Wild Tamarind Trail

Wild Tamarind Trail is an easy loop through the tropical hardwood hammock at the east end of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The park lists it as 0.3 mile; from the picnic pavilion, the signed entrance and the shared walk back make the full outing about 0.4 mile. Allow 20–30 minutes, longer if you stop to read the tree markers. It is a pleasant shaded pause between the park's water activities, not a long hike.

Park by the picnic pavilion and start behind the Wild Tamarind sign. Pass the kiosk on your left and curve past a bench into the hammock. At the fork with a bench on the right, keep left; the path bends through the trees and returns at a bench perched on coral rock. Retrace the short entrance path past the bench to the kiosk. A separate connector near the kiosk leads toward the campground and roughly doubles the walk; it is not part of this loop.

The footpath is dirt edged with chunks of limestone, and the coral rock has solution holes. Stay on the marked track. US 1 and the park entrance road can be heard through parts of the trees.

The interpretive stops identify native trees and shrubs, including wild tamarind, gumbo-limbo with its peeling red bark, Jamaica caper, mastic, crabwood and mahogany. These tropical hammock plants help make a very short walk feel like a close look at the Keys' upland forest. The island's hammock once covered much more of its uplands, and Caribbean species had become part of the Keys landscape before modern settlement.

The canopy is home to endangered white-crowned pigeons, as well as mourning doves and songbirds. Watch smooth-barked Jamaican dogwood for a colorful Liguus tree snail. Wildlife is a possibility rather than a promise, but the marked trees give you plenty to notice even when the canopy is quiet.

Mosquitoes can be bothersome in this hammock, so bring repellent. Leashed pets are welcome; keep a leash to six feet or shorter. There is no water station on the loop; the refill station is at the Visitor Center. The Blue Heron Café is a separate park stop by the boat-embarkation area, with grill food, drinks and ice cream.