Wiregrass Prairie Preserve
1,423 acres / 5 trails / 8.2 miles
Entrance and parking: 1751 Lopez Road, Osteen, Florida | Map
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
Amenities: Hiking, biking, horseback riding, pavilion, wildlife viewing, group camping
Visual tour of Wiregrass Prairie Preserve
Wiregrass Prairie Preserve consists of 1,423 acres situated almost entirely in the St. Johns River valley.
The preserve is a mosaic of upland and wetland natural communities including mesic and wet flatwoods, cypress domes, strand swamp and wet prairie.
While hiking the preserve's five trails, you may identify distinct natural communities by the presence of certain plants:
- Mesic and wet flatwoods are characterized by an overstory of slash and longleaf pine scattered across the landscape with an understory dominated by saw palmetto and wiregrass (seen on the blue trail).
- Cypress domes may be recognized from a distance by the dome-like appearance of their tree line, and can be observed on all three trails.
The land was acquired in 2002 by the St. Johns River Water Management District and Volusia County Government using Volusia Forever funds.
The strand swamp east of the blue and orange trails can be identified by the presence of pond cypress, pond pine and loblolly bay.
Wet prairies on the orange trail are open areas dominated by St. Johns wort species and other wildflowers such as pipewort, batchelor’s button, and meadow beauty.
Management plan
Map and directions
Trail map [PDF]
Animal list [PDF]
Plant list [PDF]
Preserve rules [PDF]
Volusia County conservation lands are managed using a program of professionally accepted principles of resource and ecosystem management for the benefit of, and enjoyment by, present and future generations.
