Hike the St. Francis Yellow Trail

All of the pictures were taken during the epic collaboration between The Outbound Collective and The North Face in the Basecamp Orlando event.

Just an hour north of Orlando lies the expansive, diverse, and beautiful Ocala National Forest.  The Ocala National Forest boasts some of the bests hikes in the state, and while this short hike might not blow your mind, it fully immerses you in the deep greens of the thick Florida bush filled Saw Palmetto and great mossy Oak trees.

As with most trails in Florida, this trail is nice, flat, green, and accessible year-round.  This Yellow blazes of this trail mark the shorter version of the white-blazed 7.2 mile St. Francis Trail, so you can easily cater your hike to your skill level and ambition.  Although I indicated that this is a loop trail, it is in fact a 'lollipop' trail, with only a short loop at the end.  A good portion of this hike has chicken-wire covered boardwalks, which helps with the slickness of the slippery wood.  Chicken-wire or not, I would still maintain a certain level of caution on the boardwalks.  

As thick and forested as this trail is, it can also be great for spotting birds and other wildlife.  I have heard of people spotting Woodpeckers, Sandhill Cranes (direct descendants of Pterodactyl's, I think...), Osprey, Owls, and Snakes (watch your step).  

Bring plenty of water and bug spray and always check for ticks after a hike in Central Florida.