chinsegut wildlife and environmental area

Not Disney, rather the Real Florida as I know it. Well maintained Education center and trails. The building is open very limited hours on Friday and Saturday plus special events, but trails are accessible during daylight hours from Parking lot at intersection of Rt. 41 and Snow Memorial Highway.

Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area is a combination of two parcels of land separated by about two miles of private land. The northerly parcel is the conservation centre tract, which contains a freshwater marsh, May's Prairie (yes, it does look like a lake when the water levels are sufficient) and a range of terrain ranging from longleaf sandhill (in the south) to hardwood forest (in the north). There is a fair bit of traffic noise as you enter the trailhead (see below) but as you approach May's Prairie, the sounds of the forest dominate and traffic cannot be heard.The southern parcel, Big Pine, has mostly longleaf pine forest. We didn't hike this parcel.The trails are well marked and in good condition (no mud, at least when we visited!), and PDF maps -- including explanations of the trails -- are available on the web site. Note that the conservation centre has very limited hours, currently only 8 AM to 2 PM on Fridays and Saturdays. At other times, enter the trail system at the intersection of highway 41 and Snow Memorial Highway, NOT at Lake Lindsey Road.