Notable for its namesake, a live oak more than two centuries old that split down the middle and still lives, Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area encompasses more than 2,000 acres.
In the 1990s, it was set aside as a mitigation bank for habitat to offset the sea of development that now creeps up to its western border.
The preserve was established by FWC as sandhill crane habitatIt is an open prairie landscape, dotted with lakes and ponds and oak hammocks, a habitat mix perfect for the sandhill cranes that reside here.
With cross-trails and unmarked trails rambling across this vast landscape, there are many ways to hike through Split Oak Forest. The loop trail system provides several different ways to see the park.
We put together a circuit of 6.4 miles on the perimeter trail. Since the centerpiece of the park is the Split Oak, you’ll want to hike the northerly trails first.
The Split OakGet out and hike this one soon. Sadly, Split Oak Forest is at risk of having a major highway forced through it and concerned citizens are fighting it. Learn more here.
A future reroute for the Florida Trail has been blazed through Split Oak, but does not connect to the thru-trail.
Resources
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Overview
Location: Lake Nona
Length: 6.4 miles
Trailhead: 28.353333, -81.210917
Address: 10525 Clapp Simms Duda Rd, Orlando
Fees: Free
Restroom: At adjoining Moss Park
Land manager: Florida Fish & Wildlife
Phone: 407-254-6840
Open sunrise to sunset. No dogs or bicycles permitted.
Equestrian access is available via special permit via Moss Park on Saturdays only. Call for details.
Friends of Split Oak Forest leads regular group hikes through the preserve, check their website and Facebook page for details. Link at bottom of page.
Directions
To get to the main trailhead from the Orlando International Airport, go east on SR 528 (The Beeline) for 2.5 miles to CR 15 (Narcoossee Rd) and turn south. Follow CR 15 south for 7 miles. Turn east onto Clapp-Simms-Duda Rd. Go east 1.5 miles to the trailhead parking lot on the right.
To drive to Moss Park, which provides an alternate entrance to this preserve, take exit 13 on SR 528 (Beeline Expressway), just east of the Orlando International Airport. Turn south on CR 15 (Narcoossee Road). Drive 2.8 miles to Moss Park Road. Turn left, and follow Moss Park Road 4.5 miles until it ends at the park entrance. Continue along the main park road towards the camping area. The trailhead is on the right across from the campground.
Hike
Pick up a trail map at the kiosk. Walk from the trailhead into the shade of the live oaks, and turn left at Marker 2 to follow the North Loop.
Notice the FNST sign and orange blazes? A future segment of the statewide Florida National Scenic Trail now crosses the preserve, although it doesn’t connect to the main trail yet. You’ll follow it for a while.
Marker 1 and the FNST SymbolAt a quarter mile, turn left to stay with the orange blazes, rounding an oak hammock. The landscape opens into scrubby flatwoods, with a cypress strand obvious in the distance.
A half mile later, turn right at Marker 4, staying with the orange blazes. Walk past a very large oak near a culvert.
Sand live oaks along the trailAt Marker 5, turn left. The trail enters a forest of tall longleaf pines and laurel oaks. Cinnamon ferns rise from the thick cover of needles on the forest floor.
Meet the blue-blazed Lake Loop at 1.2 miles. It’s here you leave the orange blazes. Turn left and walk into the pine forest. The trail winds between saw palmettos into a stand of laurel and live oaks.
Along the Lake LoopPassing a forest road on the left you come to the Lake Hart Spur. Take a peek down it to see if you can see the lake.
If the lake waters are high, the trail will be flooded. It ends in the marsh. Return back to this junction and stay on the Lake Loop.
Lake Hart Spur ends where the lake beginsAfter you walk through a grove of ancient live oaks, you come to the Bonnet Pond Spur at 1.9 miles.
Follow it to the left to reach an observation deck overlooking this beauty spot. Return back to this junction and stay on the Lake Loop.
Bonnet PondAt a curve, the Split Oak is off to the right. Take a walk over to it to see the unusual cave-like trunk.
Interestingly, this is not the only split oak in this forest. Keep alert and you may count a half-dozen trees with their trunks splayed like this. This is the oldest and largest one, however.
The Split OakJust past the Split Oak you reach the next junction with the Lake Loop at Marker 11 at 2.4 miles. Turn left to stay on the perimeter of the preserve.
After another quarter mile, the trails meeting at this open area make a triangle around a large oak that looks like it’s been fenced in on purpose by a line of pine trees.
The Caged OakThe Swamp Trail heads off to the left towards Moss Park. It often floods, so don’t take it unless you are headed to Moss Park, or if you are birding in the marshes.
That’s the direction that the Florida Trail goes, following its future route north along the the Swamp Trail into Moss Park.
The Swamp Trail can get mucky and sloppy at timesAt 3.3 miles, meet the North-South Cross Trail. If you want to make a short hike out of this loop, turn right and you’ll be back to the trailhead after 4.2 miles.
Otherwise go straight ahead to stay on the perimeter loop.
Live oak hammock along the South LoopCross a culvert at Marker 18. The forest road becomes deep soft sand, difficult to traverse.
When you reach Marker 19, turn right. The curve leads back into the pine flatwoods.
