Polk County, Florida
From I-4 exit 55, go south on US Hwy 27 for 34 miles. Look for brown information signs pointing in the direction of Lake Whales State Forest. Turn left onto CR 630A and go east until road merges with CR 630. Turn left onto CR 630 and follow road through the town of Frostproof. Turn right on Lake Reedy Blvd (about a half mile east of State Road 17) and follow road until it intersects with Lake Arbuckle Road. Turn left (east) and follow Lake Arbuckle Road until you reach a dirt road called Rucks Dairy Road. You should see a large brown forestry sign at this point. Follow dirt road until you see the self pay station and parking for Paula Dockery trailhead.
None posted.
For day use: $1.00 per person (children under six admitted free)
Includes all vehicle passengers, walk-ins, bicyclist and equestrians.For camping: $5.00 per night for each campsite.
Note: Registered campers at this forest are not required to pay the day use fee.
The Florida Trail Association and its hard working volunteers have created over 23 miles of hiking trails on the Arbuckle Tract. There are 5 trails: the Paula Dockery Trail, the Kellerman Trail, the Bonnet Creek Trail, the Wolly Piety Trail and the Grave Island Trail. Each are connected together to form one large loop, about 18 miles long. A blue cross trail, also known as the Lake Godwin Trail, divides the trail system into two halves (north and south), which gives hikers the option to do shorter loop hikes, if they want.
There's some strange and unusual things to be found out on the Arbuckle Tract. For example, there's an old abandoned pickup truck with all four tires missing, just sitting off the side of the Paula Dockery Trail about 2 miles from the trailhead. Looks like it may have tried to escape a control burn and got stuck in a seep.
Another odd sight to see is all the cutthroat grass growing underneath the pine trees.
Hunting Schedule 2012 - 2013 Archery Oct. 13 - Nov. 2 Muzzle Gun Dec. 8 - 16 Small Game Jan. 5 - 6, 26 - 27 Spring Turkey Mar. 19- 21, Apr. 2 - 4
Color infrared aerial map of the Arbuckle Tract showing hiking trails, camp sites and roads.
File Formats Downloads Garmin MapSource trails.mps TopoGraphix ExpertGPS trails.gpx
Last updated on 13-Sep-2012
