What a great place to see the native wildlife and plant species. During my walk along the trail, I…read moresaw so many birds, turtles, and alligators - it's definitely a place to take photos. Besides hiking, the park also offers biking, bird watching, and horseback riding, plus guided tours. Check out the visitor center, you'll see live fishes and baby alligators, as well as taxidermy displays of the local wildlife. You'll also learn how this wetland functions as an advanced treatment for Orlando's reclaimed water. I thought it was super informative!

Truly a hidden gem! It's free to visi and they offer free tram rides on the weekends. It's sooo…read morevast and beautiful, there's so much wild life to see. On my hike we saw tons of alligators, birds, bunnies and turtles. Even got to see baby owls. There are miles of trails and a board walk. Went at 8am on a Saturday and there weren't too many people out but as we were leaving the groups were picking up. There are benches along some of the trails and picnic tables and bathrooms near the entrance.

I entered at the Jones East Trailhead, which has plenty of parking and also has restrooms at the…read moreentrance to the trailhead. Walking the trailhead was relatively simple and relaxing. I did encounter a few other people (they were either walking like myself or on a bicycle). The path itself is somewhat narrow, but it was enough for us to pass each other with no real inconvenience. Little Big Econ State Forest is a pretty cool place to check out. Walking the path, it was easy to forget that you were just outside of a major United States city in the twenty-first century. I seek out these spots where I can walk through the trees and forget the troubles of living in a modern city in today's modern world. Little Big Econ State Forest is a cool place to seek out if you are looking for a respite from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.

This state forest is about a 25 minute drive from downtown Orlando. We highly recommend it. They…read moreoffer maps at the start of the trail. So lush and peaceful. The stream along side most of the trail is beautiful. There are many benches along the path that offer a nice view of the scenery with shade. We took our pups and hiked for about 2 miles. The hikes range from 3 - 10 miles. I saw they do offer camping as well. Make sure to pack some water. It was nice to see many tamiles and couples enjoying the outdoors. We loved the variety of scenery and that it has lots of natural shade throughout the hike.

Hidden Pond Preserve is located on 520 just across the street from Wedgefield and offers a nice…read morediversion from the realities of modern life and allows you to embark on a walk through a bit of nature. I wish the path was a little smoother, it appears that heavy vehicles plowed through this route more than once, but for the most part, it is a nice walk. There are arrows pointing you through the way, dictating levels of difficulty of the path before you. The hidden pond is pretty cool and the centerpiece of the walk. I would recommend a visit here if you ate in the area. It is a great place to clear your head and cleanse your soul.

OMG I found wild blueberries! I went with my dog and we had a fricken BLAST. I know I shouldn't…read morehave picked some blueberries but it was a one time thing

The Econ Sandhills Conservation Area in East Orlando (not far from Rt. 50) is a decent sized loop…read moreof a hike at 3.25 miles. The paths are pretty wide and part of of it is down a power line area. If you're new to hiking, this is a good spot as it's not too long and there is a loop. I find it frustrating to just walk in a few miles, then just turn around and walk back. The reason I rate it average is it's kind of confusing to figure out where to go, where the loop starts, where to turn off of the power lines in both directions, and where to see the river if you wanted to (we didn't see it). It wouldn't take much to improve this to a point where you're not in fear of getting lost and if you're heading in the right direction. There's lots of scenery in the area, nothing completely breathtaking, but nice to be in nature. I'd go again, but mainly if I was looking for a shorter walk or simply because it's close by.

