaps interconnected, pit.
Far end of mining pitA fence also delinates the edge of this bluff. Turning away from it in the shade of pines and oaks, the Yellow Trail slips past two big round mounds topped with pines.
It then parallels a ditch, turning away to reach a clearing where a fence protects what’s left of a cistern for one of the houses in Juliette.
Cistern at JulietteLeaving the spirits of the mining town behind, emerge onto a forest road and follow it downhill to a junction of the White, Yellow, and Blue Trails.
No matter how you reach it, the Blue Trail shouldn’t be missed. Descend quickly to river level to an overlook framed by saw palmetto.
The Rainbow RiverThis broad path in the floodplain may be damp underfoot at times. It ends at a second overlook, a simple point right to the water’s edge.
Return to the Blue / White / Yellow junction. If you reached it from the White Trail and want to see the mines, head uphill on the Yellow Trail.
The Yellow Trail leads to the mines up this hillIf you reached this junction via the Yellow Trail downhill from the mines, follow the Yellow Trail along the base of the meadow under restoration.
It enters the old forest where an unmarked path straight ahead follows treeline. Make the left instead to ramble along bluffs above more mining pits.
Pits dug much closer to the riverWithin 0.7 mile, it returns to Y junction in the Yellow Trail. Either approach funnels hikers between the fences to reach the exit.
Back on the paved paths through the gardens, take the a different route through them to enjoy more of the lush plantings and scenery.
The topography in the gardens was shaped by miningReaching the main terrace, you can optionally add another half mile with a round-trip to the canoe launch on the west side of the river.
Follow the broad paved path down the steep hillside past the picnic and swimming areas and over a bridge above tiny bubbling springs.
Spring near the canoe launchThe path leads past a tiny shallow swimming area and does an arc around a nearly-round spring with a palm leaning low over it.
It ends at the canoe launch. Turn around. Return upriver and uphill to exit Rainbow Springs State Park, completing up to a 4.5 mile hike.
The big swimming area at Rainbow SpringsTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Rainbow Springs State Park
Rainbow Springs State Park A botanical and a geological delight, Rainbow Springs wraps the beauty of a first-magnitude spring with gardens and waterfalls once part of a classic Florida attraction. Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
Nearby Adventures
Blue Run of Dunnellon Park Enjoy a gentle family-friendly hike along the Rainbow River at Blue Run of Dunnellon Park, where woodland footpaths and paved trails keep you mostly in the shade with dry feet as you explore the river floodplain.
Florida Trail, Dunnellon 2.3 miles. Tunneling through dense floodplain forests to bridge the Withlacoochee River, the paved Dunnellon Trail segment of the Florida Trail offers accessible users an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.
Florida Trail, Pruitt to Ross Prairie 7.5 miles. With switchbacks, scrambles, and ancient oaks, the Pruitt section of the Florida Trail along the Cross Florida Greenway offers a fascinating hike into the history of the Cross Florida Ship Canal.
Johnson Pond Trail A mosaic of upland habitats along the northern edge of Withlacoochee State Forest surrounds a large prairie long known as Johnson Pond.
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026