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2985 Osprey Trail
Longwood, FL 32750
Phone: 407-665-2211
Fax: 407-665-2215
Hours of Operation: Open Dawn to Dusk
Spring Hammock Preserve New Trails and Boardwalk
Seminole County Parks and Recreation is breaking ground on the new ADA-accessible trails and boardwalk in October 2024. These new trail improvements are funded by the One Cent Infrastructure Sales Tax, or Penny Sales Tax.
- PDF: Site Master Plan
About Spring Hammock Preserve
The Spring Hammock Preserve is an approximately 1,500 acre property that includes Soldiers Creek Park and Big Tree Park as well as a portion of the Cross Seminole Trail and the Florida National Scenic Trail. Approximately 446 acres of the hammock were acquired by the state and subleased to Seminole County for management purposes. Most of the property remains in a natural state, however the property is surrounded by urban development, except for the east boundary which is Lake Jesup.
The Seminole County Public Schools has leased part of the property and built and Environmental Studies Center where they bring grade 5 classes throughout the County to the facility for environmental education.
This property is a unique assemblage of floodplain forest, hydric hammock, upland mixed hardwoods and pine flatwoods. There are many rare and listed species including the bipinnate cuplet fern (Dennstaedtia bipinnata), Okeechobee gourd (Cucurbita okeechobeensis), and the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).
In February 2025, Seminole County celebrated Spring Hammock Preserve's addition to the Old-Growth Forest Network, the only national network of protected, old-growth, native forests in the U.S. Learn more in the video below.