Wiregrass Prairie Preserve
Hours: Sunrise to Sunset
Amenities: Hiking, Biking, Horseback Riding, Pavilion, Wildlife Viewing, Group Camping
Wiregrass Prairie Preserve consists of 1,400 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 three 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.
