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Open prairie and big sky in Florida

Yeehaw Junction

A crossroads amid vast agricultural lands, Yeehaw Junction is the nearest “there” to some of Central Florida’s more remote trails.


Resources

Resources for exploring the area
Florida Trail Hikes book cover The Florida Trail Guide book cover Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover 50 Hikes in Central Florida 50 Hikes in South Florida 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.


Exploring Yeehaw Junction

A crossroads at the southeastern corner of Osceola County, Yeehaw Junction is best known for its unusual name, which springs from Florida’s frontier past.

Cattle drives once regularly passed through, headed south along the Kissimmee River. At 60 mph, it’s a half hour to pretty much anything in any direction other than natural lands.

To the west, Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area sweeps along the eastern boundary of the Kissimmee River chain of lakes, and is traversed by the Florida Trail across its entire length.

To the east, the St. Johns River rises from vast marshes at Fort Drum Marsh Conservation Area and starts flowing north.

Blue Cypress Lake, one of the first lakes in the river of lakes that is the St. Johns River, is a popular destination for paddlers because of its remoteness and natural beauty.


Trails and Parks near Yeehaw Junction

Broad grassy floodplain with marshes Florida Trail, KICCO North 3.4 miles. Take in a panorama of marshes busy with birds in the Kissimmee River floodplain at River Ranch along the northernmost reaches of the Kissimmee River
Long Hammock at KICCO Florida Trail, KICCO South 10.1 miles. Ancient live oaks break up the expanse of cattle pastures and prairies along the Florida Trail adjoining the Kissimmee River in KICCO
Florida Trail, Kissimmee Following the Kissimmee River for 112 miles, this is a scenic section of the Florida Trail with levees, woods, river views, open prairies, and cattle ranches.
Wet prairie along the Kissimmee River basin Florida Trail, Kissimmee Prairie South Hike 13.3 miles through the southern extent of one of Florida's largest prairies while connecting the Kissimmee River with the heart of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park.
Mown path thrown scrubby palmetto Florida Trail, Three Lakes South 8.5 miles. Winding through picturesque prairies and primordial oak hammocks, the Florida Trail showcases the best of Three Lakes WMA south of the Prairie Lakes Unit.
Vast expanse of prairie with blaze post Florida Trail, Three Lakes WMA At Three Lakes WMA / Prairie Lakes Unit, the Florida Trail traverses one of the largest expanses of open prairie in the Southeast, the Kissimmee Prairie.
Butterfly among wildflowers Fort Drum Marsh Headwaters of the St. Johns River, Fort Drum Marsh Conservation Area covers more than 20,000 acres, but this hike zeroes in on Horseshoe Lake and Hog Island near Yeehaw Junction.
Lush green hammock with hiking symbol Kissimmee Prairie Kilpatrick Hammock Trail Sample habitats found around the hammocks that dot the vast Kissimmee Prairie with this short loop around an old homestead site at Kilpatrick Hammock.
Expanse of palmettos to horizon Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park Enjoy Florida's own big sky at the only state park in Florida where starry skies fill the horizon and an extensive network of trails - including the Florida Trail - provides access for exploration.
Prairie landscape in Florida Three Lakes WMA Protecting nearly 64,000 acres south of the Orlando metro along the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area is a delight for birders and hikers.

Articles

Trek Skye at KICCO Tricking out a Trek (6/21/2017) Offroad riding means a lot of bounce, especially on a washboarded limerock road like KICCO Grade. Adding trekking bars to John's mountain bike made all the difference.
Primrose tucked into a space at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park Nine more nights in Primrose (4/1/2014) With our first Primrose trip of 2014 behind us, we are starting to see how snowbird RVers live here in Florida. And it's a bit different than those of us who prefer to have a little outdoors with our camping.

More Articles


NEARBY: Frostproof, Kenansville, Lake Wales, Okeechobee, St. Cloud, Vero Beach | PART OF: Central Florida

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FarOut Guides

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Florida National Scenic Trail (1,500 miles)
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Our Florida Guidebooks

We’ve written Florida guidebooks for over 25 years. These include Central Florida destinations.

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Book cover of Florida Trail Hikes
The Florida Trail Guide fifth edition
50 Hikes in Central Florida 3rd edition

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Newest Articles for Central Florida

Path through pine flatwoods Hal Scott Red Trail
Grassy slope edged with trees Sandhill Preserve
Two-track through pine savanna Hal Scott Yellow Trail
Footpath through coastal hammock Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park

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FIND A TRAIL OR PARK

METROS: Bradenton. Clearwater. Crestview. Daytona Beach. Destin. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Myers. Fort Walton Beach. Gainesville. Jacksonville. Kissimmee. Lakeland. Melbourne. Miami. Naples. Ocala. Orlando. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Port St. Lucie. Punta Gorda. St. Petersburg. Sanford. Sarasota. Sebring. Stuart. Tallahassee. Tampa. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach.

