Willie Brown Trail in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

Length: 1.6 miles, round trip
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy

Roosevelt Area Trail Map (click to enlarge)

The Willie Browne Trail is named after the man who donated the Theodore Roosevelt Area land in 1969 to the Nature Conservancy. Browne was born here and lived his entire life on the property. He admired Roosevelt for his conservation efforts, and his only request when donating the land was that it be named after the former President. Browne died in 1970, and his grave is located along the trail, as well as the foundation of his cabin. The National Park Service acquired the land in 1990 for the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

The trailhead for the Willie Browne Trail is located at the end of a dirt road that branches off of Mount Pleasant Road. Be on the lookout for a “Roosevelt Area Trailhead Parking” sign. There are a couple of picnic tables and a modern restroom at the parking area.

Of the three trails in the area, the others being the Spanish Pond Trail and the Timucuan Trail, the Willie Brown Trail is the easiest. It is an out-and-back trail with a small loop at the far end, and most of it is nothing but an old dirt road that is suitable for those in wheelchairs (with help) and those pushing baby strollers. It is marked by trail posts with blue blazes on them.

Blue blazes mark the Willie Browne Trail at the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

The loop portion of the trail begins a little over a half mile from the start (the intersection is marked with a large trail map sign). Being a loop you can go in either direction, but I took the counterclockwise path by making a right at the fork. This leads over to the marsh area, though the trail does not come close enough to the water to see anything. In contrast to the completely flat terrain that the trail starts off on, here it proceeds up a slight hill, though it is still easy and wide like a road.

Typical terrain on the Willie Browne Trail in Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

In .2 mile is the intersection where you can take a Black Trail to the right to see Round Marsh and access the Timucuan Trail, or take a left to continue around the Willie Browne Trail loop. The site of Browne’s cabin is also at this intersection. The cabin no longer stands, but the position of the structure is marked by concrete-block pillars. Based on an old photo that shows the cabin sitting atop such columns to keep it off of the ground, I suspect these are original to the foundation. An information panel about Browne is here for you to read.

Willie Browne Cabin site at the Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve

If you want to see Round Marsh from an observation deck, it’s a .3-mile, round-trip detour. Take the Black Trail to the right (Black trails have markers with black blazes on them). The trail immediately forks, and while there is no marker at the intersection, both paths are Black trails. Stay to the right to get to the observation deck; a left leads over to the Timucuan Trail. In another tenth of a mile is another intersection, this time with the Black Trail that leads to the observation deck and the start of the Timucuan Trail. Stay straight / right and you’ll be at the observation deck in a couple of minutes.

Intersection of the Black Trail and the Timucuan Trail, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

Getting to the top of the Round Marsh Observation Deck requires climbing stairs, so it is not handicap accessible, but the trail itself is fairly easy. However, since you can’t see much without climbing to the top, there is really no point for those in wheelchairs. For everyone else, the detour is worth the effort because it leads to the most scenic section of the Theodore Roosevelt Area of Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

Round Marsh observation deck at the Timucuan Preserve

View from the top of the Round Marsh Observation Deck at the Timucuan Preserve

Round Marsh at low tide, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

To continue around the Willie Browne Trail loop, take a left at the cabin site. You will come to the intersection with the Spanish Pond Trail in about a tenth of a mile. Take a left to continue around the loop, or if you want to see the Spanish Pond, stay straight. The pond is located about a mile away, but it’s not very picturesque—there may not even be water in it. I don’t suggest taking this 2-mile detour unless you just want a longer hike.

Once taking a left to continue around the loop you will come to the graves of Willie Browne, his brother Saxon, and his parents, plus a few neighbors. While the Browne parents moved away in the early 1900s, the two brothers stayed on the property and earned a living fishing, farming, and running a sawmill. Both spent their entire lives here. The property was worth over a million dollars to developers, but Browne lived out his life with no modern conveniences and donated the land for free so that it would not be developed.

Browne Family tombstone on the Willie Browne Trail in the Timucuan Preserve

Grave marker of one of Willie Browne’s neighbors, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

The western section of the Willie Browne Trail loop is just a quarter mile long, then it’s back to the parking lot the same way you came. Overall, the hike is 1.6 miles long and takes about a hour. As long as you are not hiking during the bug season—May through September—the trail offers a very pleasant hiking experience.

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