Florida Trail Ochopee

"One on my favorite places to hike. Far from the city. Smack in the middle of nowhere. You can get away from the noise and lights (except the occasional plane fly over). This year has been wet, but most years by Jan the trails are dry, this will impact how easy the hike will be, dirt trails vs. shin deep/shoe sucking mud especially on the Blue trail between the trailhead on Nobles rd and Carpenter Camp. Lots of gators on the canal and birds. Occasional deer and black bear tracks. Free dispersed primitive camping. Read the website for permit requirements."

"If you're thinking about biking here, the only trail you should bike is the FNST, so from the entrance to Nobles camp. The blue and orange loop had lots of mud that felt like quicksand, at some points you could be between shin to knee deep in mud or water. There is plenty of wildlife, a deer crossed our path while biking on FNST, there were gators and we saw a croc. There were lots of birds and we also some bear tracks and plenty of signs of bears in the area (scratch marks on trees). Overall a beautiful trail. Don't forget to sign in at the front board and bring plenty of water. There are no restrooms here and in terms of bugs very minimal."

"Pretty incredible trail, but definitely not for beginners. Even though there’s no elevation change, the trail itself can be dynamic as the ecosystem. A few spots with knee-high water after a few days of light but unseasonable rain. Lots of wildlife to see, including huge gators and turtles, tons of large waterfowl, and a good amount of evidence of bear activity. Took about 5.5hrs to do the 15 mile Orange-Blue trail. Orange was easily manageable, but the second half of Blue (particularly south of Panther Camp) had more slow-going, water-logged sections. All that to say, a great adventure. Note: if you’re coming from the west coast, get off at the nearby rest stop and cross the highway going north underneath the overpass. Hand a right to get into the trailhead/truck parking area. Google Maps/Waze will tell you to go 20miles past and pull a u-turn if you just plug in the address."

"Solo hikers beware, I rode a bycicle in 2 miles North, talking by myself for youtube. 1 mile heading back south and a large 8ft gator with a big old head was sitting on the side of the trail near the canal. He was not afraid and did not run away. I'm 6'3" and I believe that dettered the gator. But for smaller people, I worry, so this is a warning for solo hikers. I had to walk past him within 4 ft to leave and go south. I am not happy to think 1 bite would have imploded my leg and the canal was right there. There is a missing person poster slapped on the information sign at the trail entry. A guy went missing 8/23 in that area. A majority of the land between the trail and canal is thick brush, but where I encountered this gator, it was cleared out with less brush."

"Don't come here, it's hot, lots of bugs, muddy when it rains, and there's a missing Emu somewhere, goes by the name of Merlin. You'll hate it! ... of course I'm not trying to convince tourists to avoid coming to this beautiful place. But after seeing an abandoned rusty bicycle and candy wrappers all within 100ft of the entrance gate, it's got me wondering how much better off the trail would be without these negligent folks harming it."