Protecting a string of basin marshes between Fort Pierce and Jensen Beach, Savannas Preserve State Park stretches across two counties with its nearly 7,000 acres.
Radiating from the Education Center trailhead, a pair of trails provide an easy introduction to the habitats protected by this enormous state park.
The Glass Lizard Trail is a short interpretive loop with an accessible overlook on the wetlands, while the Gopher Tortoise Trail rambles farther afield.
Pathway through the pine savannaResources
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Overview
Location: Port St. Lucie
Length: 1.9 mile loop and round-trip
Trailhead: 27.29975, -80.27204
Address: 2541 SE Walton Rd, Port St. Lucie
Fees: $3 per vehicle
Restroom: At trailhead
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 772-398-2779
Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome. Day use only.
Directions
From Interstate 95 exit 120 in Port St. Lucie, follow Crosstown Parkway east for 7 miles to US 1. Turn south. Drive half a mile and get in the left lane for the light at Walton Rd. Turn left and continue 1.9 mile to the Education Center trailhead. Turn right immediately inside the gate and pay your fee at the iron ranger. Trails start behind the Education Center.
Hike
Follow the accessible sidewalk past a large picnic pavilion around to the back of the Education Center.
Numbered interpretive markers are keyed to a brochure which may be available at the kiosk along the sidewalk.
Approach to the Education CenterTwo named trails branch out from this well-marked trailhead and interconnect with others. Start your hike with the shorter one, the Glass Lizard Trail.
Curving behind the center on the sidewalk, pass by a trail turnoff at Marker 3. The sidewalk ends a tenth of a mile from the parking area at an overlook.
Start of the Glass Lizard TrailTake in the expanse of freshwater wetlands, which extend from Fort Pierce to Jensen Beach behind a sand ridge along the Indian River Lagoon.
The series of natural linear basin marshes lies less than a half mile from brackish waters for most of its length.
Marsh viewReturn to the trail turnoff and make a left on the natural surface trail. At the next trail junction at Marker 5, turn left to follow a spur footpath.
It opens up onto the edge of the wetlands for a better panorama than the accessible overlook, more suitable for birding.
Soggy spur trailOriginally established as a loop, this trail now dead ends as permanent hydrological change along the marshes have swallowed it up.
Follow the swampy rim of the wetlands for better views of the rafts of lily pads. Be alert for alligators and back off if you spot any. Return the way you came.
View from the soggy part of the spurTurn left onto the white-blazed trail, part of the original White Trail across the entire park, walking through scrubby flatwoods.
Amid a sea of saw palmetto, pass several markers before a junction on the right at Marker 10. You’ll return to this point. Bear left.
Passing Marker 5Continue along the white blazes. A permanent rise in waters in the wetlands has now made the White Trail impassible south of Walton Rd.
However, the spur to the that road crossing is a pleasant meander through scrubby flatwoods. Vegetation crowds in closely along a well-defined grassy footpath beneath scattered pines.
White-blazed corridorA vista appears on the left of the open waters of the marsh through a gap where the loop trail likely connected to this one in the past.
At a half mile emerge from the forest into a firebreak paralleling Walton Rd. The white blazes continue to a road crossing, but turn around here to return the way you came.
Vista across the marshAt Marker 10, turn left to follow the Glass Lizard Trail. Circle past more interpretive markers around the front of the Education Center.
Completing this trail at 0.9 mile, return to the sidewalk to the T intersection adjoining the center and take the Gopher Tortoise Trail to the left.
Start of the Gopher Tortoise TrailA mowed path into the pine savanna, it may be soggy in low spots. Visibility is extensive thanks to the low profile of the palmetto prairie beneath the pines.
Grassy spots are dotted with colorful wildflowers in spring and fall, with yellow globes of candyroot particularly eye-catching.
The pine savannaFollow the curve of the trail to a T intersection at a bench. Per the arrow marker, turn left, passing a white blaze on a pine at the next curve.
A slow meander through this vast habitat reveals beauty in miniature. Wildflowers thrive between tufts of grass in soggy spots along the trail’s edge.
Grassy path in lowlying prairieA quarter mile into the Gopher Tortoise Trail, the white ribbon ahead is the graded road leading to the canoe launch. It’s also blazed as the White Trail.
A linear north-south trail, the White Trail extends to the north boundary of the park. Cross the road to immerse in the palmetto prairie, where the saw palmetto grows more thickly.
Road crossingAmid charred spars of pines, cabbage palms add color and texture to this open landscape, increasing in number where the trail reaches a T intersection.
Turn right. Pass an outdoor classroom, a cluster of benches and podium in a clearing, providing a rest stop.
Trail junctionNow broader, the grassy trail marks an ecotone between palmetto prairie and a dense thicket of wax myrtle. The understory thickens, the pine-palm flatwoods becoming damper.
At a half mile, curve past a tannic slough edged by lush vegetation, an ideal home for turtles and alligators.
Trailside sloughThe spur trail ends at a large gated-off parking area with a kiosk, the Sandhill Crane trailhead. It lies just around the corner of the road from parking at Sandhill Crane Park.
Return along this spur past the slough and the outdoor classroom. At the trail junction, continue straight ahead along the mowed path.
Sandhill Crane trailheadCabbage palms rise above a dense saw palmetto understory. The white ribbon of the graded road is visible well before you reach it.
Pass between a trio of posts to exit onto it and turn right, towards the park entrance.
Looking back at the postsLeave the road before the entry gate. Follow the arrow posts and the mowed strip around the parking area towards the picnic pavilion.
Reaching the trailhead, you’ve completed a mile circuit of the Gopher Tortoise Trail, tallying 1.9 miles if you hike both of the Education Center Trails.
Picnic pavilion at trailheadTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Savannas Preserve State Park
Savannas Preserve State Park At Savannas Preserve State Park, a grand expanse of wet prairies and pine flatwoods extends across two counties to the west of the Indian River Lagoon.Video
A walk through the Education Center Trails
Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
Nearby Adventures
Walton Scrub Preserve Explore the high ground between the bluffs above the Indian River Lagoon and the basin marshes of Savannas Preserve State Park atop the Atlantic Coastal Ridge.
East Coast Greenway Stuart Linking Port St. Lucie with Jensen Beach, Stuart, Port Salerno, and Hobe Sound, this 17.6 mile segment of the East Coast Greenway has dedicated bike paths at both ends.
Savannas White Trail South Immerse in a vast pine savanna on a walk to the southern edge of the freshwater basin marshes protected by Savannas Preserve State Park.
Savannas Hawks Bluff Trail Scramble up and down the Atlantic Coastal Ridge on this hike with scenic views of the southern end of the freshwater basin marshes stretching from Fort Pierce to Jensen Beach.
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