Find the top rated hiking trails in Port Orange, whether you're looking for an easy short hiking trail or a long hiking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hiking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Did the entire trail (both fragments) at 52 miles on rollerskates. Great surface and one of the best long trails in Florida for skates. Beautiful scenery. Saw bald eagles, an owl, a couple of deer, and lots of gopher tortoises. I will say that the northern fragment has like no place to park. I parked at the National Refuge but that isn’t an official trailhead. Additionally, the northern leg has some areas that are just sidewalk vs actual path. Still enjoyable !
Pick a cloudy day and maybe a mountain bike. Lots of gators and birds. We started from the green mountain trail head and I would start at one of the other trailheads instead. They spent so much on the trail head that there is no money to maintain the trail and the first two miles are extremely rough.
I started this trail at the southern entrance. I got less than 3 miles into my bike ride and turned around. Too many intersections with heavy traffic. Perhaps this trail is better towards the northern end.
We rode this trail on Jan. 29, 2024. Based on the directions above, we couldn't find the trailhead and were fortunate to see the poles marking the end of the trail near the intersection of Royal Palm Parkway and Highway 1. We parked in front of a bike shop in a small strip mall and rode the sidewalk directly to the trail. About half a mile down the trail, we saw the bridge linking the trailhead to the trail. Farther down the trail we saw a spur to the east and headed down it. Another cyclist told us where it went so we rode across several bridges through the woods and swamp and across a high bridge that crosses highway 100. The trail then curves around to where we stopped at highway 100. The next day, we were heading down the coast and turned on the Royal Palms Parkway to see if we could find the trailhead and did so. There is a bike path that goes west along Rymfire in Rymfire Elementary School. Follow the path past the school to Ralph Carter Park - maybe half a mile - plenty of parking, restrooms and water.
The Seminole Wekiva has been extended a few times in recent years so you can find all sorts of claims about what the length is ... anywhere from 14 to 26 miles. I wanted to find out for myself, so I rode the entire length of the trail yesterday (1/26/24), noting my cyclometer mileage at various points, and compared that to the trail markers and what's listed on TrailLink.
I found that my cyclometer and the trail markers pretty closely matched each other. From MM 0 in Altamonte Springs (a little less than .1 of a mile north of SR 414) to the last marker on Longwood Markham Rd (17.75 miles), I believe the posted mileage is accurate. The Seminole Wekiva trail continues from the MM 17.75 marker onto the side path of SR 46, up to the Wekiva River and the Seminole/Lake county line, an additional .9 mile. My total mileage for the Seminole Wekiva trail was 18.7 miles, which is far short of the 26.5 miles listed in TrailLink. I think the 26.5 is including other trails which connect to the Seminole Wekiva as part of the total mileage. Beyond the Wekiva River the path is uninterrupted, but it is a different trail - the Wekiva Trail which is maintained by Lake County. I normally park at Neighborhood Lakes trailhead, which is off the Wekiva Trail about 6 miles west of the river. Similar situation on the south end of the Seminole Wekiva. Beyond MM 0 there is a wide sidewalk following SR 414 to US 441, about .7 mile. This is in Orange county and is supposed to be part of the West Orange Trail in the future, but I wouldn't consider it to be part of the Seminole Wekiva.
I usually don't ride the trail south of the San Sebastian trailhead because the crossings at 436/Laurel St. and 434/Orange Ave. are such a pain. Seminole county wants to build tunnels at both crossings which will help out a lot.
Overall, a nice trail with great connections to other trails!
I rode this cycling twice once on the sidewalks and once on the street. I went from Holly Hill into the Tomoka State Park to get some distance and back 20 miles total Tomoka is beautiful state park but not bike friendly by any means. People speeding all through the park posted at 30 or 35 miles per hour. You could write speeding tickets there ALL day long as well as down Beach Street/Riverside Drive. There’s no place in Ormond, Daytona, or especially in Holly Hill (very unsafe) that’s safe or has any suitable bike loops with any distance of bike friendly streets after crossing Granada the most horrendous 1970’s sidewalks & very narrow streets with no bike lanes Disappointed in these cities who haven’t improved the safety of bikers or runners. I have nothing positive to say other than driving into the beautiful park by car is suggested for your safety.
