One Tank Trips: McIntosh Preserve's Night Hike

Last week we skipped our Adventure Friday and instead took advantage of a Ranger led night hike at McIntosh Preserve. Saturday night, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and had a full moon as we meandered around the park. Well, not so much meandered, as the kids set a rather vigorous pace. We enjoyed the stillness of the night and looked for wildlife, while getting to see a different side of nature than we normally enjoy during the day.

All the evening's pictures, were taken by Ruth.

Visitors should be aware that as a small nature preserve there are no restroom facilities, in fact the goal of the park is to leave as little footprint as possible and change the landscape only minimally. There are six different short trails, than can be hiked in a number of different configurations. A highlight of the preserve is a viewing platform for watching wildlife out across the open wetlands. There is also a small rock pillar with climbing net for children to explore there. Much of the trails are open with little tree cover so plan to carry sunscreen if you are there during the middle of the day. Some of the smaller side trails however have dense tree cover making what I'm sure is a nice respite during the day.

Saturday night of the hike, we first took the Pickerelweed Path which is .73 miles from the parking lot out to the tower. After admiring the landscape at sunset and getting a few photos of the moon rising, we set out to walk one half of the live oak loop before meeting back up with the Pickerelweed Path to come again to the parking lot. As the sun slipped out of sight we saw a number of bats in the air whirling and catching mosquitos for their supper. Other wild life sighted included a dead snake, two bunnies, and for our ranger a glimpse of a bobcat slipping away into the high weeds along the trail. We also heard plenty of crickets as we made our way back to our cars. We had hoped for more information from the Rangers as we walked, but it was still a nice hike.

All in all, McIntosh Preserve is a peaceful little place to spend some time for free. We'd like to plan to come back and doing some further exploring in the day time. Located at 775 E Knights Griffin Road, Plant City, Florida 33565, there are a variety of trails as well as a viewing platform over the wetlands. Not far from where I-4 intersects Hwy 39 McIntosh Preserve is an easy spot to visit in the Central Florida area.