A short but deeply shaded and scenic walk, the nature trail at Sarah Maude Mason Nature Preserve in Howey-in-the-Hills is mostly a boardwalk over a floodplain forest along Little Lake Harris.
Resources
Overview
Location: Howey-in-the-Hills
Length: 0.6 mile loop
Trailhead: 28.701150, -81.764067
Address: 23881 N Buckhill Rd, Howey-In-The-Hills, FL 34737
Fees: Free
Land Manager: Howey-in-the-Hills
Phone: 352-324-2290
Open dawn to dusk. Interpretive information available at the kiosk. There’s an additional entrance from Griffin Stormwater Park with a connecting paved trail to downtown Howey-in-the-Hills.
Bring your binoculars for excellent birding along the lake.
Directions
From SR 19 in Howey-in-the-Hills, drive 0.9 mile on Rebel’s Road. Turn right at Buckhill Road at the “Nature Preserve” sign; follow the red clay road 0.2 mile to the trailhead parking area on the left.
Hike
As you walk beneath the shady canopy of trees, ferns grow in profusion beneath the sweetgum, maples, and cypresses.
Looping back into a thick hardwood hammock, the boardwalk ends and the trail forks.
The right fork heads to a walking trail along Lakeshore Blvd, and the left follows a forest road through the woods back to the main trailhead.
This is a charming, short walk you can take through a floodplain forest without getting your feet wet.
if you continue on the nature trail, you will come to another end of the boardwalk, which will take you on out to the lake. Yes, the boardwalk nearest the trail head is closed, due to hurricane and/or tornado damage.
Just tried to go down the trail since the gate was open, but to our dismay the boardwalk isn’t fixed and has no trespassing signs. Bummer. 9/7/19
Bummer indeed! Sorry to hear. We ran into the same thing at Lori Wilson Park this past week.