Once Upon a Time…
As my friend Mykeal and I turned a corner on the Cedar Point Preserve trail, we came upon a horse-drawn carriage … right out of a fairy tale….
That was on a warm, sunny day, December 31, 2022.
But today, August 31, 2024, we didn’t run into any horse-drawn carriages. No, today we had to contend with man-eating spiders!1
Hiking the Trail
It was another hot 90-degree August day in Jacksonville as we pulled into the parking area at 8218 Cedar Point Road. We walked around the big pavilion with picnic tables and a garbage can on a cement slab. A porta-potty was nearby. A trail map showed us the Black Hammock Island Trail at Cedar Point Preserve.
Mykeal’s dog Lady was overly excited to sniff out all the smells. This was her second hike, the first one being on the Tillie K. Fowler Trail at the beginning of July.
We walked to the trailhead to the left of the parking area. Walking down the trail, tall pine trees shaded us from the scorching sun. Soon the trail narrowed and all of a sudden Mykeal yells, “David, watch out for the spider!” A big yellow and black spider had spun a gigantic web across the trail and I had almost ran into it face first.
I was not up to getting entangled in a web and winding up being someone’s dinner tonight. So I found a long stick that I could wave up and down in front of me as I walked down the trail to clear any unseen spider webs.
But Mykeal, who was walking behind me, kept yelling to watch out for the spiders. Mykeal’s keen vision spotted the many webs that spiders had spun across the trail. Thankfully we didn’t run into any of them. For some reason, I had a hard time seeing them.
We also had a problem with mosquitoes and decided to put on some insect repellent. At various places on the trail, we also ran into some yellow flies, but they weren’t that much of a problem. Maybe the spiders got them all.
We took the short spur of the Overlook Trail which ended with a wooden platform overlooking a scenic view.
Lady Was Getting Tired
Lady was walking slowly and doing a lot of sniffing, but soon she was getting tired. It was hot and she was panting heavily. About a mile and a half down the trail, we decided we needed to stop and let Lady rest as she wasn’t used to the heat. We found a nice shady spot. Lady gulped down a lot of water.
Mykeal suggested I just go on ahead to the bridge so I could complete my hike and take some pictures. He felt he needed to just rest there with Lady so she could cool down. So I hiked by myself up to the bridge across the Cedar Point Creek2.
Nearing the bridge, the trail was overgrown with grass. Apparently not a lot of people have been hiking here over the last few months. We didn’t see anybody on our hike except for a couple of guys who were walking back from the bridge. It looked like they had been fishing.
The approach to the wooden bridge was grassy as well. It’s a pedestrian-only bridge. Several wooden chairs were built into the bridge so hikers could sit down and rest. Unfortunately, no shade or cover was available, so you have to sit down under the hot sun. The river is tranquil. The scenery … beautiful.
I returned and found Mykeal and Lady waiting for me. Lady had recovered, so we decided to head back to the car. About a mile from the trailhead it started lightly raining. We got a little wet, but the cool rain felt good. At least we weren’t walking under the hot sun anymore.
Trail Conditions
Overall, the Black Hammock Island trail is easy. It’s a beautiful trail. I love relaxing on the chairs on the bridge and taking in the scenery of nature, especially on cooler days.
Just beware of the spider webs across the trails. In the summer bring some insect repellent to keep mosquitoes and yellow flies from biting you.
There are trails just for horses here. Be sure to follow the signs and trail markers. The trail markers show where hikers can or cannot go and where horses can and cannot go.
About That Horse and Carriage
Yes, Mykeal and I really did come across a horse and carriage on this trail on December 31, 2022. An older lady was sitting atop the carriage. Behind her were her two grandchildren in their own carriage pulled by two ponies. It was like they appeared out of nowhere. The scene had a fairytale-like atmosphere to it. It was surreal.
The last time Mykeal and I hiked this trail was in March 2024. We came upon a black snake near the Overlook Trail spur that slithered away upon our approach. So be careful about snakes as well.
When we hiked the trail in December and March, no mosquitoes or yellow flies bothered us, and the trail was not overgrown with grass. I think because it’s cooler in the winter and spring, more people are out hiking. In the summer it’s hot and people don’t hike the trails as much.
Park Information
Park Address: 8318 Cedar Point Road, Jacksonville, FL 32226. This is the address where we parked at the Black Hammock Island Trailhead. There are other addresses with other parking areas and trailheads for the Cedar Park Preserve here.
Web Addresses: Part of the Cedar Park Preserve is on National Park Service (NPS) land: https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/cedarpoint.htm.
The other part is on land owned by the City of Jacksonville: https://www.jacksonville.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/recreation-and-community-programming/parks/cedar-point-preserve.
This is also part of the 7 Creeks Recreation Area: https://www.timucuanparks.org/7-creeks-jax/.
Difficulty Level: Easy/Beginner
Distance: 2.1 miles from the Black Hammock Island Trailhead to the Cedar Point Creek Bridge. The Overlook Trail was 0.05 miles from the Black Hammock Trail to the wooden platform, or 0.1 miles round trip. In total, I hiked 4.3 miles.
Waypoints and Coordinates
Parking and Trailhead: 30° 27.465’N; 81° 28.167’W
Overlook: 30° 27.268’N; 81° 28.553’W
Bridge: 30° 26.704’N; 81° 28.474’W
What To Do Next
Have you hiked the Black Hammock Trail at Cedar Point Preserve? Share your experience in the comments below. Please include the date you were there and trail conditions.
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- I’m using hyperbole here. It was a big spider, but it wasn’t a man-eater! It was an Argiope aurantia spider. See Wikipedia’s article about it here, with a picture. ↩︎
- I am not sure what this creek is called. On various maps it’s called Pumpkin Hill Creek, Clapboard Creek, and Cedar Point Creek. I’m going to use Cedar Point Creek for consistency. ↩︎