Guide to the Gorgeous Highlands Hammock State Park, Florida

As soon arsenic we drove into Highlands Hammock State Park, I relaxed and felt connected. It was arsenic if the elephantine oak, pines, and palmettos whispered, “you’re present now, you tin respire again.”

When you sojourn Sebring successful Florida, this authorities parkland is your accidental to nurture yourself successful quality distant from the crowds.

The sanction itself, “hammock” is the embodiment of relaxation. But the connection hammock present refers to thing other – it means wood of broad, shady hardwood trees that turn connected an ecological land wrong a wetland.

Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring

Within this past hammock is simply a delicate ecosystem, location to respective endangered taxon of animals, plants, and birdlife, arsenic good arsenic 9 hiking trails, a motorcycle path, elevated boardwalk, and historical tram.

In this guide, we stock each the things to bash successful Highlands Hammock State Park, and what you request to cognize earlier visiting.

About Highlands Hammock State Park

Nice and shady successful Highlands Hammock

Highlands Hammock State Park is Florida’s archetypal authorities park. On our tram tour, we learned a batch astir the parks’ past and unsocial qualities that earned its extortion rights.  

In 1934, a section CCC campy began moving connected a botanical plot task adjacent to Highlands Hammock Park.

When Florida’s authorities parkland strategy was established successful 1935, Highlands Hammock became 1 of the state’s archetypal parks. It is 1 of 8 archetypal CCC parks successful Florida, and encompasses an country of 9,000 acres.

Lovely trails here

Highlands Hammock has much uncommon and endemic taxon than immoderate different State Park successful Florida.

Highlands Hammock represents Old Florida earlier the glitz and glamor of Orlando and Tampa Bay showed up – it’s untouched and ancient, a spot wherever you’ll find yourself surrounded by 1000 aged oak trees arsenic you determination on nether shaded canopies of cypress and hardwood swamps, marshes, and evergreen flatwoods.

There’s plentifulness of accidental for alligator spotting and vertebrate watching successful the park.

You whitethorn get fortunate and spot deer, a achromatic bear, oregon adjacent the elusive Florida Panther.

Some large gators

Highlands Hammock is simply a tiny capable parkland that you tin spot a batch successful conscionable a fewer hours, but much than capable for you to agelong it retired a small longer.

While it’s not of the swinging kind, hammock does invoke an representation of relaxation and revitalization. It comes from the Native American word, “hamaca’ which means “a shady place”.

Today, hammock is utilized successful Florida to picture wood habitats that are typically higher successful elevation and are characterized by hardwood forests of broad-leaved evergreens.

Tropical hardwood hammocks hap successful southbound Florida and on the Florida coastlines wherever information from frost is uncommon and tropical trees and shrubs communal to the Caribbean islands (West Indian origin) tin survive.

Things to bash successful Highlands Hammock State Park

With 9 hiking trails, an elevated boardwalk, a 3-mile motorcycle path, and a tram to instrumentality it each successful from, these are the champion attractions successful Highlands Hammock State Park…

1. Tram Tour of Highlands Hammock State Park

A large instauration to this unthinkable Florida State Park is the narrated tram tour.

This full-accessible tram passes dilatory done 4 large ecosystems that see hydric hammock, cypress swamp, conifer flatwoods and baygall.

Our informative guide, Ed stopped on the mode to thatch america the meaning of words specified arsenic hammock, epiphytes, and pods pointing retired existent beingness examples arsenic we went. This perfectly aligned with our schoolcation mission.

Days later, Savannah was capable to explicate however the enactment of an alligator babe is determined depending connected wherever their ovum lays successful the nest.

Cute babe gator

Not lone did it thatch me, but sparked my curiosity to a question I can’t rather grasp an reply to. I conjecture we enactment it down to the unexplained Mother Nature.

Why bash antheral alligators consciousness the request to procreate if they conscionable privation to devour each their babies owed to fearfulness of contention for resources?

All bully tours should person you ending successful the pursuit of much knowledge!

Our tram circuit took america down a backmost dusty roadworthy on the park’s borders.

The pine, oak and hardwood trees gave mode to much cypress trees, The palms and palmettos dependable companions to each passim the park.

We spotted tons of turtles

This little heavy country is wherever a achromatic carnivore and Florida panther were precocious spotted connected the parkland cam!

We didn’t spot these uncommon animals, but we did spot the hog traps acceptable up to assistance eradicate the out-of-control hog problem.

We besides learned astir 1 peculiar taxon successful Highlands Hammock, the gopher tortoise.

This conception of the parkland has trees babelike connected occurrence for regrowth, truthful controlled burning is done.

Loved each the forest

After 1 occurrence burning, astir 300 taxon of animals were recovered hiding successful the immense underground spread of the gopher tortoise – animals that usually don’t get on similar snake and mice, huddled unneurotic successful the information of the spread with a soundless truce not to wounded 1 another.

There’s a Disney movie waiting for that story!

Our circuit past followed a creek astatine the backmost of the park’s borders.

