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Potts Preserve is a family friendly area for camping, boating hiking and picnics. I absolutely love the area, all of the wildlife and everything about it!
A beautiful, remote place to get away from it all. Trails are mostly forest roads, fairly wide and open. Take precautions and check for ticks after a hike, they are present in abundance!
Great place to boondock! Spent 3 nights here by the pavilion. There are about 5 spots in the “primitive” camping area. Plenty of privacy and a kayak launch area. Spots have fire rings and a couple have picnic tables. Porta potty is clean. The back-country area was recently gated so RVs can no longer camp there. It’s now designated as tent-camping only. It’s a huge open space with entrances to walking trails and beautiful views of the river. The back-country area has an outhouse
A great hike if you enjoy an area with few other hikers. That said a few warnings.
There are ticks, I came home with two and pulled a few off while on the trails. We hiked 12 miles in one day in this area. I was not wearing the right gear and had not taken steps to prevent them.
There are two entrances. 2700 Dee River Road and 2988 North Hooty Point entrance. The North Hooty Point entrance is near the river with foot paths for hiking.
The good stuff. The trails by the river are very impressive. Large oaks & cypress make up the majority of the canopy with giant thick trunked vines. There are more pines as you move away from the river.
There was an old, abandoned camping shack from many years ago on one of the river trails. An interesting find. It was very peaceful with us only seeing two other people on the trails the entire day.
Airboats. - This is the majority of noise you will find in this area. They seem to run the river a good bit and you can't miss the sound. A small distraction from an otherwise quiet area.
You park your car and walk in on a road that allows campers who have a code to drive in. This goes a short distance. For camping I would certainly consider it. There are spots that had campers before you hit a large field that vehicles are not allowed into for tent camping. There is a good stretch of river along this area with the only bathroom you will see.
The trails start at the northern tip of the primitive camping area. The trails are clear but often you are avoiding cypress knees and areas torn up by the pigs. Our visit was during a dry time of year and the trails farther away from the river were actually underwater in many places. The trails are not marked all that well, but there are coordinates on the park brochures that we grabbed on the way in. These helped us determine from time-to-time which way to go.
We were surprised at the lack of wildlife. I am not sure if the reason was the time of year, but it was rather void of animals that we saw. We did see a few things, a ribbon snake, a few birds but that was about it.
To do the full loop take your backpack with waters and again, read up on how to avoid getting ticks. The river is quite beautiful, and the large swaths of cypress trees and their knees along with many giant oaks are something to see. We will go back.
The majority of the trails are shaded, that is a big plus in Florida.
Was there with a friend to hike the trail. No access for vehicle entry into the preserve unless you have a code to get in the gate. Gate Code for campers only. Had to park by the road and walk in through small pedestrian entryway next to the gate. Then had to walk a long winding dirt road and then walk across a big field just to get to the trail head. The trail head is not marked or signed at all. The only reason we found it was my friend was there two years ago. Maybe there is a sign next to the restroom building on the field? I don't know because we didn't use the restroom. By the time we got to the actual trail, I had used up half my energy...energy I would have much rather used on hiking a trail, not walking down a dirt road and across a field! Trail was just ok. Not for beginners. Lots of roots to avoid. Tons of mosquitos, even though it was mid-February and 70°, were biting my friend and I. I did put on bug spray before we drove there but needed more once on the trail. The wooden bridge was too dangerous to go across, so we turned around and went back. I will not be returning.