Bear Creek Trail was a fun discovery on a recent trip to Winter Springs. There is a small parking…read morearea at the trailhead. From the parking area the trail radiates in both directions through a small hammock area with ancient cypress, oaks, and cabbage palms. The natural area serves as a floodplain buffer between two neighborhoods in the Tuscawilla community. The trail is maintained by the City of Winter Springs. Bear Creek Nature Trail is narrow and sandy. It runs parallel to Bear Creek. There are changes in elevation which makes it more interesting and you cross two small bridges. When you are high above the creek you have to be cognizant of your footing so that you don't accidentally step off the trail and fall. There are also picnic tables available. The length of the trail is .9 of a mile. Bear Creek Nature Trail was an easy and fun hike and I enjoyed the view of the creek. It also had the added bonus of being mostly shaded and bug free!

awful do not recommend. I couldn't even stand up from over five seconds straight before freaking…read moredirt slid out from underneath me and I fell into like 20 different rivers only like a mile we ended up like 5 miles away from where we started and I was drenched in water for how many times I fell in the creek bro. I've probably got one or 23 amoeba's in my dick right now, dude if I get sick, I'm suing the creek

I consider this one of my secret spots. I have been going here for years and every time I do the…read moretrail, I find something different, and feel something new. Sometimes I come here to write or draw or read or think. I like that the trail is soft which makes it easy to jog on. I love that there are many options within the trail that helps you customize your experience depending on the time, energy, and desires that you have. This is definitely one of the spots that I repeatedly go to in order to feel grounded and get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It's pet friendly, feels super safe, and has beautiful trees.

One of my fave hiking areas! The only con is that there are no restrooms so prepare accordingly…read more You'll see lots of lovely trees, rabbits, tortoises, birds, and the occasional snake, and there is a nice river at the end of the loop with shaded banks to rest.

This is a bit off the beaten path, but it is a nice enough place to get some walking in and feel…read morecloser to nature or to even ride your horse. It has a small parking lot and is overall, a nice enough place.

Hal Scott Preserve is in the back part of the Wedgefield community. This is more a conservation…read morearea and a preserve rather than a park. However, it was rather Pleasant walking along the open Trail. It never gave me the feeling that I was in the woods or anything like that, however, it was a nice respite from the day to day living in a city such as Orlando, Florida. Overall, I am going to give Hal Scott Preserve four stars. As I said, it was a nice respite from the modern world and I enjoyed my time here.

Do not recommend staying here! The workers will sexually harass you and then lie saying they didn't…read moreso that they won't get in trouble. As a female I highly recommend other females avoid coming here! It's sad and pathetic how they belittle you. Had to deal with Officers Dennis Navarino is the only one that can have a civil conversation with you. Officer Caleb Hallsten is wishy washy. However Lieutenant Riley was the absolute worst. He couldn't have a simple conversation and wanted to escalate the situation into a much bigger ordeal. Kept talking over my fiancé and I while we were trying to talk to the other officers. It's sad how they think it's okay for dudes to sexually harass other females and they of course get away with it. They disgust me. I'm still trying to figure out the worker that was onsite for today, November 17,2025. I would avoid at all costs.

Beautiful park with a nice playground. The park itself has all kinds of things like a soccer field…read moreand more. It's huge but we only went to the playground area. There's a few benches and picnic tables. It's clean with pretty surroundings.

Chain of lakes Park turns out to be a very large Park. I did…read morenot see any area that was pet friendly. There is an area with playgrounds for the kids. There's an area where they have multiple soccer fields. There's an area where they have multiple baseball fields and practice areas. There's also a public bathroom over by the soccer fields. The walking trails here are paved path and they loop all around the park. Park as miles of walking path. In the back area of the park you will find a pretty tall observation tower which you can get a really good view of the native Florida railway. There's also a few Bridges going over lakes which are prefabricated metal bridges that are fun to walk over and stare into the water. I went on a fairly rainy day and the wildlife was mostly all birds. I saw regular ducks and a lot of different waterfall that I'm unfamiliar with. I also spotted an alligator who was floating around one of the main lakes.

The playground is so much fun. My daughters ages 3 and 6 had a great time on the climbing…read morestructure, slides, and swings. I especially enjoyed the "double swing" where you can swing with your toddler/infant. We attended a birthday party here and the pavilion was extremely close to the playground which made it easy to go back and forth. Also around the corner from the playground is a little stage on the edge of the woods that the children liked pretending to perform on and there were benches for people to sit and enjoy their show. Lots of trees for shade as well. Highly recommend!

Beautiful park. Quiet, peaceful, and shaded! We love taking the kids here! Definitely recommend.read more