Little Big Econ: Orlando’s Best Hike Is a State Forest in Geneva
Little Big Econ State Forest takes No. 1 in our Hiking Spots rankings with a Net Score of 94 — why it won, and how to walk it.
2 minute read
Orlando’s best hike is not in Orlando. It is a state forest in Geneva, in Seminole County’s rural east — 11,696 acres of cypress swamp and pine flatwoods along the Econlockhatchee River, with a $2 day-use fee and more than fifteen miles of trail.
Little Big Econ State Forest, at 1350 Snow Hill Rd. in Geneva, takes the No. 1 spot in Orlando Citizen’s 2026 Hiking Spots rankings with a Net Score of 94.0 — the highest in a field of 28 metro trail systems that cleared our 25-review evidence bar. Its blended rating of 4.80★ across 839 reviews is the kind of number flagship parks post; reviewers reach for the same words — “peaceful and beautiful” — and praise the paths’ upkeep, which is not the usual story for a working state forest.
The draw is that this is the real backcountry option closest to town. The Florida Forest Service counts 15.6 miles of hiking trails here, including an 8.9-mile stretch of the Florida National Scenic Trail — the state’s great long trail, the one that runs from the Everglades to the Panhandle, passes through Orlando’s backyard in this forest. The walking winds through cypress swamp and pine flatwoods along the Econ, and it feels a great deal further from the suburbs than the drive out Snow Hill Road says it is.
One live caveat belongs in any honest account: the bridges connecting Little Big Econ into Charles H. Bronson State Forest closed on October 1, 2026, until further notice, which cuts off some trail sections on that side. The forest’s own trail system is unaffected, but anyone planning a long through-route should check the current status before they go.
It finished a whisker ahead of Sanford’s Black Bear Wilderness Area (93.8), the metro’s best wildlife walk — two Seminole County wildlands at the top of a list most Orlando hikers have never walked either of. That is the finding worth printing: the region’s best hiking is not a manicured park path. It is a state forest in Geneva, and it costs two dollars.
See the full rankings: The 10 Best Hiking Spots in Orlando.
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