MULTI-REGION: Atlantic Coastal Ridge. Atlantic Coast. Bartram Trail. Big Bend. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail. Gulf Coast. Lake Wales Ridge. WATERWAYS: Indian River Lagoon. Intracoastal Waterway. Kissimmee River. St. Johns River. Withlacoochee River.

NORTHWEST FLORIDA: Altha. Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Big Bend Scenic Byway. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Bruce. Cantonment. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. DeFuniak Springs. Eastpoint. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Freeport. Fountain. Gulf Breeze. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Holt. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Munson. Navarre. Navarre Beach. Newport. Niceville. Panacea. Panama City . Perdido Key. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Quincy. Santa Rosa Beach. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. George Island. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Sumatra. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka. Woodville. WATERWAYS: Apalachicola River. Blackwater Bay. Blackwater River. Chipola River. Choctawhatchee Bay. Choctawhatchee River. Coastal Dune Lakes. Ochlockonee Bay. Perdido River. St. Marks River. Wacissa River. Wakulla River. Yellow River.

NORTH FLORIDA: Alachua. Amelia Island. Archer. Baldwin. Branford. Bronson. Bunnell. Callahan. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Crescent City. Cross City. Cross Creek. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fanning Springs. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Fort White. Glen St. Mary. Green Cove Springs. Hawthorne. High Springs. Inglis. Jacksonville Beaches. Jacksonville Northshore. Jasper. Jennings. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler. Lake City. Live Oak.Macclenny. Mandarin. Mayo. Mayport. Micanopy. Middleburg. Old Town. Olustee. Orange Park. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Palm Valley. Perry. Ponte Vedra. Rodman. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Waldo. Welaka. White Springs. Williston. Worthington Springs. Yankeetown. WATERWAYS: Santa Fe River. St. Marys River. Suwannee River. Tolomato River. Upper Withlacoochee River.

CENTRAL FLORIDA: Altamonte Springs. Apollo Beach. Apopka. Astatula. Astor. Auburndale. Bartow. Babson Park. Bayport. Belleview. Bithlo. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Cassadaga. Christmas. Chuluota. Citrus Springs. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Edgewater. Enterprise. Eustis. Ferndale. Fort Meade. Frostproof. Geneva. Gibsonton. Haines City. Hernando. Hernando Beach. Holopaw. Homosassa. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Largo. Leesburg. Lithia. Longwood. Lutz. Maitland. Malabar. McIntosh. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. Narcoossee/Lake Nona. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Nobleton. Oak Hill. Oakland. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Ocoee. Oldsmar. Orange City. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Paisley. Palm Bay. Plant City. Poinciana. Polk City. Ponce Inlet. Port Orange. Ridge Manor. Riverview. Ruskin. Safety Harbor. Silver Springs. Sorrento. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. Tarpon Springs. Thonotosassa. Titusville . Umatilla. Viera. Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Weirsdale. Wimauma. Windermere. Winter Garden. Winter Haven. Winter Park. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction. Zephyrhills. WATERWAYS: Alafia River. Halifax River. Hillsborough River. Lake Apopka. Little Manatee River. Ochlawaha River. Rainbow River. Tampa Bay. Wekiva River. Wekiva River Basin.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Alva. Boca Grande. Cape Coral. Charlotte Harbor. Ding Darling NWR. Ellenton. Englewood. Estero. Immokalee. Marco Island. North Port. Osprey. Palma Sola. Palmetto. Pine Island. Port Charlotte. Sanibel Island. Venice. WATERWAYS: Caloosahatchee River. Manatee River. Myakka River. Pine Island Sound.

SOUTH FLORIDA: Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Big Cypress Swamp. Bowling Green. Clewiston. Everglades City. Indiantown. LaBelle. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Ortona. Pahokee. Palmdale. Port Mayaca. South Bay. Wauchula. Zolfo Springs. WATERWAYS: Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Peace River.

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA: Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coconut Creek. Coral Gables. Coral Springs. Davie. Delray Beach. Fellsmere. Flamingo. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Indrio. Jensen Beach. Juno Beach. Jupiter. Jupiter Farms. Key Biscayne. North Hutchison Island. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Palm Beach. Palm Beach Gardens. Pompano Beach. Redland. Sebastian. South Hutchinson Island. WATERWAYS: Florida Bay. St. Lucie River.

FLORIDA KEYS: Big Pine Key. Islamorada. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Overseas Heritage Trail.


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