Klondike Trail – The Good, the Bad and The Ugly
Hiking from Apollo to Playalinda
Canaveral National Seashore is a local treasure preserving miles of local beaches and waterways and protecting those special lands for decades to come. For the past few years, I’ve contemplated walking from one end of the undeveloped park to the other, the 12-mile-long Klondike Trail. Over the weekend, I finally found someone else crazy enough to give it a try. So Richard and I loaded up our backpacks and headed to Canaveral National Seashore.
At the South end of the Park, the roadways and trails end at Playalinda Beach. 12 miles away, at the tip of New Smyrna, the Northern part of the park ends at Apollo Beach. Both beaches allow nude sunbathing, so we had an interesting view at each end, but nothing compared to the sites in between where it is nothing but beach and wilderness.
Hiking the Klondike Trail requires a Backcountry permit for $2 each (plus $3 each to get in park). We started from Apollo Beach and headed North at 8:00 AM to take advantage of the lower tide and easier walking conditions. We also began our trek on the ocean side to enjoy the awesome sunrise views.
The formal trail entrance is on the Intracoastal side of the park alongside Mosquito Lagoon. It’s an unmarked, overgrown trail tucked alongside the Intracoastal. If you start out from the Apollo Beach side of the Klondike Trail, I highly recommend starting here. We didn’t…
And now, onto the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and we promise this has nothing to do with the clothing optional sunbathers we stumbled through as we reached our destination.
The Good
- The Intracoastal views along the hike are priceless. For the great majority of the walk, pristine water views are just a glance away. For most of the journey, the only thing in view were vast expanses of land: mangroves, scrub oak, and serene waterways. It was likely very similar to the view experienced by native Indians hundreds of years ago.
- The mighty Atlantic – the ocean just looks different here. More powerful, more magnificent, cleaner, prettier… you get the idea… Pictures don’t do it justice, but I felt as though I was back in Costa Rica again.
- Wildlife – We saw a wide variety of birds: snowy egrets, blue herons, green herons, terns, pelicans, osprey, and one huge flock of white birds roosting on a small island in the river. We also saw three small feral hogs, as well as tracks from deer and turtles.
- Solitude – we walked for nearly 6 hours without seeing another human being, and actually went 10 miles without seeing one other human footprint.
- Seashells – Walking along the beach, we found some impressive, large shells. There were probably 5 or 6 larger than any I have ever seen on the public beaches in the area.
The Bad
- The National Park Service needs to act like they care about the Klondike trail. A trail map would have been nice, or at least directions on where to start and what to expect along the way.
- After starting out on the beach, we had to make several attempts to find our way to the trail, and that required navigating some dense palmetto thickets and a small stream. If you do the hike – start on the Intracoastal side.
- There was no visible signage anywhere, including at the point the trail abruptly ended at a ramshackle beachside shack after 4 miles.
- We encountered one park ranger on a 4-wheeler a few miles from our destination. He was impersonable and borderline rude. He also offered no help when we asked for directions on how to resume our walk on the official trail.
The Ugly
Trash. The amount of garbage we saw on the trails and on the beach was horrific, especially considering the fact that humans rarely pass through these areas. The great majority of the trash has washed ashore after entering the ocean miles away. And, as you would expect, almost all of it was plastic.
A few of the most common items we found:
- Balloons – after seeing so many, and knowing the threat they pose to sea turtles, I have bought my last helium balloon… ever.
- Bottles – plastic bottles were everywhere including the beach, the dunes, and deep in the trails.
- Kids toys – I am guessing most of these were accidentally left on the beach, but they still have to be a huge risk to local wildlife. We found frisbees, dolls, plastic shovels, a ping pong ball and a roller blade! Oh, the stories that lone roller blade could tell…
- Shoes and flip flops. Dozens.
- There were also plenty of items off of boats. Cushions, ropes, fishing gear, etc… And, a huge bamboo raft… wonder the story for that one…
Bottom line, the beach and the dunes were filthy. Shockingly polluted.
Perhaps there’s an opportunity for a volunteer group to clean that stretch of beach, because the one ranger we saw raced by all of the trash with nary a thought to picking some up.
Bottom Line
I’d recommend doing the walk. As noted, the views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River are priceless. Before you embark get directions from a Ranger or stop in the Visitor Center for a map, or at least some inside information.
NSB Insider Tips
- Walking South to North usually assures you of having a helping wind. We walked into the wind and began to feel it our last few miles.
- Apply plenty of sunscreen. The reflection off of the sand and water left our faces burned even though we had hats on.
- Try to plan your trip around low tide so that any time on the beach offers some hard-packed sand.
- Bring plenty of water. We each went through about 60 ounces.
- Bring two options for footwear. I’d recommend sneakers and some solid hiking sandals.
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Thanks,
Bob – NSB Guide
For more info on Canaveral National Seashore, click here.
