Huge Cypress Trees Enchant at Spring Hammock Preserve

A family-friendly trail long enjoyed by generations of Central Floridians, but closed for 13 years after falling into disrepair, has finally been restored and reopened for public enjoyment. The new and improved paved trail at Spring Hammock Preserve is now back, and it’s one of the easiest places in Central Florida to see huge, majestic cypress trees. I spent the morning there yesterday and left with my jaw fully dropped.

Spring Hammock Preserve is a jewel of old growth minutes from downtown Orlando. Nestled along Lake Jesup off State Road 419 just north of Winter Springs, the 1,500-acre preserve was the home to Seminole Indians when Florida became a state in 1845, and after being sold to Seminole County in 1927 by State Senator M.O. Overstreet, the namesake for the preserve’s 3,500-year-old gigantic cypress known as the “Senator Tree,” it became a public park and preserve in 1980. (The Senator Tree was sadly destroyed by arson in 2012, but the only slightly smaller 2,000-year-old Lady Liberty Tree remains standing.) 

Generations of Seminole County fifth graders have taken “Mud Walk” field trips to Spring Hammock Preserve. It also is crossed by a three-mile segment of the 23-mile multi-use Cross Seminole Trail, which doubles as the stretch of the Florida National Scenic Trail running from Oviedo to I-4. The Preserve was also added to the national Old-Growth Forest Network earlier this year.

For years, Spring Hammock Preserve was best known for its 1.1-mile trail and boardwalk stretching toward Lake Jesup. After sustaining damage from the hurricanes in 2004, the trail and boardwalk fell into such disrepair that they were closed to the public in 2012. Locals have been waiting ever since for their restoration to be complete, and they need wait no longer.

Spring Hammock Preserve is perfect for families with strollers or wheelchairs and is ideal for anyone looking for a 2-mile nature walk. With ample parking near the trailhead at an intersection with the Cross Seminole Trail, the first two-thirds of the trail lie on a wide, sturdy asphalt surface that runs parallel to a creek. Along the way are short side trails or boardwalks to pretty sights and tall cypress, along with bridges over the creek into muddy areas used by the fifth graders on their Mud Walks. You’ll also pass beside the preserve’s namesake spring, although it is much smaller than the springs at nearby state parks.

The last third of the trail is the new and extended boardwalk, which spans over a cypress swamp before eventually reaching Lake Jesup. The wide passageways have sturdy fencing for dogs and toddlers, and there are several benches along the way for anyone needing a break.

The featured attractions here are the cypress trees. Like most of Florida’s old growth longleaf pines and live oaks, most of Florida’s largest and oldest cypress were cut down by lumberman in the early 20th century, and most of the ones that remain lie deep in state and national forests that can be hard to reach. But Spring Hammock Preserve contains plenty of them, and they are enormous.

The 95-foot-tall Lady Liberty Tree seems to be the star of the show. With a diameter spanning almost ten feet at its wide base, Lady Liberty stretches to the sky and has been standing longer than Rome’s Coliseum. It also sits right off the paved trail and is surrounded by a new boardwalk with plenty of space to stand beneath it.

But Lady Liberty is not the only big boy here. Plenty of tall, thick cypress sit beside the trail, some close enough to the boardwalk to touch. If you look closely enough in the swamp below, you’ll see gators resting among the cypress knees, close enough to enjoy but far enough to not threaten any friends you bring on your walk. The end of the boardwalk also provides stunning views of Lake Jesup.

Although the entire route is only 2.2 miles roundtrip, you can easily extend your hike like I did by tacking on a stretch of the Cross Seminole Trail. So this is a great place to come if you want to travel back in time to see what Central Florida looked like before the theme parks arrived, but without having to drive too far or get your feet muddy.