Hiking the Yearling Trail

Please join us on Feb 7, 2026 (Saturday) to hike the Yearling Trail (YRL) & a small portion of the FNST in the Juniper Wilderness Area of the Ocala National Forest. We will depart from Pat’s Island Trailhead (TH), where the FNST crosses Forest Road 46 (FR46). From SR 19 look for the FR46 turnoff one mile south of Yellow Bluff. This is an unpaved, hard packed, two-lane rock road for 2.3 miles to the TH. Pats Island Trailhead comes up in Google Maps, but there it says the turnoff is on FR51. Please note this is NOT the Trailhead directly on SR 19 at Silver Glen Springs.
We will hike the four-mile upland loop of the Yearling Trail, which is the forested section of the YRL. This is the area where they filmed the 1946 Hollywood version of Marjorie Kinnan Rawling’s The Yearling. We will take short side trips to explore the sink hole at Patrick Smith’s original homesite, the cattle dipping vat and visit the Long family cemetery. We will return to Pat’s Island TH from Rubin & Sara Long’s homestead on a wilderness section of the FNST.