Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail | |
---|---|
Length | 109 mi (175 km) |
Location | Clewiston, Florida, United States |
Hiking details | |
Season | Year round |
Sights | Lake Okeechobee |
Hazards | Sunburn Heat stroke Alligators Pythons Traffic |
Surface | Asphalt grass dirt concrete |
The Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) is a 109-mile multi-use path around Lake Okeechobee, the seventh largest lake in the United States and the largest in the state of Florida. The trail began as the Okeechobee Segment of the Florida National Scenic Trail (FNST), a 1,000 mile trail that runs from Miami to Pensacola. The USDA and National Forest Service dedicated the Okeechobee Segment as part of the FNST in 1993. [1] Most of the trail is atop the 35-feet tall Herbert Hoover Dike. [2] The trail crosses five counties, Hendry, Glades, Okeechobee, Martin and Palm Beach. Many stretches run along state and county highways, including Florida State Road 78.
There are 13 camping areas around the trail, most of which have no water or sanitation facilities. [2] While the trail circumnavigates the entire lake, there are portions in which the traveler must come down from the levee. In these areas, they may encounter heavy traffic and/or alligators. [3] Because most of the trail runs atop a levee, there is very little shelter from the Florida sun, [4] and running off the edge may result in a dangerous, rapid descent. [5]
Because the trail is administered by the federal government, firearms are prohibited. Groundfires are prohibited, pets must be kept on a leash, and all trash must be carried out. [3]
Because of the age of the dike and the instability of the terrain, there are frequent partial closures of the trail. [6] A thirty-mile section [5] from Mayaca to Canal Point is currently closed for renovation of the levee. [7] Additionally, the portion of the trail running from Taylor Creek to Nubbin Slough section, the portion from Pahokee to Torry Island section, South Bay to Clewiston and Liberty Point to Lakeport section of the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail as well as a portion of the Florida National Scenic Trail are closed for extensive dike rehabilitation work. The US Army Corps of Engineers maintains the trail and posts information about trail conditions on their website. [8]
According to the Corps of Engineers, the following access points are available: [9]
Glades County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,884, making it the fourth-least populous county in Florida. Its county seat is Moore Haven.
Hendry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 42,022. Its county seat is LaBelle.
Okeechobee County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,996. The county seat is Okeechobee.
Clewiston is a city in Hendry County, Florida, United States. Its location is 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic coastal plain. The population was 7,155 at the 2010 census, up from 6,460 at the 2000 census. The estimated population in 2018 was 7,985. The city is located on the south bank of Lake Okeechobee, and the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) passes through the edge of the city. The city is home to Billie Swamp Safari, the Clewiston Museum and the Dixie Crystal Theatre. The area has been home to Seminole tribe members and sugar plantations, with the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Seminole Indian Museum located 32 miles (51 km) south of the city.
Canal Point is a census-designated place (CDP) in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Canal Point is located along the eastern shore of Lake Okeechobee, to the northeast of Pahokee and to the northwest of Bryant. The unincorporated community was originally inhabited by the Calusa tribe until almost 400 years ago. Whites began occupying the area in the 1900s decade, establishing an agrarian community. The completion of the West Palm Beach Canal in 1917 allowed crops to be shipped by boat to West Palm Beach and then to other areas of the country, while construction of Conners Highway in 1924 resulted in crops being transported by motor vehicle.
Lake Okeechobee, also known as Florida's Inland Sea, is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida. It is the eighth largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwater lake contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states.
The Caloosahatchee River is a river on the southwest Gulf Coast of Florida in the United States, approximately 67 miles (108 km) long. It drains rural areas on the northern edge of the Everglades, east of Fort Myers. An important link in the Okeechobee Waterway, a manmade inland waterway system of southern Florida, the river forms a tidal estuary along most of its course and has become the subject of efforts to restore and preserve the Everglades.
South Central Florida Express, Inc. is a common carrier shortline railroad in southern Florida run by U.S. Sugar Corporation. Its trains operate from Sebring to Fort Pierce via Clewiston around the southern perimeter of Lake Okeechobee, and serves customers at 26 locations. With 171 miles (275 km) of track, the SCXF is the largest private agricultural railroad in the U.S.
Port Mayaca is a sparsely populated place located in western Martin County, Florida, United States, on the eastern side of Lake Okeechobee.
The Okeechobee Waterway or Okeechobee Canal is a relatively shallow artificial waterway in the United States, stretching across Florida from Fort Myers on the west coast to Stuart on Florida's east coast. The waterway can support tows such as barges or private vessels up to 50 feet wide x 250 feet long which draw less than 10 feet, as parts of the system, especially the locks may have low water depths of just ten feet. The system of channels runs through Lake Okeechobee and consists of the Caloosahatchee River to the west of the lake and the St. Lucie Canal (C-44) east of the lake.
The Herbert Hoover Dike is a dike around the waters of Lake Okeechobee in Florida.
The Belle Glade culture, or Okeechobee culture, is an archaeological culture that existed from as early as 1000 BCE until about 1700 CE in the area surrounding Lake Okeechobee and in the Kissimmee River valley in the Florida Peninsula.
State Road 717 (SR 717) is a 1.7-mile-long (2.7 km) northwest-southeast road in Belle Glade, Palm Beach County, Florida also known as Canal Street.
The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs 1,000 miles (1,600 km), with 300 miles (480 km) planned, from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation opportunity for hiking and other compatible activities and is within an hour of most Floridians. The Florida National Scenic Trail is designated as a National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968.
U.S. Route 441 (US 441) in Florida is a north–south United States Highway. It runs 433 miles (697 km) from Miami in South Florida northwest to the Georgia border north of the Lake City area.
A national push for expansion and progress toward the latter part of the 19th century stimulated interest in draining the Everglades, a region of tropical wetlands in southern Florida, for agricultural use. According to historians, "From the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, the United States went through a period in which wetland removal was not questioned. Indeed, it was considered the proper thing to do."
The Port Mayaca Lock is a navigable lock and dam on the Okeechobee Waterway, adjacent to U.S. Route 441 and U.S. Route 98 at Canal Point, in Martin County, Florida, United States.
Fort Center is an archaeological site in Glades County, Florida, United States, a few miles northwest of Lake Okeechobee. It was occupied for more than 2,000 years, from 450 BCE until about 1700 CE. The inhabitants of Fort Center may have been cultivating maize centuries before it appeared anywhere else in Florida.
Fisheating Creek is a stream that flows into Lake Okeechobee in Florida. It is the only remaining free-flowing water course feeding into the lake, and the second-largest natural source for the lake. Most of the land surrounding the stream is either publicly owned or under conservation easements restricting development. The lower part of the stream remains in a largely natural state, and efforts are underway to restore the upper part of the stream to a more natural state.