Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park

Okay. Here’s the deal. This place looks magical. Like, I walk around here for a couple hours and all my troubles fade away with the cool breeze (early in the morning..in the winter months) but be warned. There are diamond back rattle snakes looking to warm up popping out of the brush where you just stepped moments ago.. I thought it was a basic boa until it started rattling at me🫣. I warned a couple about him still on the trail as we passed each other and they shared their stories of boars and coyotes just beyond the tree line at night, and they came back for more!?(only in Florida )🤣 it’s seriously one of my favorite trails.. you just have to be on the lookout for wildlife 👀 🐍

Great park, but be very careful I hiked part of this trail. It’s a great park with many bird species. I really should’ve researched the trail first and used more caution though. The temperature was only 85 degrees and I didn’t realize how long the trail was. I only took one water bottle and didn’t wear any sunscreen. Further down the trail, there’s minimal breeze and no shade. I was pretty far into the trail when I realized I was out of water. I started to panic because I had to walk 1.5 miles back, and I hadn’t seen anyone for at least 30 minutes. I was able to get back to my car without any heat exhaustion symptoms. I ended up with bad sunburns. I got very lucky, and I regret that I put myself in a dangerous situation. If you’re going to come here, brings lots of water, wear sunscreen, and make sure someone knows where you’re at. I would recommend coming with another person. Remember that your wellbeing is more important than anything on the trail.

My trip here was a bit underwhelming. The trails are basically unpaved roads without traffic. Not a bad place to walk or ride bikes but it's mostly just open space with little to no shade. The primitive campsite is nice but it would be quite a walk to carry in gear if you're not in shape.

This park is beautiful! The trails are well maintained and well marked. It is open to horseback riding, biking, hiking, fishing and camping. There are some areas of the trails that are low and often filled with water, so if you're hiking, be prepared to either have waterproof boots or try to walk around those spots. Even the shortest loop (white) is 4.3 miles, so make sure you have sunscreen and plenty of water on hand. The red and yellow trails are each 10 miles round trip and a couple miles to reach them, so personally I would be biking or horseback riding on those. Please help keep our parks clean and pack out what you pack in! Enjoy this escape to nature!

Not many areas to really stop or “pullover” here but I love the scenery right after the yellow route! Great trails and very peaceful walks especially with how much city there is around places these days! I like going to different preservations and parks across the state but this is definitely one I’ll revisit.