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Nature Hiking

Escape to Camp Mack, a Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina & RV Resort to enjoy the great outdoors and hiking at nearby Lake Kissimmee State Park where you can explore the Florida wildlife.

Lake Kissimmee State Park

Hiking

The park offers 13 miles of hiking trails which showcase white-tailed deer, bobcat, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, turkeys and other wildlife. The trails take you through pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, by freshwater marshes and out to Lake Kissimmee. You may take your pick from a half-mile self-guided nature trail, two loop trails and a spur trail out to the lake.

Make sure your you stop by its three-story (30 foot) observation tower that overlooks the marsh plain and Lake Kissimmee, offering fantastic views of the landscape and wildlife and great for a panoramic photograph.

Hikers can also enjoy the short trail to the Cow Camp. Here you will travel back in time to 1876 as you will find a Florida Cow Hunter in a frontier camp along the route of a cattle drive. He will be cooking, making coffee, tending to the cattle or just resting up until the next roundup or cattle drive. The Cow Hunter will be very happy to share stories about what his life is like and the challenges he faces. Pack up a picnic lunch and bring the whole family out to Lake Kissimmee State Park to enjoy this little bit of The Real Florida.

Camp Mack Resort

**Cow Camp Season and Hours**

The Cow Camp is open for the winter from October 1st through May 1st on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. The Cow Camp is also open on holidays (except for Christmas Day) from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Cow Camps are also available upon request for groups of 15 or more. For information on the accessibility of the trail visit https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Lake-Kissimmee

Offsite Cow Camps are available for schools, community organizations, and other special events. Call the park directly for more information

Geocaching

Geocaching is an outdoor game using hand-held global positioning systems (GPS) devices. It’s effectively an inexpensive, interactive, high-tech treasure hunt that’s a great way to learn geography. Participants use location coordinates to find caches. Some caches are easy to find; others are more difficult. The biggest reward is the thrill of the search and the discovery of a place where you have never been. Geocaching should have minimal impact to the environment and conscientious land use ethics should be followed.

The Operation Recreation GeoTour hosted by Geocaching.com, stretches from Pensacola to Key West and includes 71 of the First Three Time National Gold Medal Award Winning Florida State Parks and Trails. Visit 20 caches and win the Official Operation Recreation Geocoin. Download and print the Official Tracking Sheet to begin your adventure. Remember to cache and save with unlimited entry for a year with the Florida State Parks Annual Pass.

The Florida Park Service is proud to announce it has launched the Operation Recreation Kids GeoTour. Look inside Operation Recreation GeoTour geocaches for one of six possible Nature Cards. Every cache has one of six species. Record the name of the Florida State Park where you first find each of the six species on the Kids Official Tracking Sheet. Find all six species and win the ORGT Kids GeoTour Geocoin!

The ranger station offers a brochure with tips and coordinates of the hidden treasures.

Equestrian Trails

For those who want to take an easier path of hiking, the park also features more than six miles of equestrian trails located on beautiful Buster Island. These trails take you through some of Florida’s most precious natural habitats including Pine Flatwoods, Scrubby Flat Woods and some beautiful Marsh lands. There is equestrian parking just across the cow camp bridge in the hay fields. This is considered a primitive area, so come prepared; there’s no water, bathrooms or facilities on the island. Proof of negative Coggins is required.

The park is open from 7:00 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year.

Admission Fee
  • $5.00 per vehicle. Limit 2-8 people per vehicle.
  • $4.00 Single Occupant Vehicle.
  • $2.00 Pedestrians, bicyclists, extra passengers, passengers in vehicle with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Pass.