Soft sand in the scrubby flatwoodsBy 4.1 miles, the trail comes up to the perimeter fence of the preserve at Marker 21.
Turn right to follow the boundary. A bayhead swamp may overflow into this area, making for a mucky wade at times.
The turn at Marker 21Just past Marker 23, look for a short trail on the right to an observation deck over a sawgrass marsh after 4.4 miles.
It’s a beauty spot along the South Loop, and a nice place to take a break since you can sit down.
The marsh as seen from the observation deckAfter passing several unmarked forest road intersections, you meet the orange blazes of the Florida Trail at 5 miles.
Here, it’s coming in from the left from the south end of the preserve, although it doesn’t yet connect to anything south of this preserve. You’ll follow orange blazes for the rest of the hike.
Orange blaze and FNST symbol on a postBe alert for a sharp right to stay with the orange blazes a quarter mile after you meet them, walking out of the sandhills and into the pine flatwoods.
A half mile later is a beautiful tunnel of sand live oaks that stretches into the distance.
Sand live oaks form an archway over the trailAt 6 miles, the trail curves out of the oak hammock and pops out into an open prairie. Watch for sandhill cranes.
You can see the next several trail markers and and activity at the trailhead in the distance.
At the north end of the prairie, pass a large FNST sign and the entrance sign, completing the 6.4-mile loop.
The open prairie at the end of the hikeTrail Map
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos of Split Oak Forest
Nearby Adventures
More worth exploring while you’re in this area.
Isle of Pine Preserve Green Trail
Providing access to the floodplain forest along Lake Mary Jane, the Green Trail is one of two separate trails through the 550-acre Isle of Pine Preserve.
Isle of Pine Preserve Blue Trail
Creating a loop through upland habitats perfect for gopher tortoise survival, the Blue Trail is one of two separate trails through Isle of Pine Preserve.
Hal Scott Preserve
At Hal Scott Preserve, enjoy vast prairies and seepage bogs, the Econ River, and camping under a live oak canopy—all within minutes of the Orlando International Airport
Lake Runnymede Conservation Area
Ancient live oaks provide a tightly knit canopy over the 0.9-mile trail system at Lake Runnymede Conservation Area, a 43 acre urban preserve.
Sandra how do you tell the difference between Sand Live Oaks and “regular”(Southern?) Live Oak? Is it just the size of the tree or the type of soil?
Both. I do need to write up tree descriptions! First they are different species: Quercus geminata (sand live oak) prefers sandhill habitat. They are shorter, often group together with what looks like a cluster of multiple trunks out of one base, and their leaves have more of an upturn like a canoe if you flip it over. Live oak (Quercus virginiana) grows farther north, grows taller, and is less picky about habitat, but in the wild, usually found in hardwood hammocks. They are planted as landscape plants and grow very slowly.
Can’t wait for those tree descriptions! Especially if you can help with distinguishing field marks. Thank You!
It’s a long process to be sure that photos are labeled properly. Easier to note in the field. One resource I’ve always used for ID and you may wish to dig into right away is now called the Atlas of Florida Plants. Here is their entry for sand live oak.
Sounds like it might be worth publishing as a book! Flora & Fauna along the Florida Trail??? 😁
In no hurry to write the next book. However, I’ve started reorganizing the plant ID section of the website. You’ll find sand live oak a new addition today. Can’t promise to write articles that exhaustive weekly. 😉
I was just at Split Oak this morning and noticed across the street is another Preserve called Eagles Roost which looked really interesting. If you and John get a chance I’d love to see a description of it on your site here. It apparently includes an animal rescue center and an observation deck overlooking Lake Hart.
We haven’t had a chance to visit it yet. Last time over that it rained while I was hiking Split Oak with a friend, so it cut our day short. We won’t wander that far from home now. Perhaps this fall!
The trail went through some great areas. I was a little disappointed that most of the trail was in fact a double track that had been disturbed into sugar sand.
Absolutely agreed. Unfortunately, unless there is a core volunteer group such as the Florida Trail Association building and maintaining trails, land managers take the easy route of blazing forest roads to establish trails, since they need no maintenance. We find this true in most WMAs, WEAs, and especially water management lands.
This website is a wealth if information and I am very impressed. There is no way to expect a person or few people to be able to 100% accurately keep up with any changes. This is the best hiking trail website I have ever used. Thank you.
Hi Sandra, the battle is not over. As long as our county commissioners are aware of opposition to the proposed expressway, we can turn this around. Below are some tips on how.
1) Email the Central Florida Expressway Authority and request to be added to their mailing list to get info on meetings and updates on proposed developments that affect Split Oak. Email: Osceolastudy@cfxway.com
2) Notify your board of county commissioners that you are opposed to this proposed development by writing, calling and attending hearings. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Let them know how much you love the forest and you won’t stand by and let this happen.
3) Join an organization that is working on initiatives that are dear to you such as Sierra Club or the League of Women Voters.
Thank you for your support of Split Oak.
Thanks Anh! This is an issue close to my heart and Sierra Club, the League of Women Voters, and Audubon Florida have very strongly opposed this planned toll road. We have collectively formed the Friends of Split Oak Forest (https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsofsplitoak/) and are fighting.