WATER & COAST
Lake Jesup Wilderness Area
Seminole County · Central Florida
A four-mile pair of loop trails across the St. Johns floodplain at Sanford, known above all for its sunflowers in October.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
The trailhead is at 5951 South Sanford Avenue, and the trails run out across the floodplain between the Sanford edge and Lake Jesup. Four miles of looping track carry walkers, off-road cyclists and horses through ground that shifts every few hundred yards, from hammock so dense it feels like jungle, cabbage palm and oak overhead, out into open marsh prairie with nothing above it. The reason people mark this one on the calendar is fall: from late September into October the swamp sunflowers come up in sheets alongside the path and turn the prairie yellow. Lake Jesup itself holds one of the larger alligator populations of any lake in Florida, and the animals are there whether or not anyone sees them. Seminole County manages the area, it costs nothing to enter, it opens sunrise to sunset, and leashed dogs are allowed. There are no restrooms at the trailhead, so plan for that before setting out
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