Yellow Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

This eight-mile loop trail starts and ends at the east end of the main park access road near the manatee observation deck along the C54 canal. The best place to part is a parking area on the north side of the road approximately 200 yards before the manatee observation parking. There is also a parking area at the southeast corner (just follow the horse camp signs).

This trail provides a great experience for viewing pine and scrub flatwoods and beautiful strand swamps. These habitats are home to many native plants and animals, including over 50 protected species.

The trail is primarily doubletrack, although it is seldom used by vehicles. Users of the trail include equestrians, so hikers need to yield accordingly. There are a couple side trails, but the Yellow Trail itself is marked with yellow paint on trees and posts, and these are easily viewable for the entire trail.

There are sandy areas as well as marshes. The trail is flat with most of it being dirt and grass with some roots and rutted areas. During wet seasons, the trail can become flooded. Expect to have standing water in many of the low-lying portions of the trail. Ditch and marsh crossings can have standing water above the calf in areas during extreme rainy seasons.

This is one of four trails in the St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. There are trail maps available at the park visitor center.

Longleaf pine, wiregrass, saw palmetto and cypress swamps dominate the landscape.

Wildlife found in this area of the park includes Florida scrub jays, red-cockaded woodpeckers, Bachman’s sparrows, Eastern indigo snakes, whitetail deer, bald eagles and gopher tortoises.