Shingle Creek Trail, Hunters Creek

Shingle Creek Trail is a popular, weekend, half-mile trail behind Hunters Creek Middle School. Part of it is on wooden boardwalks but most of it is fine sand with trees roots. The great part about this trail is that it goes through a beautiful cypress swamp and along a clear, dark-green river/creek that moves every so slightly. The river almost looks spring fed. There are lovely cypress knees under the trees, and greenest grass growing between. The river swirls in spots and glides over long shiny grasses. At the end you come to an unappealing, narrow path in full sunlight, that heads east under power lines. Here, at the end of the forest path, we stood on a concrete pedestrian bridge over the creek and saw an alligator on the riverbank. It was wonderful! We also saw purple flowers by the water, and many different types of birds. On our way back we enjoyed the scent of pine needles on the ground. On your way back, you can continue straight rather than head back to the middle school parking lot, but the path is narrow and mountain bikers sometimes zoom by. 

The bad thing about this hike is that you can hear the 417 Freeway so you don't get a total away-from-it-all feeling.
Other good hikes on Shingle Creek are: Pioneer Village, and Steffee Landing.
After, get something to eat at The Loop outdoor mall, a twelve minute drive south.
To see more wildlife (with an entrance fee), visit Gatorland, a ten minute drive east. Another amazing place is Wild Florida Drive Thru Safari.

Directions

The trailhead is behind Hunters Creek Middle School. You park in the middle school parking lot. For this reason the trail is CLOSED M-F 9-4. The best time to come is the weekend.

Click on map for interactive view