For hiking with a taste of history and old school soda, check out the Richloam Tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest

Anyone who has read my book or my most recent essay on FloridaHikes.com knows I am enamored with the Green Swamp, a huge stretch of forest about an hour west of Orlando. But perhaps equally as beautiful is the adjacent Richloam Tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest that lies directly north of the Green Swamp West Tract.  The Richloam Tract is also easier to reach from Orlando, and it has the added bonus of a historic general store.

Spanning a whopping 58,000 acres, the Richloam Tract straddles the border of Hernando, Pasco, Sumter, and Lake Counties and comprises some of the eastern most portions of one of Florida’s largest state forests. Anyone who has driven on State Road 50 between Brooksville and Orlando will be familiar with the terrain, as it contains an ocean of tall pines that stretch for miles.

First settled in the late 19th century, the Richloam tract was once home to several communities now lost to the annuls of history, including the towns of Terrell and Kalon. During the first half of the 20th century, the forests of Richloam were the home of logging camps that produced millions of tons of lumber, as well as turpentine, naval stores, and other products extracted from the local pine and cypress swamps. Richloam has also been a haven for hunters since the 1950s.

Richloam has three loop trails that draw hikers from all around Central Florida who look for longer distances, all of which spring from the grassy parking lot near the Richloam General Store, which lies in the center of the eastern half of the Richloam Tract.  The shortest loop, the East Loop, is 9.4 miles long, while the North Loop spans more than 13.5 miles, and the South Loop runs 12.7 miles.  Each has a well-placed primitive campsite, making them well-suited for one night backpacking adventures. The three loops can also be connected for a multi-day 25-plus mile trip.

A portion of the South Loop also includes a section of the Florida National Scenic Trail, which connects to the South Loop shortly after exiting north of the Green Swamp West Tract, then veers west where the South Loop meets the North Loop. The South Loop also has a beautiful 1.1-mile side trail, the Scenic Lower Withlacoochee River Trail, that meanders through a riverside forest of cypress trees that floods during months of heavy rain.

I’ve thus far only hiked the East Loop and the portions of the South Loop comprising the Florida Trail, but my experiences there left me awestruck. This is a majestic, dense forest. Although technically not old growth—the old growth was cut down a century ago—the land has been left to regrow naturally, and most of the trails are nestled among pines and live oaks that cuddle the trail. The Scenic Lower Withlacoochee River Trail is also special. Weaving through cypress knees and large cypress with their wide triangular trunks, you can see the high-water marks left from the most recent flooding as you walk through the jungle like Tarzan, eventually hiking beside a gorgeous stretch of the Lower Withlacoochee River.

Richloam is also an ideal spot to leave a car to begin or end a point-to-point hike connecting with the Green Swamp West Tract as I did last year. For example, I began by having my wife drop me off at the River Road Trailhead in the Green Swamp West Tract, then hiked in 6.3 miles to the Green Swamp’s Foster Bridge campsite, then hiked north the next day 11.8 miles through the Green Swamp and on portions of Richloam’s South Loop to the Richloam General Store where I’d left my car overnight.  (To shorten your hike out on Day 2, you can instead hike in 11.5 miles from the River Road Trailhead to the High Point campsite near the Green Swamp’s northern border with Richloam, or you can do either trip in reverse.)

A highlight to end any hike at Richloam is the Richloam General Store. Dating back to 1922 and lovingly preserved by the Brinson and Burkes families, the Richloam General Store was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2017 and is a time capsule from early 20th century Florida. It is now a local favorite with weekend tourists, from the very young to the still-young-at-heart, who flock there for its ice cream, candy, glass-bottled soda, and occasionally even weekend music on the front porch. Having hiked at Richloam several times in hot weather, I can confirm that there is nothing better after a long hike than cooling off with root beer, RC Cola, or Cheerwine soda from the glass bottle.

If you’re lucky, you may even catch the store’s proprietor, Eric Burkes, dressed in early 20th century costume who will share stories about Richloam’s past. The General Store also sells an excellent book written by Eric, Florida’s Flatwoods: The Story of Richloam, which has plenty of historical photographs and details about the history of the region.