Home to the Withlacoochee State Forest and near to Weeki Wachee Spring, Brooksville is the county seat of Hernando County, founded in the 1840s
Dade City
Gateway to the vast Green Swamp, Dade City offers easy access to day hikes and backpacking trips.
Bushnell
The seat of Sumter County, Bushnell is surrounded by agricultural lands and conservation lands along the basins of the Withlacoochee River and the Green Swamp.
Clermont
At the northernmost extent of the Lake Wales Ridge, the rolling hills of Clermont touch the edge of the Green Swamp. It’s at this intersection you’ll find interesting places to hike and cycle in state parks and other natural lands.
Colt Creek State Park
A former 5,000-acre cattle ranch in the midst of the Green Swamp Wilderness Area, headwaters to the Hillsborough, Peace, Ocklawaha, and Withlacoochee Rivers, Colt Creek State Park is a mosaic of wetlands and uplands with extensive forest roads serving as trails
Florida Trail, Cypress Lakes Preserve
At Cypress Lakes Preserve, a 1.7-mile segment of the Florida Trail follows the edge of a series of cypress-lined lakes where ancient trees have survived the ages
Fort Foster State Historic Site
Part of Hillsborough River State Park, Fort Foster State Historic Site takes you back to the era of Florida’s earliest pioneer settlers and their clashes with the native Seminoles.
Gator Creek Preserve
A dip into a corner of the Green Swamp, Gator Creek Preserve north of Lakeland offers 2.5 miles of easy loop trails for the whole family to explore
Hillsborough River Hiking Trails
One of Tampa’s oldest parks, Hillsborough River State Park has a 5.8-mile trail system as its centerpiece, through old-growth forest and along river rapids.
Hillsborough River State Park
Water in motion: the Hillsborough rapids foam and froth over limestone boulders beneath grand cypress trees in Class II rapids. One of Florida’s oldest state parks, Hillsborough River State Park showcases this masterpiece of nature from an overlook and trail system built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Lakeland
With an array of parks and natural lands and a growing system of bike trails, Lakeland is a hub for recreation along the Lake Wales Ridge and into the Green Swamp.