The Little Big Econ State Forest: A Great Way to Taste the Florida Trail

The following article was first published in the January 2025 issue of The Footpath Newsletter, the newsletter for the Central Florida chapter of the Florida Trail Association.

Having recently written a book about several one-night backpacking trips I did last year while discovering backpacking in Central Florida, I had not yet actually done a trip within the three counties served by my Central Florida chapter of the Florida Trail Association. I finally got around to it the Monday before Christmas, and if you haven’t yet hiked or backpacked in the Little Big Econ State Forest, you should do so immediately. A short trip backpacking the approximately 10-mile stretch of the Florida Trail there is easy and will allow you to enjoy a night of low impact paradise camping beside the pristine Econlockhatchee River.

Established in 1994, the Little Big Econ State Forest spans more than 10,000 acres just east of Oviedo and north of Chuluota and largely surrounds a natural section of the sandy Econlockhatchee River spanned by only a single pedestrian bridge. The Florida Trail enters the southeast corner of the state forest south of the river just north of Brumley Road, and then treks approximately 3 ½ miles through forest, then joins the multi-use Flagler Trail for about one mile, before crossing the river, turning west, and tracing most of its remaining miles in the state forest along the northern bank of the majestic Econlockhatchee River. This is the best known and arguably the most scenic section of the Florida Trail within the Little Big Econ State Forest, and it also intersects with the Kolokee Trail, which passes through the remains of an old Florida ghost town.

Most people access the Little Big Econ State Forest from the Barr Street parking area near the river and along the northwest border of the state forest along North County Road 426, which is adjacent to the river and the only campsites along the Florida Trail in the Little Big Econ State Forest, called West Camp. But because I wanted to stay at that campsite, I chose to leave my car along Brumley Road where the trail crosses, then backpack in approximately 6 ½ miles north and west to the West Camp, spend the night along the river, and retrace my hike in back to my car the next day.

This was quite an introduction to the eastern leg of the central Florida Trail. The eastern portions of this leg enter multiple habitats, from swampy bottom land with small crosswalks to avoid the mud, through palmetto fields with pine and fern-covered scrub and oak forest before eventually meeting the Flagler Trail. Although the Flagler Trail runs straight along a berm through a cypress swamp (and is audibly close to a gun range), the highlight of the hike begins the moment you cross the river. For more than two miles before you reach West Camp, you move from scenic overlooks of the river and its sandy banks bordered by cypress, live oak, and palm, into and out of a jungle-like forest to cross tannic streams on sturdy bridges maintained by our FTA volunteers. Except for small patches of mud and sugar sand, the hiking surface throughout the Little Big Econ is perfect after the rainy season ends, and even though the views above the ground are pristine and as natural as you’ll find in Florida, the trail is wide enough to limit any fear of stepping on snakes or other plants or animals that could ruin your day.

West Camp is also an easy place to experiment with camping on the trail. Each campsite has a sturdy picnic table and firepit on a gravel bed, with plenty of clear flat ground for multiple tents. On the downside, you are a bit close to highways and will therefore hear cars throughout the night. But that’s more than made up for by being a stone’s throw from the river. I had both dinner and breakfast on a sandy overlook beside the river that was a short stroll from my tent, and even watched a hawk try to catch its own breakfast along the riverbank while I sipped my morning coffee. I was also pleasantly surprised by the lack of mosquitoes, even though I was there on an evening when the temperatures did not drop below the high 60s before dawn (although it was December). So as primitive campsites go, West Camp is a great place for those looking for convenience and relative comfort with the natural spectacles of a deep backwoods camp.

And just in case you forget why the Florida Trail is in such good condition, I ran into Central Florida FTA superstar Jerry Rogers on my hike out, wearing his hard hat, carrying his chainsaw, and asking about any remaining downed trees covering the trail. Even though it was Christmas Eve, Jerry was getting the trail ready for the Florida Trail thru hikers who will be surely arriving soon. Talk about dedication!