Old Quarry Trail in Gulf Islands National Seashore’s Naval Live Oaks Area

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Note: A portion of the Old Quarry Trail is part of my Naval Live Oaks Loop Hike, a 6-mile hike that covers most of the Naval Live Oaks Area of Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida. If you are interested in this hike, a link to the next trail segment is given at the bottom of this report. The Loop Hike covers .4 mile of the Old Quarry Trail’s 1-mile length.

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Length: 1 mile, one way
Difficulty: Easy

Old Quarry Trail portion of the Naval Live Oaks Loop Hike

Naval Live Oaks Loop Hike (click to enlarge)

The Old Quarry Trail runs east to west between the North South Trail and Bayshore Drive, which marks the eastern boundary of the Naval Live Oaks unit of Gulf Islands National Seashore. If you want to start a hike from Bayshore Drive, you can park on the side of the road, but there is no actual parking lot. I would guess that most people entering the park from here are residents of the adjacent neighborhood. For everyone else, the trail can only be reached after hiking on other trails. I doubt anyone sets out to specifically hike the Old Quarry Trail; most people make it part of a larger hike.

If you have been following along with my Naval Live Oaks Loop Hike, I reached the Old Quarry Trail by hiking north on the North South Trail, which in turn was reached by hiking the Andrew Jackson Trail and a few others starting from the Naval Live Oaks parking lot on Gulf Breeze Parkway. The North South Trail appears to come to a dead end at the Old Quarry Trail, but it actually continues to the left (north). Take a right to start a hike on the Old Quarry Trail if you want to follow my Loop Hike route. While the Old Quarry Trail runs a mile to the park boundary, I only hiked .4 mile to the intersection with the Beaver Pond Trail.

Intersection of the North South and Old Quarry trails in the Naval Live Oaks unit of Gulf Islands National Seashore

The environment along the Old Quarry Trail is the same as the rest of Naval Live Oaks north of Gulf Breeze Parkway: sandy surface with patches of deep beach sand, fairly level, open to the sun, and running through an ecosystem of shrubs, brush, short pines, and a few live oaks.

Typical terrain of the Old Quarry Trail at Naval Live Oaks, Gulf Islands National Seashore

The Old Quarry Trail, like many trails in the park, is an old road. I passed a park volunteer on horseback who told me that Rangers and firemen drive vehicles on the roads when conducting controlled burns of the area. They also ride around on horseback looking for people who are doing things they shouldn’t be doing. Visitors with their own horses can also ride on the Naval Live Oaks trails that lie north of Gulf Breeze Parkway. This is the only place in Gulf Islands National Seashore where horses are allowed.

Park volunteer patrols the Naval Live Oaks trails on horseback, Gulf Islands National Seashore

It only takes about fifteen minutes of hiking to reach the intersection with the Beaver Pond Trail. On the way are two unmarked trails, both very narrow. These are a few of the many “social” trails in the area: trails blazed by hikers over the years to create shortcuts between various places. Just keep in mind that the social trails are usually narrow, while the official trails are much wider. Most of them are roads.

Example of a social trail in the Naval Live Oaks unit of Gulf Islands National Seashore

The Beaver Pond Trail intersection cannot be mistaken for a social trail. Not only is it wide, but it is also one of the few trails within Naval Live Oaks with an identification sign. Stay straight if you want to continue on the Old Quarry Trail. It runs east for another .6 mile before ending at Bayshore Drive.

Old Quarry Trail / Beaver Pond Trail intersection at Naval Live Oaks, Gulf Islands National Seashore

To continue on the Naval Live Oaks Loop Hike, take a left on the Beaver Pond Trail. See the Beaver Pond Trail web page for further information.

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