In Central Florida, the Florida Trail splits in two. The Eastern Corridor proceeds east through the vast open prairies of Osecola County, home to cattle ranches and thousands of acres of palmetto scrub. Reaching the suburban fringe at the historic town of Christmas, it draws within 20 miles of the Atlantic Coast before following the river floodplain of the St. Johns River through a string of natural lands to the east of the Orlando metro. Hopping on the Cross Seminole Trail, it continues on this paved path through the suburbs until it reaches the Wekiva River floodplain and a corridor of natural lands stretching northward to the Ocala National Forest.

The Western Corridor requires a good 70 miles of roadwalking from Three Lakes WMA through the communities of St. Cloud, Kissimmee, and Davenport en route to the Green Swamp, where the trail dives into lush forests. Here, the footpath traces the flow of the Withlacoochee River north towards Dunnellon. The Cross Florida Greenway, established on a mile-wide corridor of land that was once slated to be a barge canal, provides a home for the Florida Trail and paralleling bicycle and equestrian trails as it connects the Western Corridor to the Ocala National Forest.