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Wild Turkey Trace

Wild Turkey Trace

Along an upland trail in Chassahowitzka WMA, Wild Turkey Trace immerses you in the turkey oaks and pines of the sandhill forest, with the surprise of a boggy marsh along the way.

Chassahowitzka WMA  |  Weeki Wachee
( 28.648983, -82.575067 )      0.6 miles

In a portion of Chassahowitzka WMA where turkey oaks thrive in the sandhills, the Wild Turkey Trace is a loop of a little more than a half mile. Along the route is the surprise of a boggy marsh.

Wild Turkey Trace
Turkey oaks along the Wild Turkey Trace

Resources

Resources for exploring the area

Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in Central Florida 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: Weeki Wachee
Length: 0.6 mile loop
Trailhead: 28.648983, -82.575067
Fees: Day use permit of $3 per person or $6 per vehicle
Restroom: A portable toilet is seasonally in place at the hunt check station
Land manager: Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Phone: 863-648-3200

Open daily from dawn to dusk. Leashed dogs welcome. There is a picnic table at the trailhead.


Directions

 
Enter the main gate of Chassahowitzka WMA on the west side of US 19 north of Centralia Rd. Pass the Hunt Check Station and take the graded road, Indigo Lane. Follow it for 1.5 miles until you see the trail parking area for the two hiking trails in the preserve.

Hike

Chassahowitzka WMA is a huge swath of public land along Florida’s Adventure Coast, protecting more than 34,000 acres of coastal forests and wetlands north of Weeki Wachee.

It was once the location of Centralia, a bustling early 1900s timbering community with a large sawmill and its own rail line. The town lasted 30 years before the timber was tapped out.

Wild Turkey Trace starts directly across from Cypress Circle at its own fence and sign, to the west of the parking area.

Follow the green markers into sandhill habitat, where you may spy a fox squirrel as you hike under the sand live oaks.

While the habitat is sandy, it’s not very hilly. A corridor of mature turkey oaks shades a portion of the hike.

A highlight along the walk is a very boggy, fern-dense marsh.

Wild Turkey Trace
Trailhead sign for the Wild Turkey Trace

Trail Map

Chasshowitzka Trail Map


Explore More!

Learn more about Chassahowitzka WMA

Chassahowitzka WMA credit FWC

Chassahowitzka WMA

Protecting more than 34,000 acres of coastal habitats along Florida’s Adventure Coast, Chassahowitzka WMA offers extensive exploration on its network of limerock roads.

Hike the adjacent Cypress Circle

Chassahowitzka WMA

Cypress Circle

Showcasing one small corner of Chassahowitzka WMA, Cypress Circle introduces you to both upland and lowland habitats as it circles around a cypress dome.

Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Annutteliga Hammock CA

Annutteliga Hammock CA

Buffering Chassahowitzka WMA and considered an extension of it, Annutteliga Hammock Conservation Area protects 570 acres of sandhills and scrub while offering several loop hikes.

Fickett Hammock

Fickett Hammock Preserve

Delving deep into a hardwood hammock with towering trees, the loop trail at Fickett Hammock Preserve quickly immerses you into a shady forest of botanical beauty.

Chinsegut Conservation Center Tract

Discover the beauty of May’s Prairie at the heart of the Chinsegut Conservation Center Tract

In Florida mixed hardwood forest

Perry Oldenburg WEA

With a surprising diversity of oak species for Central Florida, Perry Oldenburg WEA protects a prime piece of sandhill habitat where gopher tortoises thrive.


Trail Map (PDF) Hunt Dates Official Website

Category: Central Florida, Hikes, Loop Hikes, Nature Trails, Trails, Wildlife Management AreasTag: Chassahowitzka WMA, Dog-friendly, Florida's Adventure Coast, Weeki Wachee, Wildlife Viewing

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