A familiar sign to travelers along US 1 between New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange beckons visitors onto an island in the Spruce Creek basin.
On it, Spruce Creek Park provides not just a nice breezy walk but a place to launch a kayak, enjoy a picnic, or go fishing or birding from its long pier.
Observation decks on the Spruce Creek pierIn addition to an easy, largely level waterfront loop with scenic views, the park is the sole gateway to the Rose Bay Trail inside Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve.
Accessed via a long boardwalk by the Environmental Center, that trail provides a separate 1.9 mile round-trip north to the edge of Rose Bay.
The kayak launch adjoins the park’s pierResources
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Overview
Location: Port Orange
Length: 0.8 mile loop
Trailhead: 29.09450, -80.97230
Address: 6250 Ridgewood Ave, Port Orange
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead picnic pavilion
Land manager: Volusia County
Phone: 386-736-5953
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome. Mosquito repellent a must.
A group campground in the middle of the park is open to organized nonprofit groups. Reserve by phone.
Directions
From New Smyrna Beach, follow US 1 north past the airport into the Spruce Creek basin. Watch for a turnout at the sign on the west side of the highway for Spruce Creek Park. Once inside the gates, make the second right to park near the picnic pavilion and environmental center to hike. Paddlers should continue straight ahead to park in the canopied lot closer to the launch and pier.
Hike
Join the perimeter path around Spruce Creek Park by taking the boardwalk with the hiker symbol just beyond the picnic pavilion.
Meet a T at a shell path. To the right, the path leads to the boardwalk into Spruce Creek Preserve accessing the Rose Bay Trail.
Entry point for hikeEven if you plan to save that separate 1.9 mile hike for last (it can be soggy), visit the boardwalk to take in the expanse around a tidal creek from an observation deck.
Flanking US 1, Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve encompasses a vast expanse of coastal estuary dotted with islands.
Boardwalk to Rose Bay TrailThe mangrove forest surrounding US 1 makes the interconnections between the creek and the Halifax River near Ponce Inlet less obvious.
At night, however, the swing of the navigational lamp atop the Ponce Inlet lighthouse is a reminder of the close proximity of the Atlantic Ocean.
The boardwalk is a good birding spotBacktrack to the shell path to begin the loop around Spruce Creek Park. It passes behind the environmental center.
Once it comes into view of the parking area, the width expands to that of a road. Stay to the right where paths diverge.
The outer pathTall, spiky slash pines rise above a coastal landscape of red cedar and cabbage palms, the understory dense with yaupon holly and shrubs.
Follow the curve as it turns towards the mature pine forest near the heart of this island.
Tall pinesWeaving past oaks and pines, come to a spot where a pier once stood, the first glimpse of Spruce Creek itself along this loop.
A little beyond it is the kayak launch area, parking to the left and the slip into the estuary between the mangroves on the right.
Kayak launchTake the next right to walk out on the pier. Built for both observation and fishing, the wooden decking extends well out across the estuary.
Reach its end 0.4 miles into this hike, hovering above the strong flow of Spruce Creek.
One of the observation decks at the end of the pierTake in the expanse of estuary before returning along the pier. While not roofed, the benches midway along its length are a nice birding spot.
Meeting the loop trail, turn right. Walk beneath towering pines as the path makes a circuit around the group campground.
Benches on the pierAt 0.7 miles, a sharp turn west detaches the path from the perimeter of the island, sending it past an opening into the campground.
Walk past the park office, where a stack of canoes are at the ready for youth groups. Emerging at the park road, bear left.
CampgroundTurn right at the stop sign to walk into the trailhead parking area, concluding this 0.8 mile circuit.
Expand on this hike by also tackling the 1.9 mile round-trip to Rose Bay across that initial boardwalk visited on this loop, or the half mile sometimes soggy round-trip to the observation tower.
Doris Leeper Rose Bay Trail Exploring an island in the Spruce Creek estuary, the Rose Bay Trail leads to an observation tower and the edge of the mangrove-lined bay.
Start it at the hiker sign by the picnic pavilionTrail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve
Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve Protecting miles of frontage along the sinuous path of Spruce Creek, Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve offers a diverse collection of trails to explore. Video
Hiking Spruce Creek Park
Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
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