The elevation marker for Mount Tippecanoe first drew our attention to this coastal hiking destination in Port Charlotte.
Years later, watching a Florida scrub-jay turn over seashells at the base of a mangrove confirmed this particular preserve as still worth the hike.
Scrub-jays along the Red TrailWith 380 acres of uplands and wetlands protected since 1995 along the rim of Tippecanoe Bay, it adjoins Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park.
From Mount Tippecanoe, a man-made feature, a streak of blue on the horizon beyond a vast mangrove forest marks where the Myakka River meets Charlotte Harbor.
Expect wildlife along the trailsOur hike explores the heart of the preserve, but there is more to see on its network of trails. The map on the trailhead kiosk illustrates the original Red and Blue Trails.
More recent maps on the county website and posted at several intersections refer to Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Trails.
Trail map at a junctionTheir maps say the Primary Trail is 1.2 miles, but we measured it as a 2 mile loop. Expect to spend more miles backtracking if bridges and boardwalks are not repaired.
We use the original color-coded trail designations matching the kiosk map to explain the route. The going is rough where deep soft sand is the norm in the scrub.
Deep sand on the East LoopResources
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Overview
Location: Port Charlotte
Length: 2 miles
Trailhead: 26.995004, -82.183064
Address: 2400 El Jobean Rd, Port Charlotte
Fees: Free
Restroom: Composting toilet
Land manager: Charlotte County
Phone: 941-613-3220
Open dawn to dusk. No dogs or bikes. Insect repellent a must. So is a map; the trail network is not well marked.
Designated accessible when it was first built, the Red Trail still has a natural surface improved shellrock surface along portions of it.
Directions
The trailhead is behind the sports complex. Enter through its main entrance.
From Interstate 75 exit 179, North Port, drive south on Toledo Blade Blvd for 6.5 miles. At SR 776, turn right. Continue 1.4 miles to the entrance to the Charlotte Sports Park on the left. Turn left and drive around the perimeter of the Charlotte Sports Park to find the entrance to Tippecanoe Environmental Park beneath an archway behind the sports park complex.
Hike
Enter the preserve beneath the archway and grab a map or a photo of the one on the kiosk.
Meet a T with the Red Trail just beyond it and turn right. A corridor hemmed in by oak scrub, the shellrock path occasionally yields to a grassy surface.
Pathway paralleling preserve perimeterSweeping west just inside the perimeter of the preserve, it rounds a curve heaped with moonvine.
Turn left within sight of the corner of the sports park fence to cross a footbridge. Palms obscure a large pond to the east.
FootbridgeAt the next trail junction, the Blue Trail continues straight ahead to parallel the pond and make a northern loop in the preserve.
Turn left, passing the composting toilet as the Red Trail enters the pine flatwoods.
Looking back at the Red/Blue junctionBroad and largely graveled with limestone and shell chips, the Red Trail splits into a loop at a quarter mile at a junction marked with a lamppost.
Bear left. The pine flatwoods yield to a low scrub. Keep alert. This is where we encountered one of the preserve’s scrub-jay families, near the ecotone with the salt marsh.
Scrub-jay picking through shellsWithin a tenth of a mile, a boardwalk across from a lamppost reveals a view of needlerush marsh and mangroves.
Blocked off due to a broken bridge on our visit, a narrow footpath starts on the far side of the boardwalk, burrowing into scrub surrounding salt marsh.
If it reopens, this crossover trail provides an alternate access or return route from Mount Tippecanoe.
Salt marsh boardwalkContinue past the boardwalk junction along the arc of the Red Trail, which comes to the south end of its loop at another prominent lamppost.
For birders who are simply here to see scrub-jays, making a right returns to the trailhead via the shellrock path for a nearly mile-long hike.
Shellrock path before south end of loopTurn left to stay on the outer loop, immediately leaving the road-like surface behind for a grassy path into healthy pine flatwoods.
One of the older pines adjoining the trail sports an ages-old catface scar, a slash into the slash pine trunk to extract sap for making turpentine.
