Jennings State Forest

The best daily day we have had in a while! My youngest caught his very first fish and my 11 year old caught his biggest. It was absolutely beautiful

When we first started our trail I was very doubtful because you could see how flat the land is along the tree lines and not typically the type of area I like to hike in we almost turned around, one we got to where the trail turned into a loop that's when we started realizing we made the right decision. We followed the dunns fall trail and the shared dunns fall with the pioneer trail. Before we got to this trail we spent some time driving on the surrounding dirt roads looking for this short access parking look which we were closing but I would recommend going straight down Nolan road which will turn into a dirt road, if you can handle it, make a left and there will be Phillips branch crossing parking area and that would cut at least a half a mile off of your hike and honestly you would not be missing much. My health app tells me I did about 8,000 steps, the trail might have been three miles long but it also was not that taxing on my body. The trail was amazing, it's difficult to find interesting trails with such elevation and this one is kept up so nicely and is extremely beautiful. I usually would go just for the water feature but the star of this place is the trail its self because of how much it has to offer. It does get confusing out there so I recommend planning on where you're going to park and bring a little bag with some essentials just to make your tripMore comfortable, or you could stay the night at their reservable camp grounds and I thought it was really cool that even thought the camp ground are a long the trail, they're very secluded and you are able to drive up to it where I thought you would have to park and walk . The following link is to an online map of the forest. Good luck! https://ccmedia.fdacs.gov/content/download/27859/file/Jenningsstateforest-entireforest.pdf

My family has been fortunate to be in a neighborhood that that connects to this 25,000 acre forest for the past 15 years. We hike & ride bikes in this area frequently. Facilities are sparse, but well maintained. There are picnic areas, primitive camping areas, horse & hiking trails, and soon to come - about 10-20 miles of mountain bike trails!Hunting is allowed, so you'll need to be aware of active seasons when you visit. Each of the trailheads that I've encountered have had the seasons posted with dates & locations.I've seen gopher tortoises, ring tailed hawks, deer and turkeys on my visits. Make sure to use lots of bug spray & keep pant legs tight and tucked into your socks (I learned that the hard way!)

Great place! If you enjoy the great outdoors. Dogs must be leashed .There are ticks so prepare yourself before heading out!

On the east side of the forest (old Jennings rd to Live Oak Ln forest entrance) are a few short trails for hiking, many for bikes and long trails for horses. An extensive mountain bike trail is planned for this area. The parking lot accommodates horse trailers. There are facilities at the parking lot.The west side (Long Horn Rd) is hiking trails (or walking with your dog or cross-country running). Now 16+ miles of great hiking trails (horses, bikes, motorized vehicles prohibited, dogs must be on a leash). Trails are in environmentally sensitive area running along the scenic North Fork of Black Creek. Best access is the Dunn's Farm Trail parking lot just before 1337 Long Horn Rd. There are no facilities at the parking lot or on the trails.

Loved-loved-loved the trails....once we found them! Sign good on the actual trail itself- but not clear on how to get to each trail head. Never did find the canoe launch. Trails were very well kept & super trail improvements. No facilities which made me uneasy knowing everyone had to hit ip the bishes. Hike in campsite was super nice. Clearly the rangers who manage this forest are very savvy on how to make this place really a memorable experience.

If you key "Jennings State Forest" in on your GPS, it is quite difficult to find the trailhead. After a bit of driving about, I finally found the trailhead on Live Oak Lane off of Old Jennings Road to take my dog, Bear, as well as myself, on a hike. I have set a goal for us of hiking each trail in every park/forest in and around the area. On Live Oak Lane, there are two trailheads, one with a picnic area and another one just farther down the road with a forestry cabin and entrance. Please, Please, Please make sure that you are honest and truthful and pay your entry fee. It's only $1.00 per person and children under 6 are free. The box is right there next to the bulletin board containing maps. If you are going to use the trails, help the Forestry Department keep them safe and keep the 23,995 acres of this forest protected.Bear and I did about two miles of hiking this day. It was rather hot for him. The trails are clear of debris for the most part, but it is the forest. There are a number of wildlife viewing areas along the path that we took, and the quietness of the area made me feel like I was walking through the woods back home in Connecticut. We found some surprising things on our hike such as a tortoise sunbathing in the middle of the trail. This tortoise tricked Bear into thinking it was rock. That tortoise stayed still as stone until we walked by and went on our way. I heard wild boars far off in the woods somewhere, and Bear got one heck of a surprise when a wild turkey popped up out of the brush. It took all my might to hold him back as his Lab hunting instincts took over. There was such a beautiful array of wildlife, including a nonpoisonous Spinybacked Orbweaver spider just relaxing on it's web. I have two warnings about Jennings State Forest. (1) There are many unpaved roads throughout the forest. Many of these contain sections that are nothing but sand. I do not recommend driving down these roads in a sedan or small style car. SUV and Pickup Trucks only. (2) Bear and I were first here in early spring and the ticks were wickedly bad. It was to the point that if I stopped walking to snap a photo, they would start swarming onto my boots. Even with proper protection, I was finding ticks for a few days after our hike. If you go there, please protect yourself even if it is the middle of the summer.There are still many trails and entrances that we have yet to explore, as well as getting a permit to camp. One of the campsites is even next to a cemetery, one of four on the forest's grounds.The forest is open during daylight hours for hiking, bicycling, canoeing, horseback riding, and wildlife viewing. There are seasonal activities like hunting and fishing, please be aware of the time of year that you are heading here. I plan a return to Jennings State Forest very soon, there's so much left to explore!

Tons of trails, access points, slight elevation changes and scenery. AllTrails app or state forest website maps various routes. Hidden gem really being so close to the city and the ever expanding orange park area.

Perfect trails to walk the dogs - as LONG as your dogs have good recall. This is a great forest, with many great sights to see ALL over, but every great forest does have predators, and even moreso in FL, dangerous snakes. We actually live really close to Jennings and Black Creek, and nature is always super peaceful to be around.