Croom - Silver Lake Trail

Just north of Tampa straddling I-75 rests the Withloacoochee State Forest -- home to an incredible number of trails, many of which permit an amazing number of types of traffic.  Be it motorcycle, horse, bicycle, or foot, the area has an astounding number of miles with which to enjoy yourself in the shade of the pines.  For this trip, Toivo and I set out to walk the more than four miles of the high and low water sections of the Silver Lake Trail -- slightly longer than four miles.

Getting There

The parking area for this daytime use portion of the park is located just off I-75, exit 301, about 1 mile east of the interstate.  Turn left on Croom Rital Road and then right on Silver Lake Road.  Drop $2 into the envelope for each person and then walk to the bottom of the boat ramp, where you should find the orange blazes that indicate The Florida Trail.

The Trail

Turn left and head under the interstate and walk until you find the trail spur for the Silver Lake Trail, marked by blue blazes and signs indicating the high and low water trails.  Take whichever you like, but be sure to keep a pocket map with you from the trail head -- there are a lot of trails and roads that cross the path you will take, so it helps to be able to keep your bearings just in case you veer from the standard trail markers by accident.

What to Expect

The trail is soft, consisting mostly of sand, and winds around next to the river for much of the lower trail.  This, of course, means that there are plenty of areas that may be extremely muddy or underwater during the rainy season, so try to plan you arrival accordingly.  If you stick close to the river you're bound to see a lot of water birds, but the trail itself was home to fields of wildflowers and plenty of butterflies enjoying the blooms while we were out this mid October afternoon.  Once you are away from the hiss and thunder of traffic on I-75, a fair amount of peace and quiet can be found in the wooded, shady areas.

Of course, with all the low lying areas you should be prepared to spritz yourself thoroughly with a DEET-based insect repellent.  Grasses can be tall, meaning the ticks could possibly be an issue during the dry season.  Otherwise, a liter of water should suffice for the quick journey around the loop.  Campsites are available, including a river landing site near the trail marked for Canoe Camping, and their heavy use was evident from some of the trash and fire remains that were not properly cleaned up.

What You Should Beware

Well, it is Croom, and while you may be able to fully escape the din of 80mph traffic once you step far enough away from the rushing four lanes of interstate traffic, you may encounter the occasional throaty crackle of a two stroke engine zipping down one of the ATV-approved trails.  This wasn't a problem on this Saturday with beautiful weather, so I wouldn't expect it to be a serious issue to be concerned with in general.  There was no evidence that motorized vehicles venture onto the hiking paths, so it is doubtful your hike will be interrupted by anything noisier than a startled cormorant.

This is a really pleasant hike worth revisiting, if only just to see the wildflowers in bloom and all the brightly colored butterflies that were attracted to them.  I wouldn't even mind camping here someday, but will gladly wait until the mosquito population dies down a bit this winter.

On The Suwannee River

The beautiful rivers of Florida can seem to take you back in time -- the green banks covered in palmettos shaded by the ancient oaks towering overhead can make one feel as though they have somehow stumbled into the age of the triassic.  The rivers of the northern sections of the state aren't quite as dense with vegetation, but they still hold the same qualities that let you know you have stumbled off the populated path and have found a place to gaze in wonder at the stars above while the river softly burbles below.  There is a lot of quiet to be found by the slow moving red waters of the Suwannee.


Getting There

The Suwannee section of The Florida Trail is open to the public -- you don't need to be a member of The Florida Trail Association to hike or camp.  (Membership does, however, permit you to cross certain sections of private property.  This has not proven an issue for the section I've hiked.)  You can start at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, which offers overnight parking for a fee to those who want trail access.  A warning on this:  calling the park will likely get you in touch with someone who is not familiar with the Florida Trail access point or that there is primitive overnight camping permitted along it -- you may be told that trail camping is not even permitted in the park or that it is only allowed in constructed shelters that a company rents!  The rangers that staff the front gate entrance, however, know the details and will register you for your trip and direct you to the parking lot nearest the trail.  Hike west from the park -- you can view a map here.

What To Expect

Hiking conditions are comfortable on the sandy trail that follows the river, although you may be surprised to find that there are slight elevation changes compared to the more level areas of the southern half of the state.  During the wet season, the trail is often completely impassable due to flooding in the lower areas, so attempts to hike are best in the later winter and early spring.  The environment varies from pine forest to scrub and shade is sometimes not as favorable along some areas of the trail, so sunblock is recommended if the skies are clear.  There are plenty of trees, though, making this hike ideal for hammock camping.

 

You'll even find sandbars on the banks of the river that are suitable for camping if you are inclined to enjoy the sounds of the river while you sleep, but you might be surprised by how much cold this proximity to the water adds once the sun dips below the horizon.  If your tent has a rainfly, you'll want to use it at night as the dew point and air temperature at night can find themselves aligned in a way that causes drops of water to condense and fall from the leaves of trees in a rain that will soak you despite there not being a storm cloud in the sky.  The morning fog hanging over the river, though, makes for a wonderful breakfast backdrop.

You'll be most likely to find quiet once you hike far enough west that you no longer see stairs leading from houses down to the river.  While these residences are not particularly noisy by any means, their dogs are prone to communicate in a chorus that might keep light sleepers awake.  Look for the red markers on the trail indicating that you've crossed onto federal land -- this boundary about 3-4 miles down the trail is a good spot to start looking for a campsite.

What You'll See

The swirling, bubbling waters of The Suwannee River.  The deep red tint to the water comes from the tannic acid that leeches from the fallen leaves of the oaks that surround the river.  Once filtered this water is perfectly safe to drink, although I found that there was a cognitive disconnect between the color of the water and the complete lack of taste.  To remedy this, I found an easy solution in packing a ziplock bag of Tang powdered drink mix -- adding a touch of it to a bottle full of water and giving it a shake added just enough flavor and color to remove the distraction.

Sadly, out of the four nights I've spent along this river in the spring I've not once seen any wildlife besides the occasional bird passing by overhead.  Bears are not an issue to my knowledge and there wasn't even a single raccoon to provide a challenge to our ability to protect our food.  Still, it is wise to keep food suspended by a line just in case tiny thieving hands do detect delicious treats, and a bear can makes both a convenient safe stash as well as a fine place to sit or or a makeshift table when you're enjoying a meal.  You will likely come across fellow hikers who are out to enjoy an afternoon walk or even others burdened by heavy packs as they thru hike the trail.  Light kayak and canoe traffic can pass by heading downstream, but the river is generally too shallow to permit motorized craft.

Things to Watch Out For

Ticks.  The dry brush that lines much of the trail and camping areas can be loaded with these hungry little annoyances during the dry season.  Know how to remove a tick safely and consider carrying a tick key or similar device for easy removal.  Of the two times I have camped along this trail, routine tick checks have resulted in preventing at least a few of them from latching onto me.