Ocean to Lake Trail

Ocean to Lake Trail
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Length	101 km (63 mi)
Location	Florida
Trailheads	LOST/NENA Trailhead Hobe Sound Beach
Elevation
Elevation gain/loss	?
Highest point	?
Lowest point	?
Hiking details
Season	Year Round
Months	Jan - Dec
Website	?
Direction	Eebo, Webo

The Ocean to Lake Trail is a 101 km (63 mi) long trail in the US state of Florida. It runs between the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee.

Length: 101 km (63 mi)

Standard Direction(s) of Travel:

Season: Year Round, ideal season November through April

Trail Association: Florida Trail Association - Loxahatchee Chapter

Sections

The Florida Trail Association's data sheet for the OTL contains several waypoints which mark the clearest and most recognizable points along the trail. While the trail between these waypoints do not constitute true sections, the division in the data sheet into east and west form the more meaningful sections of the trail.

The western half, running for 31 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Corbett WMA entrance on Pratt Whitney Road traverses mesic and hydric flatwoods of pine, oak, and palm trees with a significant amount of cypress dome swamps and strand swamps. The western portion of this section follows an unpaved road and canal grade for 3.5 miles before entering DuPuis WEA. The trail through DuPuis consists primarily of mesic flatwoods with a ground cover of scrub palms, with on-trail water levels increasing to the east. After passing Powerline Camp the trail enters Corbett WMA, which contains a significant number of wet prairies, dome swamps, and strand swamps. On-trail water levels are generally higher in Corbett than DuPuis, though water levels vary greatly depending on rain patterns. There are no major road crossings anywhere along the western section of the trail.

The eastern half of the trail passes through Hungryland Slough, Loxahatchee Slough, Riverbend Park, and Jonathan Dickinson State Park. The landscape of the Hungryland and Loxahatchee Sloughs are similar to the western half of the trail, passing through flatwoods, hammocks, wet prairies, and marshes. A 1.5 mile grade walk along the C-18 canal leads the trail into the popular Riverbend park on an easy, graded walking trail. After passing under Indiantown Road, the trail moves through various public lands along the Loxahatchee River before entering Jonathan Dickinson State Park. This portion of trail passes through river swamps and large pine flatwoods, as well as sand pine scrubs as the coastline grows nearer. While portions of this section experience significant on-trail water (especially in the Hungryland and Loxahatchee Sloughs), water levels are generally less than on the western half of the trail. The eastern half is also distinct from the western half in its greater geological diversity and its larger number of road crossings.

Water

There are nine reliable water sources on trail in the form of either canals or pitcher pumps, marked as PP, PW, or W on the data sheet. Because on-trail water levels can range from ankle- to knee-deep for much of the trail, water is generally plentiful except in particularly dry seasons, and the water one walks through is often favorable compared to the canal or pitcher pump water. In the unusual case of exceedingly dry conditions, the longest sections between reliable sources are about ten miles. Note that the pitcher pumps are not always functional.

Information Resources

Websites

• ["Everything You Need to Know About the Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail"] on jupiterhikes.com.

Guidebooks

Florida Trail Association's Ocean To Lake Hiking Trail Data Sheet

Getting To and From the Trail

There are several access points along the trail. These points include the parking lot at Hobe Sound Beach, Highway US 1 at NE corner of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, several points inside Jonathan Dickinson (these require hiking on other trails to connect with the OTLHT), the parking lot at River Bend Park, the crossing with Beeline highway near Palm Beach County airport, the south entrance to Corbett Wildlife Management Area on Pratt Whitney Road, and the LOST trailhead at Lake Okeechobee. The Florida Trail Association recommends none of these access points for overnight parking, including the east and west termini.

For an eastbound thruhike beginning at Lake Okeechobee, The LOST/NENA Trailhead is on US 441/98 about 10 miles north of Pahokee, Florida and about 50 miles from downtown West Palm Beach. As overnight parking is not recommended and rideshare options are limited or impossible in rural western Palm Beach County, arranging for someone to drop hikers off is the easiest option.

For a westbound thruhike beginning at Hobe Sound Beach, the parking area is 1.5 miles east of Hobe Sound on Bridge Road and about 11 miles north of Jupiter, Florida. As overnight parking is not allowed in the beach parking lot, arranging for someone to drop hikers off is the easiest option. Rideshare services may be a viable option at this terminus.