Visitor Information
(updated yearly)
No Daily-Use Permit currently required.
Amenities at Platt Branch include parking and a marked hiking
trail with benches and overlooks.
In support of the resource management goals and objectives for the
area and to provide a quality experience for all area users, the
following recreation activities are allowed:
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Red-cockaded Woodpecker
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Wildlife Viewing - Wildlife viewing is good year-round. Hikes
along the area’s loop trail take visitors through gopher tortoise and
scrub-jay habitats, past seasonal wetlands that attract wading birds and
unique plant communities such as cutthroat grass seeps. Red-cockaded
woodpeckers make their home in the old-growth longleaf pine in the
western portion of the area.
Hiking - Hiking is pleasant in the fall, winter, and spring.
The 3.5-mile loop trail passes through oak scrub, pine flatwoods,
seasonal wetlands and cutthroat grass seeps in the central portion of
the area. Visitors may also hike on the unpaved service roads to reach
the floodplain of Fisheating Creek and stands of mature pines with
red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Vehicles, bikes, and horses are not permitted on trails at Platt
Branch. There is one entrance, with parking, to the public-use area.
Located in Highlands County, approximately 18 miles south of Lake
Placid. From US 27: Turn west
onto CR 17/Detjens Dairy Road. Continue approximately 2.25 miles to
entrance on west side of road.
View a location map - pdf
file
Additional
wildlife viewing sites in the vicinity.
Lake Placid (18 miles north), Palmdale (9 miles south)
