I did a leisurely 6 day section hike last week of the approximately 70 mile section of the Florida Trail that traverses the Ocala National Forest. This trip was a very pleasant surprise. The tread was fairly level, a nice departure from my usual AT section hikes. The trail was extremely well-maintained and blazed. The variety of unusual ecosystems was a special treat to this son of an ecologist, particularly the longleaf pine forests, the “big scrub,” and the prairies. There was even a special resupply store with a pub, practically right on the trail. Definitely a trip best done during the winter months; it hit a fairly brutal 91 degrees on one day, and this was in early February!
If you’re looking for something a little bit different, I cannot recommend this hike enough. Also, I found the Guthook Florida Trail app to be extremely accurate and informative. There was modest traffic on the trail- I saw 5-10 hikers on average each day- but mostly it was blissful solitude.
My trip reports are HERE.
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