• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Florida Hikes logo

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

  • Trails
  • Maps
  • Guidebooks
  • Search
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
Tall Cypress bromeliad

Tall Cypress Natural Area

Protecting 66 acres of natural habitats in Coral Springs, Tall Cypress Natural Area offers a wonderland of ferns along its loop trail through a cypress slough

Coral Springs      ( 26.276303, -80.213543 )      0.5 miles

280 shares

Botanical diversity abounds in the 66-acre Tall Cypress Natural Area, protected thanks to the efforts of Coral Springs High School students in the 1980s.

Like its surroundings, it was planned to be yet another residential and commercial development. Students of the nearby school rallied to “Save What’s Left.”

The country purchased 30 acres from the developer to join with 36 acres the city of Coral Springs already owned. Both city and county jointly manage this preserve.


Resources

South Florida Explorers Guide book cover Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Coral Springs
Length: 0.5 mile loop
Trailhead: 26.276303, -80.213543
Address: 3700 Turtle Run Blvd, Coral Springs
Fees: Free
Restroom: at the trailhead
Land manager: Broward County
Phone: 954-357-8109

Open 8 AM to 6 PM. Pets are not permitted. Bring no food or drinks into the preserve except water.

This is an excellent spot for birding. Watch for woodpeckers in the pines, and herons in the depression marsh. Call the number above to inquire about naturalist night hikes.

Tall Cypress Natural Area


Directions

 
From the intersection of US 441 and Sample Rd, drive west 3 miles to Turtle Run Blvd. Turn right and follow the road 0.1 mile to the preserve entrance on the left.

Hike

A mosaic of basin swamp and pine flatwoods, Tall Cypress Natural Area is bigger than it appears from its boardwalk.

The trail only loops one tiny corner of the preserve, but it shows off its most unique features.

Follow the path to the boardwalk and take the left fork. By walking the loop clockwise, you enter the cypress slough first.

The bottom of the slough is densely covered in ferns. Marsh ferns dominate, with some scattered giant leather ferns, the largest of the ferns in the basin.

Tall Cypress Natural Area Cypress slough filled with ferns


Among the more unusual are the strap ferns with their long slender leaves that look like bunches of feathers.

The trail leads upwards into a pine flatwoods, emerging out of the shade into full sun under tall slash pines.

Pond cypresses rise above a T intersection. To the left is a gazebo overlook on the pine flatwoods.

It looks across the broader portion of the preserve, with silver-tinged saw palmetto under the pines.

Tall Cypress Natural Area Pine flatwoods


To the right the trail continues, reaching an overlook fronting a depression marsh at about a quarter mile.

As you continue along the boardwalk, a deep green bowl of ferns fills the understory beneath the cypresses.

Once the trail rises out of the wetlands, be on the lookout for tropical hammock trees such as satinleaf, notable for its interesting golden underside of the leaf, and pigeon plum.

When the trail reaches the end of the loop, turn left to exit.


Explore More!

Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Fern Forest ferns

Fern Forest Nature Center

A bounty of ferns awaits at Fern Forest Nature Center, where more than two miles of trails introduce you to a slice of Florida’s past, a tropical forest surrounding the original floodplain of Cypress Creek

Tropical hammock Parkland

Doris Davis Foreman Wilderness

A pretty patch of tropical hammock hides amid the bustle of suburbia in Parkland in Broward County on the half-mile loop through Doris Davis Foreman Wilderness Preserve

The woods of Woodmont

Woodmont Natural Area

A designated urban wilderness area, Woodmont Natural Area in Tamarac is one of the rare islands of nature left in western Broward County.

Helene Klein Pineland Preserve boardwalk

Helene Klein Pineland Preserve

In just 13 acres, Helene Klein Pineland Preserve packs in a nice walk through a variety of habitats within an urban forest along busy Hillsboro Blvd


Official Website

Category: Hikes, Loop Hikes, Natural Lands, Nature Trails, Southeast Florida, TrailsTag: Accessible, Boardwalks, Boca Raton, Botanical, Coral Springs, Easy Hikes, Family-Friendly, Fort Lauderdale, Observation Decks, Tropical Forests

Reader Interactions

Have an update? Contact us.

Primary Sidebar

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA OVERVIEW
East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida Trail

Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Northeast Everglades Natural Area . Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

Our Newest Books

The Florida Trail Guide

The Florida Trail GuideOur definitive guidebook to planning backpacking trips on the Florida National Scenic Trail, now in its fourth edition. Full data charts and maps. B&W, 356 pages. $19.95 + tax & shipping.

Order Now


Florida Trail Hikes

Florida Trail Hikes 2nd edition coverFifty of the best day hikes, overnights, and weekend trips on the Florida Trail. Full hike descriptions and maps, full color. 376 pages. $24.95 + tax & shipping.

Order Now


Discovering the Florida Trail

Florida Trail mini coffee table book cover of trail into palm hammock
A visual journey the length of the Florida Trail, covering more than 1,500 miles from the Everglades to Pensacola Beach. Hardcover, 196 pages. $24.95 + tax & shipping.

Order Now
 


50 Hikes in Central Florida 3rd edition
Five Star Trails Orlando guidebook
Explorer's Guide North Florida & The Panhandle guidebook

Florida Trail Apps

Farout GuidesFarout Guides Comprehensive logistics and offline maps for the
Florida National Scenic Trail (1,500 miles), the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail (108 miles), and the ECT Florida Connector (92 miles).

Explore More

Our recent park & trail updates in this region

Broad sand road through sandhill habitat

Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park

Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park
Well worn path through a wet pine flatwoods landscape

DuPuis Loop Trail

DuPuis Loop Trail
Bike along bike path in greenway

East Coast Greenway Stuart

East Coast Greenway Stuart
Nature trail in pine-palm forest

Gomez Preserve

Gomez Preserve

Footer

FIND A TRAIL OR PARK

NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. Crestview. DeFuniak Springs. Destin. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Fort Walton Beach. Freeport. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Navarre Beach . Niceville. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Quincy. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka

NORTH FLORIDA
Alachua. Amelia Island. Baldwin. Branford. Bunnell. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Crescent City. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Gainesville. Green Cove Springs. High Springs. Jacksonville. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler.Lake City. Live Oak. Mayo. Macclenny. Micanopy. Olustee. Orange Park. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Perry. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Welaka. White Springs. Williston

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

MULTI-REGION
Big Cypress Swamp. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka. Belleview. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Christmas. Chuluota. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. Daytona Beach. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Frostproof. Geneva. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Lakeland. Largo. Leesburg. Longwood. Melbourne. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Ocala. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Orlando. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Palm Bay. Ridge Manor. Sanford. Silver Springs. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. St. Petersburg. Tampa. Tarpon Springs. Titusville . Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor. Ding Darling NWR. Englewood. Estero. Fort Myers. Immokalee. Naples. Pine Island. Port Charlotte. Punta Gorda. Sanibel Island. Sarasota. Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Clewiston. Everglades City. Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. LaBelle. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Pahokee. Port Mayaca. Sebring. South Bay

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Northeast Everglades Natural Area. Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

  • Trails
  • Parks
  • Beaches
  • Gardens
  • Springs
  • Ecotours
  • Attractions
©2006-2023, Sandra Friend & John Keatley | Disclosure | Site Index | Work with Us | Advertise with Us
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy | Florida Hikes PO Box 93 Mims FL 32754| Contact