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Big Pine trail's allure is all natural

The new Prairie to Pines Trail offers miles of well-marked hiking in the company of verdant longleaf pines.

By DAN DeWITT
Published November 14, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - The appeal of the new Prairie to Pines Trail is apparent from the first steps in the aptly named Big Pine Tract, north of Brooksville.

"Big Pine is the second-largest preserved area of virgin longleaf pine forest in the state," said P.J. Jones.

"The trail (passes) some really magnificent, old, longleaf pines."

Jones, a trails specialist with the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, speaks with fresh pride about Prairie to Pines. The commission finished work on it earlier this month, complete with interpretive and directional signs.

The trail stretches between two tracts of commission-owned land that each cover more than 400 acres: Big Pine and the Chinsegut Nature Center. It also joins the properties' existing trails, bringing the total length of the trail network to 7 miles.

Along with opening the Nature Center to the public on Fridays and Saturdays and increasing the number of trained volunteers there, the new trail is an example of a new direction for the commission.

Chinsegut was once the agency's only facility that promoted education and passive recreation, such as hiking and bird-watching. Starting about two years ago, the state decided to expand that approach statewide and use Chinsegut as a model.

"I wouldn't call it a paradigm yet, but it's a new thing we're trying on all our properties," Jones said.

"We're trying to be more user-friendly," said Kristin Wood, the nature center's director.

She and Jones said the trail is remarkable because it passes a variety of landscapes - all marked by educational signs - over a relatively short distance. That is especially true when the route is extended by existing trails from the parking lots at Big Pine and the Nature Center, a distance of 31/2 miles.

Leaving the towering longleafs, the trail dips along the edge of a periodically flooded wetland. Jones said workers also cut an alternate path on higher ground for use during extremely rainy weather, though the main trail should almost always be dry enough for good walking.

Hikers will then turn north, through a mixed hammock of pine and oak, where they might see deer, hawks or, if they arrive early enough in the morning, owls, Jones said. This stretch also briefly follows the historic route of U.S. 41, crossing an old wooden bridge that will be more apparent when workers clear away surrounding brush.

"We want to emphasize that feature more in the future," Jones said.

The next stretch - along the edge of the U.S. 41 right of way - may seem unappealing on the map, but has turned out to be a highlight of the route, Jones said.

The highway to the east is obscured by trees and other vegetation. Hikers walking near the fence line of the U.S Department of Agriculture Research Station are treated with expansive views of pasture rising to Chinsegut Hill, as well as the herds of cattle.

"I was really pleased" with this stretch of the trail, Jones said. "There are wildflowers galore, and walking along the edge of the pasture, you can really see the topography of the land."

To the north, the trail crosses Snow Memorial Highway to the southern tip of the nature center property and a new picnic area. The area is nicknamed "the Hub," though Wood and Jones acknowledge it does not currently function as one. Trails on state Division of Forestry land on the east side of U.S. 41 were closed after recent storms knocked down a large number of trees that have yet to be cleared.

The trail is remarkable because it passes a variety of landscapes - all marked by educational signs - over a relatively short distance. That is especially true when the route is extended by existing trails from the parking lots at Big Pine and the Nature Center, a distance of 31/2 miles.

Also, though a spur of the trail may one day head west to the USDA land, or to Chinsegut Hill, the public agencies that own those properties - which were, like the commission land, once part of the estate of Col. Raymond and Margaret Robbins - have resisted allowing access to hikers.

Once on nature center property, the trail passes more pine forest and then skirts the edge of May Prairie, where hikers can pause at a wildlife viewing blind to take in the sight of ducks, herons and other wading and water birds.

Jones said we are in the midst of the ideal hiking season in Florida, with cool weather and plentiful wildflowers.

If that is not enough to lure walkers onto the trail, he said, "We put signs and blazes wherever we thought they were even remotely necessary. ... We want to emphasize there is very little chance of getting lost."

--Dan DeWitt can be reached at 352 754-6116 or dewitt@sptimes.com

[Last modified November 14, 2005, 01:03:13]