After exploring all the wetlands and marshes in Florida you'd be surprised to find a desert between the wetlands and ocean.
The trail system is very dry and hot as you would expect in a desert.
Take water with you and take your tracking book. You can find gopher tortoises here and, though the animals are far and few between as most are night creatures, you can find a lot of tracks.
So far I have found the tracks of fox, snakes, tortoises (of course) and bobcat. I have also found pig tracks and this surprised me. Could we have feral pigs in this small pocket of land?
You will most likely find the trail by first seeing the high wood overlook towers from Hypoluxo road. There’s ample parking and it’s all free. The overlook tower is a great place for a picnic.
The height catches the sea breeze and it’s seldom crowded. There are birds on the trail but they stay well hidden. You have to watch, listen and wait. In other words, you need to slow down, relax and enjoy the day.
The slower you go the more you’ll see. There’s a cement path through the trail so the walking is easy on the feet.
The star attraction of Hypoluxo Scrub Trail is the Gopher tortoise. It is a keystone species because it digs borrows and provides shelter for 360 other species.
It is Florida’s state tortoise and is highly endangered here mainly due to loss of habitat. You might see one returning to it’s borrow if you go early.