This is wherever we were introduced to respective of the parks’ crocodiles, including George the ferocious antheral patrolling the creek looking to spot what babies helium could devour and Paddy, Deborah and a fewer different of the fierce protecting mothers watching implicit their babies.

Another large gator

The circuit lasted 90-minutes and was worthy doing if you privation to footwear backmost and person idiosyncratic amended and constituent retired the astir absorbing features.

Now you’ll cognize what you privation to spell backmost and research much in-depth.

Side note: Our tram circuit was hosted by Highland Hammocks State Park, but each thoughts, ideas, and opinions are our own.

2. Walk the Cypress Swamp Trail

Cypress Swamp Trail

Hiking successful Highlands Hammock State Park is easy, particularly with kids of immoderate age.

The hiking trails tally done hydric hammock, cypress swamp, hardwood swamp and conifer flatwood. Eight retired of the 9 trails are disconnected the main loop thrust and scope successful region from 975 feet to implicit 3,000 feet. 

Several of the trails link via a span oregon catwalk.

Ranger Laura recommended the pursuing walks for maine to travel backmost and bash erstwhile I bash my motorcycle loop ride.

It was going to beryllium during our visit to Sebring, but I realized past infinitesimal I was not insured to thrust the rental car truthful could not flight for a blissful solo hr adventure.

The astir fashionable way successful Highlands Hammock State Park is the Cypress Swamp Trail.

Well, I should accidental walk. The longest way successful Highlands Hammock is lone conscionable implicit fractional a mile, and this country of Florida is pancake flat.

An 800 metre elevated boardwalk takes you done the past onshore wherever herons and ibis poke astir successful the mud for food, and erstwhile h2o is high, alligators whitethorn beryllium looking for them.

This is an casual way whose intent is to transport you into an past onshore of towering cypress trees, ferns, and dripping Spanish moss.

3. Walk the Alexander Blair Big Oak Trail

This 975ft way volition instrumentality you to the “Big Oak” elephantine unrecorded oak with a girth of 36 feet. Sadly, the Big Oak died years ago, but its gnarled little trunk tin beryllium seen.

4. Ancient Hammock Trail to Fern Garden Trail

Said to beryllium 1 of the prettiest trails, the Ancient Hammock Trail starring to the abbreviated 500 metre Fern Garden Trail shows disconnected the glory of towering cabbage palms and unrecorded oaks centuries old.

The Fern Garden Trail runs done the fern-edged swamp. Alligators whitethorn beryllium seen from the boardwalk here.

5. Wild Orange Trail

This is simply a bully 1 to bash if you are picnicking arsenic the 1.9km loop connects to the picnic area. It besides offers a unsocial position for its chaotic orangish trees.

Citrus Groves, portion not autochthonal to this area, are allowed to proceed to turn successful Highlands Hammock arsenic they supply truthful galore jobs to those successful the section communities.

They started successful this region, aft those connected the ships from England and Europe were fixed citrus seeds to propulsion down on their larboard stops to turn oranges for aboriginal passengers immigrating and to assistance flooded the scurvy issue.

6. Bike the Highlands Hammock Loop

Spot tons of vertebrate life

I precise overmuch privation to instrumentality to Highland Hammocks State Park to rhythm the shady 3.1 loop roadworthy and hike immoderate of the galore trails that pb disconnected it.

People besides roller leaf it and we saw a fewer keen runners clocking up their miles.

You tin prosecute bikes signifier the Hammock Inn Concession adjacent the visitant center. Adventure lovers volition bask the six mile disconnected roadworthy trail, abdominous tyre bikes are recommended.

Bikes are not allowed connected hiking trails, but determination are racks to parkland your motorcycle astatine the commencement of the trails.

Things to cognize earlier visiting Highlands Hammock State Park

Looking astatine you gator!

• There are geocaches passim the parkland for families who emotion geocaching.
• You tin besides bring your ain equine done parts of the park.
• Highlands Hammock State Park was precocious added to the National Register of Historic Places.
• History buffs volition bask the Florida’s Civilian Conservation Corps Museum, housed successful a humanities gathering adjacent the visitant halfway which teaches the past of the parkland and the Crops relation successful it.

Camping astatine Highlands Hammock

Campsites successful Highlands Hammock alteration from sunny, partial sun, to afloat shaded ranging successful magnitude from 20 – 50 ft.

They person picnic tables and occurrence rings.

The household campground offers h2o and electrical hookups, a dump station, entree to restrooms with showers, arsenic good arsenic laundry, and dishwashing areas. 

You tin entree primitive campsites successful unfastened conifer flatwoods. They have picnic tables and occurrence rings, but nary energy oregon moving water.

How to get to Highlands Hammock State Park

Highlands Hammock is located successful Central Florida, astir 3 hours northwest of Miami and 2 hours southbound of Orlando.

The closest municipality to Highlands Hammock State Park is Sebring. From the halfway of Sebring, you volition find Hammock Road to the southbound of Lake Jackson.

Follow that roadworthy for 7.1 miles and you volition person reached the entranceway to Highlands Hammock State Park.

Check retired much wow experiences connected a South Central Florida Road Trip.

FAQs About Highlands Hammock State Park

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