Start of the Hammock Trails at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

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See the Hiking Trails web page for an interactive location map.

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Length: .7-mile loop
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Palm Hammock and Oak Hammock Trail map

The Oak Hammock Trail and the Palm Hammock Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge share the same parking lot. In fact, both start out on the same path before splitting off in different directions. They are not connected in any other way, so they cannot be combined to form one, longer hike.

Start of the Oak Hammock Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

The term oak hammock refers to a stand of live oaks that grow on a plot of land that is a little higher in elevation than the surrounding wetlands. In Florida, this elevation difference may only be a few feet, but it is enough to create a section of dry land that supports vegetation that cannot grow in the wet areas. As you walk around the Oak Hammock Trail, notice that you are often surrounded by a marsh. If you are hiking in the winter—the dry season in Florida—you may see more mud than water, but this won’t be the case once the rains come starting in May.

Live Oak on the Oak Hammock Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Marsh surrounds much of the Oak Hammock Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

From the parking lot, follow the OAK HAMMOCK sign to begin the hike. The terrain is covered in ferns, and it looks like something out of Jurassic Park. However, within just a few minutes the trail crosses some railroad tracks, and on the other side the ferns end and the oak hammock terrain begins.

Ferns cover the ground near the start of the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island

Not far from the railroad tracks is a bench and a sign directing hikers to go to the right. Though described as a loop in park brochures, the Oak Hammock Trail is actually a “lollipop” trail, meaning that you hike a short ways on the “stick” before coming to the loop portion of the trail. Well, this is the start of the loop, and while you can go either way—left or right—the powers that be have deemed right as the proper direction. What you don’t know at this point is that there are actually two loops, and east and west, making the trail bow-tie shaped. Taking a right sets you off hiking on the east loop, the shorter of the two. This is the way I went, and this trail review is written from that perspective.

Start of the loop portion of the Oak Hammock Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

The Oak Hammock Trail is a typical nature trail, and that means there are signs along the way with information about the animals and plants that you may encounter on the hike.

Information sign along the Oak Hammock Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

One type of tree found along the trail is an orange tree. I saw a guy coming the other way with a huge smile on his face and an armful of oranges, so I decided to try one myself. Boy, is that guy in for a surprise when he bites into one. These things are awful. It was like eating an orange after brushing your teeth. Farther down on the trail is an information panel about how in the early 1800s Douglas Dummitt grafted sour orange trees (the original Florida orange) to sweet orange trees, which eventually led to the oranges we now eat. These on the Oak Hammock Trail must be the sour orange trees. By the way, Dummitt’s oranges were first produced right here in the Merritt Island region.

Florida sour orange found on the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island

The Oak Hammock Trail is wide, flat, and well manicured. It does pass through some wetlands, and there are boardwalks to keep visitors out of the mud where the trail gets really wet.

Typical terrain on the Oak Hammock Trail at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Boardwalks are common on the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island

It was on one of these boardwalks that I saw an armadillo. These animals have very bad eyesight. I stood still and watched it foraged though the dirt looking for bugs, all the while getting closer and closer to me until it was nearly at my feet. Only when I moved did it know I was there, and it took off and ran about ten feet, then went back to looking for food. I guess it thought I was gone.

Armadillo on the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island

After a quarter mile of hiking you will come to an intersection where the boardwalk splits. This is the start of the western loop, and a sign directs hikers to keep to the right. If you plan on hiking the entire trail, this is the way to go. A left takes you back to the parking lot, passing the first intersection with the bench on the way.

Start of the western loop of the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island

The western half of the Oak Hammock Trail has many more sections of boardwalk than the eastern half, indicating that the trail is in a much wetter area. However, the vegetation within the hammock remains the same.

Wet area along the western loop of the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island

I saw a beautiful banana spider on this portion of the trail. These things are large enough to trap hikers in their webs and eat them.

Banana Spider

The next intersection you will come to is where the west and east loops meet once again. Follow the sign to the right to get back to the parking lot. If you look to the left, you can see the east-west loop intersection that you came to earlier. You don’t want to head in that direction because you’ll just end up hiking around the loop again.

Second east-west loop intersection on the Oak Hammock Trail on Merritt Island

If the weather is nice and the mosquitoes are not yet out, the hike around Oak Hammock is pleasant. If you want to hike another two miles, you can try the Palm Hammock Trail, which leads to a cabbage palm hammock. See the Palm Hammock Trail review for more information.

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