Loops traverse old fields and pass through an oak hammock, river floodplain, hardwoods and pine flatwoods. When you have eliminated the JavaScript , whatever remains must be an empty page. Excellent hike to St. Francis! These are some of the interesting sites you'll see while hiking on the St. Francis Trail. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. It is located three miles (5 km) east of Ocala and 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Gainesville. Today the town is long gone and nature has reclaimed the area. Enable JavaScript to see Google Maps. The trail terminus is across the road from the River Forest Group Camp, seven miles southwest of DeLand at the southeast edge of the Ocala National Forest. Old Cypress Tree at St. Francis. Ocala National Forest - St. Francis Trail. One of Central Florida’s most scenic and easy-to-follow day hikes, the 7.9-mile St. Francis Trail traverses the southeastern corner of the Ocala National Forest The community of St. Francis was a thriving river port in the late 1800s, as steamboats worked their way from Jacksonville upriver along the St. Johns to Sanford.


There is a kiosk at the trailhead that describes some of the history on the town. Explore your National Forests and Grasslands with the new and improved Visitor Map 2.0! Here, they'd stop to exchange household goods for citrus and timber. It covers 607 square miles (1,570 km2) of Central Florida. Along the way, you’ll see colorful fungi and a sulfur spring and will walk through the ghost town of St. Francis, a historic riverside commerce … St. Francis Trail. I enjoy exploring the St. Francis Trail in Ocala National Forest it leads you through a scenic wilderness and to a historical ghost town site. The Ocala National Forest ls the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. Pictured on the left is one the old artesian wells located near the St. Francis historic landmark. Walking through this lush wilderness you’d never think that there was once a booming town out …