Mahogany Hammock Trail - 0.4 Miles Round-Trip

The Mahogany Hammock Trail is a short, handicap accessible hike that leads through dense 'hardwood hammock', one of 9 distinct ecosystems in Everglades National Park. A raised boardwalk takes visitors along this self-guiding walk with informational signs at many points of ecological interest.

The most interesting feature of the Mahogany Hammock Trail is that it houses the largest living Mahogany tree in the entire United States. In addition to Mahogany trees, the trail plays home to other tropical species including Strangler Fig trees, Gumbo Limbo trees and a large variety of air plants.

As mentioned above, the hardwood hammock ecosystem is one of 9 ecosystems in the Everglades. The hardwood hammocks are also referred to as tree islands because they are technically surrounded by a vast sea of saw grass marl prairie.

How do these hardwood hammocks become islands? The acids from decaying plant life at the edges of the hammock will eat away at the limestone underground to form moats which encircle the hardwood hammocks. In addition to providing animals with a perennial source of water, the moats also protect the hardwood hammocks from wildfire, a constant danger in the Everglades.

Because these tree islands rest at a slightly higher elevation than the saw grass marl prairie, they rarely flood and provide consistent ?high ground? for animal and plant life. Elevation changes of mere inches can make dramatic differences in ecological diversity of the Everglades and the hardwood hammock is no exception. In the case of hardwood hammocks, only 2-3 inches of raised ground enables the hammocks to support some of the largest trees in the Everglades. Drop down a few inches in elevation, and only saw grass prairie can exist. This delicate balance of ecology is what makes the Everglades one of the most unique places on earth.