Healthy pine flatwoodsPass a side trail into the pines and expect a low spot or two that might be soggy.
At 0.8 mile, meet the Blue Trail coming in from the right along a power line at a T intersection. Turn left to continue towards Mount Tippecanoe.
Facing north at the junction of Blue and Red TrailsThis palm-lined track becomes squishy mud where vehicle tires have beaten it down.
In a tenth of a mile, a boardwalk spans a vast expanse of salt marsh, providing a panoramic view of the Knight Creek basin to the west.
Expanse of marshRound a corner onto a second straightaway, walking between palms as the boardwalk ends.
The red spikes of coral bean in bloom draw attention to the mix of understory plants.
Palm hammockJoin a second boardwalk a mile into the hike, this one with railings. It crosses a broad waterway that flows slowly between its mangrove-lined shores.
Wriggling southwest, it reaches Knight Creek, which in turn flows into the Myakka River.
Waterway under the boardwalkLeaving the boardwalk, zigzag through a palm hammock to another often-muddy track. At a junction with a posted map, continue straight ahead.
Pass a path on the left before emerging into a broad grassy strip leading to the earthen ramp of Mount Tippecanoe.
Ramp up Mount TippecanoeOne of the rare benches in the preserve is at the top. A sea of mangroves extend from the base of this tall berm to blue waters on the far horizon.
That splash of blue is where the Myakka River meets Gasparilla Sound, an upper arm of Charlotte Harbor.
Mount Tippecanoe viewLeaving the ramp, continue along the grassy strip past where you came in to find the next opening on the left. Take the rightmost of the forest roads at this junction.
Broad and worn by tire tracks, it proceeds into the pine flatwoods, the footing becoming sandy before a pleasant grassy stretch in scrubby flatwoods.
Young longleaf pineThe habitat shift to scrub is underway on the approach to the first of several not-so-well-marked trail junctions at 1.7 miles.
A half-hidden mangrove-lined waterway previews where the path to the right goes, headed along a canal boundary of the preserve.
Waterway hiding nearbyContinue straight ahead. Skip the next junction marked by deep white sand. At the third junction, a map is posted.
The path to the right makes a 0.6 mile loop through the scrubby northeast corner of the preserve. It’s not the easiest walk, but may yield more wildlife and bird sightings.
Florida scrub-jayThe path to the left is the route to the boardwalk off the shellrock portion of the Red Trail.
If its open and you use it, note the junctions on the map to keep track of. The simpler return route is straight ahead.
Map at junctionWalking through soft white sand, continue through one final stretch of oak scrub with varying heights of trees.
Keep alert for the unmarked turnoff along a curve to a broad grassy path leading to a boardwalk.
Looking back at the junction for the boardwalkHere, the freshwater drainage flowing towards Knight Creek contains an array of ferns growing in its muddy basin under the palms.
The pathway leads straight towards a gate out to the sports field. Make a left for one final stretch on the shellrock path to the kiosk and entry archway to complete this 2 mile loop.
Turn left when facing the sports fieldTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking Tippecanoe Environmental Park
Slideshow
See our photos from Tippecanoe Environmental Park
Nearby Adventures
Tippecanoe II Mitigation Area Set aside for the conservation of gopher tortoise and Florida scrub-jay habitat in Port Charlotte, Tippecanoe II sits just south of Tippecanoe Environmental Park.
Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park Stretched long and thin to follow the convoluted shoreline of Charlotte Harbor, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park protects more than 100 miles of coastline along the Gulf Coast.
Cedar Point Environmental Park Where Oyster Creek flows into Lemon Bay, Cedar Point Environmental Park protects a spectrum of coastal habitats along a wildlife-rich peninsula ready for exploration on foot. 
Oyster Creek Environmental Park Along the northern shore of a mangrove-lined creek, Oyster Creek Environmental Park offers gentle hiking trails with interpretive stops beneath old-growth slash pines.
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