FLORIDA PLACE TO EXPLORE
Black Bear Wilderness Area
Seminole County · Central Florida
A 7.1-mile loop through the St. Johns River floodplain at Sanford, on levees and boardwalks, and harder than it sounds.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
This is one of the better pieces of natural land in Seminole County and one of the more demanding walks near Orlando. The full loop runs 7.1 miles along levees through the floodplain of the St. Johns River, graded moderate to difficult, with steep slippery grades in places, and there are no shortcuts or bailout points once a hiker commits to it. Trekking poles are worth carrying, and so is more water than the distance suggests. For people not wanting all of that, a two-mile round trip on a paved path and a boardwalk through palm hammock reaches an observation deck over the river and turns back. A third option is to walk the loop counterclockwise as far as the primitive campsite near the three-mile mark and return. Florida black bears live here, along with alligators, deer and a long list of birds, and hunting is not allowed, so the animals are less wary than on hunted land
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