Florida Trail Activities in Your Area

Side By Side
Check out our chapter websites and Meetup groups for activities in your area.  Visit the Chapters page, scroll down to the bottom and look for your county.  Click on the chapter for a county to go to its web page.  Florida Trail Association activities include day hikes, backpacking trips, canoeing and kayaking, bicycling, picnics, and campouts.  Day hikes may focus on birding, plant identification, geocaching or historic sites.  Most activities are held locally, but some chapters travel to other parts of the state or out of state for extended trips.  However you like to enjoy the great outdoors, there's a Florida Trail activity for you!
For Email Marketing you can trust






Home arrow Trail arrow Loop and Side Trails arrow Panhandle Side Trails arrow Fort Braden
Fort Braden PDF Print E-mail

Length:  9.1 miles in 3 loops

The trailhead and parking area are located in Lake Talquin State Forest on SR 20 (Blountstown Highway) approximately 9.2 miles west of SR 263 (Capital Circle West) in Tallahassee. Hike along rolling hills and sometimes rugged slopes deeply shaded by hardwood forest, with occasional views of Lake Talquin.

Overview

 

Boardwalk, Fort Braden (FTA)The Fort Braden Trail is one of the more unique in northern Florida because it passes through both hardwood forests and cut-over uplands being restored with wiregrass and longleaf pine. The trail traverses the north-facing southern slope above Lake Talquin, giving the hiker the opportunity to enjoy a remnant beech-magnolia hardwood forest. This forest is cut with many crystal clear, sand-bottom seepage streams which flow from the toe of the slope to Lake Talquin. Northern hardwood trees found along the trail include tulip poplar, beech and magnolia. The three-mile long western loop trail passes several big trees including a huge tulip poplar near its southwestern corner. The three-mile long center loop follows ravines and seepage streams and passes by an abandoned fish camp as it follows the Lake Talquin shoreline. The four-mile long eastern loop offers the most solitude as it passes through the tract's largest hardwood forest. It crosses upland pine areas along the south, creeks and ravines on the east and west, and it follows the lake shore for nearly one-half mile on a grassy lane. The line of cypress trees just off shore in Lake Talquin is called "The Iron Curtain." The trees outline the original Ochlockonee River channel as it was before the river was dammed to create the lake. At several locations, hikers and equestrians share the same trail, and the hiking and equestrian trails cross each other many times. This trail opened on National Trails Day 1995.

  

Map

 

PH Fort BradenThe trailhead and parking area are located on SR 20 (Blountstown Highway) approximately 9.2 miles west of SR 263 (Capital Circle West) in Tallahassee.

 

 Disclaimer: While FTA strives to maintain accurate information and is constantly updating its geodatabase, the trail and development along the trail corridor is constantly changing. The data has been collected from a variety of sources and accuracy varies. FTA provides this data for recreational purposes only and does not intend the data as a survey. 

Centerline data Florida Trail System (c) 2007 Florida Trail Association, Inc.

  

Trailheads

 

Trailhead parking is on the north side of SR 20. Do not block the equestrian parking area.

 

Features

  

Campsites

 Two primitive campsites

Conditions

 

Rolling hills and sometimes rugged slopes deeply shaded by hardwood forest, with occasional views of Lake Talquin. 

Precautions

 

No potable water is available on site. All surface water along the trail, including Lake Talquin, must be purified for potable use.

This hiking trail is shared with the equestrian trail in several locations along Lake Talquin and crosses the equestrian trail in many places as the trails weave through the forest. The hiking trail follows orange blazes. For courtesy and safety sake, please announce your presence when approaching or being approached by riders on horses and allow them to pass. Several ravines and stream crossings have poor footing due to steep slopes.

Restrictions

 The Ft. Braden tract is not open to hunting. Bicycles are not permitted on this trail. Contact the Florida Division of Forestry (850-488-1871) to obtain a permit to camp overnight at the backpack campsites. Guns are prohibited on the trail. 

 
< Prev   Next >

Activities & Events

May 2012
S M T W T F S
29 30 1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31 1 2




Member Login:

This login is for members entering activities or uploading documents. You do not need a username to view or download anything on the website. The login for the store only works in the store. For lost passwords email webmaster@floridatrail.org.