Florida Hikes

Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

Boardwalk with a palm tree arching over the path

Starkey Wilderness Nature Trail

On a 1.3 mile route, the Nature Trail at Starkey Wilderness Park burrows deep into the Pithlachascotee River floodplain amid enormous trees and deep shade.

New Port Richey (28.25967, -82.63386)   1.3 miles   Starkey Wilderness Park

An immersive 1.3 mile hike, the Nature Trail extends from the day use area through lush hardwood hammocks into the Pithlachascotee River floodplain.

A spur trail leads to the river, but may be impossible to follow to the water’s edge depending on how wet the floodplain is.

Tannic shallow river in swamp forest This hike’s goal

From a trailhead at Parking Lot 7, it’s now signposted the Sasquatch Trail. Our route starts at the original access point behind Shelter 5 at Parking Lot 8.

This starting point enables you to easily continue on to the Bluebird Trail to incorporate this loop into a much longer hike.

Bike trail sign Start at the paved path

Resources

Resources for exploring the area
50 Hikes in Central Florida Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover Paddlers Guide Florida
 
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Overview

Location: New Port Richey
Length: 1.3 miles
Trailhead: 28.25967, -82.63386
Address: 10500 Wilderness Park Blvd, New Port Richey
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land manager: Pasco County
Phone: 727-834-3247

Open daily dawn to dusk. Leashed dogs welcome; pick up after your pet. Cyclists not permitted.

Directions


 
From the Suncoast Parkway, follow SR 54 west to Little Rd (CR 1). Drive north 2.2 miles. Turn right on River Crossing Blvd and go 1.3 miles, then make a left on Starkey Blvd. Continue a quarter mile to make a right on Wilderness Road, which leads into the park and loops at the very back of the park near the parking areas by the Nature Trail. Parking Area

Hike

Blazed in orange and blue, the paved path leading into the oak hammock adjoining Shelter 5 also has a sign pointing out it’s the connector to the bike trail.

At a blue-blazed post, the Bluebird Trail turns left. Just past it, turn left on an unmarked footpath towards a rounded prairie.

Path towards a prairie Turn off the paved path towards the prairie

Circle the prairie on its right side, coming to a gap in the old ranch fence. Walk into the shade of the oaks along the pond and turn right.

Both ends of the nature trail start here. One is marked with a Nature Trail sign. For a counterclockwise loop, make a right on the closer footpath that is not.

Lime green blazes on pines Start of the loop counterclockwise

Follow a well-defined corridor in the saw palmetto under the pines. Lime green blazes lead the way.

Pass another gap in the fence before curving away from it towards towering oaks, pines, and cypress. Cabbage palms quickly claim the understory.

Cabbage palms under pines Cabbage palms begin to dominate

Enter a bottomland forest, reaching a footbridge over a blackwater stream a quarter mile in from the bike path.

It’s a tricky crossing, requiring ducking under a cabbage palm trunk. Narrowing and rooty, the footpath beyond also requires attention to avoid tripping.

Palm over boardwalk Tricky crossing

Wild coffee grows in patches below stately pines rising well above a thicket of palm fronds. Cypress knees jut from pine needles.

Nourished by the nearby Pithlachascotee River, the understory becomes a riotous jungle of moisture-loving vegetation, including both marlberry and bay trees.

Cypress knees in footpath Watch your step!

Gaining a little elevation, walk beneath a high canopy defined by ancient live oaks, tall cabbage palms, and huge southern magnolias.

A well-anchored bald cypress spreads its roots across the footpath. Bromeliads thrive in this outstanding canopy, the limbs of the live oaks furry in resurrection fern.

High canopy of oaks and magnolias and pines The impressive canopy above

A half mile in, the sign at a trail junction points to the river to the right. Ending at the banks of the Pithlachascotee, this spur can be an adventure.

A cutout silhouette of Bigfoot lurked at the junction on our visit. Turn right for a round-trip into this bottomland forest.

