Florida · National Seashore trail

Brown's Pond Trail

in Florida

This 2.0 mile out-and-back trail can be started on Reservation Road, which is a residential area. The east side of the loop is a clearly distinguished, sandy fire break that will take you all the way to Highway 98. There is a side trail off the main Brown's Pond Trail that is much narrower and winding, and two join near the end of the main trail.

This trail also intersects with the Beaver Pond, Old Quarry, and Andrew Jackson Trails. Note: there is no parking in the residential area for the trail. Near the trailhead, visitors will see Brown's Pond, and may be able to observe wildlife that uses this area as their home.

During the spring, listen for sounds of fish mating calls beneath the water. Duration: 1-1.5 hours

States
Florida
Trail type
National Seashore trail
Centroid nearest city
New Orleans, LA · 178 mi · ~5 hr drive
Centroid coords
30.3804°, -87.1292°

About Gulf Islands National Seashore

National Seashore

This trail is inside Gulf Islands National Seashore, a national seashore managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.

Entrance fee: $25 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.

Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/brown-s-pond-trail.htm

Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/guis/index.htm

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Brown's Pond Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Other trails within 50 miles

32 nearby

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.