Florida Trail Backpacking – 3 nights / 4 days backpacking trip in Osceola Forest

Attention! You will need a water filter for this backpacking event. Day one the water source is the Suwanee River. You will need to take enough water from the Suwanee River for day two's 11ish mile hike to West Tower. Day two West Tower campsite has potable water at the tower. I have not tasted the water from West Tower - I will be filtering the water. Day three campsite will have a water cache. Each day you will need to carry enough water with you to sustain you until the next water source /campsite.

This backpacking event requires a shuttle from Ocean Campground to Suwanee Wayside Trailhead (AKA Hwy 41 Trailhead). The shuttle will pick us up at Ocean Pond Campground on Thursday, February 12th at 8:30 am. There is a cost associated with the shuttle, it will be divided by the number of participants, not to exceed 20 attendees. For those who attended the Suwanee Backpacking event in April we will be using the same shuttle service for this event.

Our vehicles will be left at Ocean Pond Campground. Camping sites at Ocean Pond on Wednesday, February 11th are available first come first serve (FCFS), however the campground has 15 FCFS primitive sites with 5 people per site. Parking will be a challenge, and we ENCOURAGE CARPOOLING! Please reach out to your fellow attendees and arrange for carpooling. The cars will be parked by the Florida Trail entrance outside the campground.

April 813-486-3713

Day 1: Shuttle to the trailhead and begin hiking to Big Shoals Primitive site. The site is big, and the surrounding area can also accommodate stealth camping. (Filter water available - you will need to have a filter for the water at this campsite. The water source is the Suwanee River)

Day 2: Our longest day has roughly <5 miles of road walking, but not along a busy road and most of the road walk is dirt and rural. We will camp at West Tower. This primitive area is massive, and we shouldn’t have issues finding sites big enough to accommodate all of us in either one or two sites. The sites start directly off the FT. (Potable water available via a short walk to the tower. I have not tasted the water so I will filter the water here as well.)

Day 3: West Tower to disperse camping in the Osceola forest along the trail. See photos. (Water cache near our disperse camping site)

Day 4: Disperse camp site to Ocean Pond Campground where our vehicles are parked.

Additionally, some of our members hiked some of this section in February of 2024 (see pictures) and there was above ankle water. I doubt excessive water will be a problem this year, but we should be prepared. February is the driest month to do this section but be aware there is no controlling the weather and if you do not like walking through water you might consider the potential for a few very wet miles.

Below is a rough outline:
Day 1 : 6.5 miles (Suwanee River Wayside Park to Big Shoals Primitive Site)
Day 2: 11.5 miles (Big Shoals to West Tower)
Day 3: 8-9 miles (West Tower to Disperse site along the Osceola Trail)
Day 4: 5 miles (Disperse campsite to Ocean Pond)
**Day 2 road walk is at the beginning of the day at about 1.5 miles into our hike.
Experience level: intermediate with a high degree of fitness/conditioning and must be comfortable remote camping with zero amenities, i.e., no fire ring, no picnic table, no "official" campsite. You will gather all your own water from both potable and non-potable ground sources. You will be completely self-sufficient. In the Osceola Forest you will need to carry a bear cannister or hang your food and hygiene items.