Dec 15, 2023 Visiting from AZ in our RV/jeep/Ebikes. We did this trail sort of by accident last year and liked it. This year we parked at the Lake Monroe Boat Park (nice bathrooms and picnic area and fun to watch the boaters). You can ride directly on the bridge over the St John river-very wide path protected by a concrete barrier. The ride along the Lake is a nice wide sidewalk path and you are right on the water. I read an earlier review that said you could actually work your way around the Lake and that was the goal but it was SO WINDY we had to abandon that idea for another day.
Dec 13 & 14, 2023. Visiting from AZ in our RV/jeep/Ebikes. We did this trail last year and loved it. This time we parked at the Lake Monroe Boat Park both days. The 2.7 mile leg from the Park is amazing. It curves and winds through the trees until it hits the trail where you can go East to Green Springs or West to Blue Springs.
Day #1 we chose East-it is a total of about 7 miles from the Park to Green Springs. Saw a baby alligator floating in the Spring. Somehow we did not realize that this connects directly to the E Central Regional Trail-so we continued another 3 miles for a total round trip of 20. Lovely tree covered trail for this portion. But you could take it all the way to the Atlantic!
Day #2 We went West to Blue Springs-it is about 11 miles to Blue Springs State Park. Gorgeous and we saw about 100 Manatees! in the lagoon area. Last year there were none so it was quite a sight.
Dec 12, 2023 Visiting from AZ for 3 months in our RV and jeep and Ebikes. FL has such amazing trails compared to the West (in our opinion). We are repeating our favorite rides from last year and some new ones. We parked at the Markham Trailhead and did 10 miles (20 round trip) on the trail. Just as wonderful as my memory-especially the painted fences. Read my review from 12/2022. We did not do the second day as we found it not too pleasant.
You will need to bring water and sunscreen , the right kind of bike and a camera. There is no real shade except at the 4 mile mark from Magnolia Park. Limited water too but beautiful scenery if you start from Magnolia Park. The first half mile is pave then goes to crushed stone packed but there are some loose rocks so be prepared in case you get a flat tire. Trail surface is similar to Katy Trail in Missouri.
If you don't have a full-suspension mountain bike, I would recommend NOT doing this trail. If getting your teeth almost rattled loose, then, yes, this is the trail for you. I started out @ the Green Mountain Trailhead parking area. I expected crushed stone on the switchbacks coming off the mountain, but I expected that to turn into asphalt at "lake level". For the next 8 miles, I kept expecting pavement, but was sorely disappointed. I had initially expected to do the whole 17-mile O/W (34 mile R/T) trip to Magnolia Park, but quickly realized that would turn into a whole-day affair at my average speed of 8 mph. To say nothing about the wear-and-tear on my body. Absolutely horrible rutted, pock-marked, eroded limestone the whole way. I finally "bailed" at the North Shore Trailhead (the 8-mile mark). Rather than take that horrible trail back to the Green Mountain Trailhead, I resolved to take roads back -- which added 4 miles to the trip but was worth it. This, in spite of having to climb two substantial hills towards the end of the ride (Green Mountain is a sister mountain to Sugarloaf Mountain, with similar climbs).
Also, the scenery is rather bland. Barren scrub brush with no trees. Flat as a pancake. Some people claim there's substantial wildlife. I didn't see any. I did hope to maybe see a gator sunning itself, but no luck.
Out of curiosity, I went to Google Maps to see what the Magnolia Park end of the trail looks like. As far as I can tell from satellite view, as soon as the trail leaves Binion Road out of Magnolia Park, the limestone starts. It may be in better shape than the horrible stuff I encountered, but I'm not going to waste my time finding out. Lake & Orange Counties have much better trails.
TrailLink is a free service provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (a non-profit) and we need your support!