Flat Island Preserve

Hey, this is a nice peaceful place to go for a walk and enjoy nature. It is a little swampy, so make sure you have shoes that you don’t mind getting wet or muddy. Also, the mosquitoes are definitely around so long sleeve clothing is preferred and some bug spray if you have it. Free parking and there is a restroom at the main parking area.

Enjoy

Very nice, well maintained trail through palmetto, live oak, and cypress. Bug spray is a must all year except maybe the coldest of days. Canoe launch is within the preserve on a canal and a walk-in campsite that needs a permit. Very nice site with picnic table, fire ring with grill top and plenty of room for a couple tents. At the trailhead, there is a water spigot and very nice restrooms.

Lovely hiking trails! Lots of birdsong and beautiful old trees. We walked just under 4 miles and it was only a little muddy. Definitely don’t go if it just rained. Beware of spiders and mosquitoes!

Beautiful. Lush exotic scenery. From the red dirt road through the hike, feels like you’re in a jungle paradise. Strong recommendation to bring deep woods spray. Lots of bugs in summer. Not so much in winter. Also recommend long sleeves and hat. Lots of little cobwebs if you do the full circuit. Loquats were ripe and aromatic when I went in late September. I ate two. Tasty. 😆👍

Great hike to get a taste of authentic Florida wildlife and forest. We went on a cooler morning so the bugs weren’t bad but keep your eyes up for the death spiders trying to eat you.

Great trails !! The trail is well maintained. A few roots to look out for as you get closer to the boardwalk . Woodpeckers and owls for the bird lovers. Mushrooms and wildflowers to discover. A bonus I spotted an Albino squirrel near the camping area.

Full bathroom facilities on site.

Beautiful trails featuring wonderful landscapes, even saw a couple gators.

Jan 2024 Well maintain sandy dirt road to get to. Very clean bathrooms with running water. Very natural setting you may not see any other people.
Jan 2023 Well maintained Woodland paths, sand and some dirt. Lots of little paths or you can take the big outer paths all the way around. It's January and the mosquitoes were attacking in a couple places

We are in our late sixties with less than perfect hiking capabilities. If you walk to the boardwalk/boat landing and back, it is about 2.5 miles round trip.

Lake Country Water Authority maintains the trail and boat landings for 2 islands, Flat Island and Magnolia Island, which are accessed off of 27.

There is a 4 mile trail, but the walk to the canoe landing is approximately 1 mile if you stay on the red trail. Primitive camping is available by permit. Canoe rental can be requested in advance.

Class B campers can fit in the parking lot, but not recommended for larger RVs.

It is a nature preserve w many native plants. The trail was well-kept, mowed and trimmed, with about 4 miles of trails. Bathrooms at the Trailhead! Relatively flat area w lots of huge trees, and wet areas ... so bring mosquito protection.

It's just another free attraction near Leesburg ... it's a great secret side attraction.

several miles to hike here through preserved woodlands with palms, oaks, and magnolias. there's water access with cypress trees. the preserve also maintains a wildflower prairie. the overall circuit is about three and a half miles and there's two basic versions, the blue trail and the red trail. the blue and red trails are single file, but there's a wide trail down the center which might be about a mile one-way; there's good signage with precise mileage.

Such a pretty drive in the place. We got plenty of pictures since it was pictures perfect. We picked a good weather to go see this all well. The entire road was sand drive so we were worried at first but it was perfectly fine to drive on it. The tree shades make this a good place to go to on very hot days too. There was a lot of parking and great picnic spots. We really enjoyed the trails.

I'm from the northwest originally and now live in the northeast, and spend a lot of time out in nature. This is my first experience in this type of vegetation. I was in awe, it was so beautiful, lush, and wild. The trail is well maintained and there are interesting things to see at every turn. At some points during the walk, all man-made noises disappeared and it was a great time for reflection and renewal. I cannot recommend this place enough. No pets, bring water and bug spray!

Super place to go for a quiet hike or even quiter paddle.
I hiked about 4 miles. Parking is super easy and convenient. Bathroom facilities present. This is well worth the little 1-2 hr detour for a little light hiking. It's very organized here so little chance of getting lost.
Definitely bring mosquito repellent and a hiking stick for cobwebs ( or just use your buddy/mate to go first).
Open during daylight hours.
Primitive campground available on premises.

I love this park. The trail is quiet and feels like old Florida. Great place for a walk. Trails are not paved which feels more natural.

We took our 2 youngest 4/3 with us and had a great time. The road in is sand but don’t need 4x4 we did it in a Hyundai Elantra with no issues. Plenty of parking and picnic tables if you want to eat there.

The trail is very well kept and an easy hike for beginners or small children. Not many other people so it was nice to have not worry about our kids disturbing others. The full trail is a 3+ mile loop but lots of turn of turn offs in case you don’t want do the full loop. We just went to the boardwalk and back on this trip.

The boardwalk is just under a mile in if you take the path and marked so you can easily find it. We will definitely come back and explore some more.

Flat Island Preserve is beautiful, peaceful and serene. I did not encounter snakes or mosquitos but it was a cooler overcast day in November. I definitely recommend walking to the end of the boardwalk through the wetlands, the end view is quite breathtaking. There is a primitive camp sight and comped available to rent for the brave hearted, which is def not me! I even saw a big tortoise.

Very nice hiking area and not too busy, yayy! No mosquitoes (did use big spray tho) so thank goodness. The beautiful, huge, impressive, moss-covered trees made quite the impressionon me! Alot of the hike is not especially scenic tho, since you're walking through tunnel-like growth for much of the walk. I was happy to find the boardwalk for the change of scenery. All was quiet, no wildlife that we saw, perhaps the island setting limits the wanderings from our of the area? Nonetheless, it was a very nice two of the beaten path and I love that it had a nice, clean restroom. I'll do it again on a cooler day.

Beautiful park. Went on a week day, didn't see a single other person. The trails are well maintained. Saw allot of cool wildlife. Camp sites look clean and maintained. The canoes you can rent were secured, but look clean and maintained. Allot of signage with rules and trail directions.

It's like a jungle out here. You can hear nature. Owls and bird calls mingle in the gentle breeze. Didn't find any access to water but the trail is long and the sun was going down so we didn't walk the entire trail which looks like a loop from the map. You might want bug spray, they weren't bad but for a few biting horse flys. Trail is shaded and wide. Enjoy!