TRAILNAME Trail junction

The footpath slips under and past the imposing trunks of enormous live oaks and into a patch of forest dense with magnolias.

After a few curves, a narrow straightaway may have muddy patches between tree roots.

Enormous live oak One of the largest live oaks

The high canopy ahead is mainly cypress trees, signaling the river is near. How close you can get depends on water levels, as the footpath may become deep mud.

Green blazes and a puzzle of beaten paths lead to the river’s edge at 0.7 miles.

Puzzle of understory under bare cypress trees Entering the river floodplain

Rising from the marshes to the east within Starkey Wilderness and Serenova Preserve, it isn’t very wide, but tannic and clear within its banks.

Return along this often-muddy spur to the trail junction and turn right to continue the loop.

Slash of tannic water in floodplain forest Pithlachascotee River

The wide path quickly leads to a long boardwalk crossing a feeder stream.

Ascend to the higher ground of the pine flatwoods, the winding path through the columns of pines blazed but obvious up to a double blaze.

Boardwalk through a floodplain Boardwalk

A “Trail” sign confirms the correct route. Pine flatwoods yield to sand pines and oak scrub on a gradual ascent.

Within sight of the park road at 1.1 miles is a junction with two potential routes back to Shelter 5 and Parking Area 8.

Junction in woods with back of sign ahead Approaching the junction

By crossing the road, which has a sponsored sign facing the way you came calling it the Sasquatch Trail, enter an island of forest between parking areas and picnic shelters.

At first the blazes stay lime green, then become pale purple. There are numerous unmarked junctions, one of which leads to a StoryWalk loop for children.

Puzzling a route through, emerge into a parking lot at 1.3 miles within sight of Shelter 5.

Purple sign and blaze in oak hammock Along the pathways of the island

Alternatively, the footpath next to the Nature Trail Ends sign continues your loop back to the round prairie behind Shelter 5.

Green blazes lead through a thicket of scrub edged by skinny slash pines. After a few turns, immerse in the pine flatwoods once more.

Path behind a large sign into piney woods Continue the original loop behind this sign

Exit the footpath along the shoreline of the round prairie at a Nature Trail sign pointing the way you came.

A left takes you back through the fence gap to the two-track around the prairie to the bike path, with a right to exit to the trailhead after 1.3 miles.

Or turn right to walk past Shelter 5, a large picnic pavilion, and the restrooms near it to return to Parking Area 8.

Round prairie and pines Emerging at the round prairie

Trail Map

Starkey Wilderness Park Hiking Trails Map
Green: Nature Trail. Blue: Bluebird Trail. Red/Brown: Starkey Wilderness Loop. Light blue: Starkey Trail.

Explore More!

Learn more about Starkey Wilderness Park

Pine flatwoods beyond a prairie Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park Explore an expansive landscape of pine flatwoods, prairies, scrubby flatwoods, and open scrub along over 16 miles of hiking trails east of New Port Richey.

Video

Hiking the Starkey Wilderness Nature Trail

Slideshow

See our photos from the Starkey Wilderness Nature Trail

Nearby Adventures

Sandy path under archway of oaks Starkey Wilderness Loop At popular Starkey Wilderness Park, string three loop trails together for a truly wild 13.8 mile backcountry trek across scrub, sandhill, flatwoods, and cypress swamps.
Needlerush marsh in front of pine flatwoods Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park Home to one of Florida's deepest springs, at 320 feet deep, Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park protects crucial coastal estuaries along the Gulf Coast.
Curve in bike path in sandhill habitat Suncoast Trail Stretching 41.3 miles from the Tampa metro to north of Brooksville, the Suncoast Trail is one of the longest continuous paved bike paths in Florida
Boardwalk overlooking river edged with palms James E Grey Preserve Hugging the shores of the winding Pithlachascotee River, James E. Grey Preserve follows its natural shorelines with an extensive accessible boardwalk.

Trail Map (PDF) Reserve Campsite Official Website

Sandra Friend
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