University of West Florida Trail is a 2.9 mile heavily trafficked loop trail located near Pensacola, Florida that features a river and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
The directions in app to this trail are completely inaccurate. It took me to some poor man's house and I'm sure he was not very amused to find someone sitting in his driveway. However when I pulled up UFW's trail map I found parking lot and just went on whatever trail I found first. Nice trails but incredibly confusing and no clear trail maps to be found anywhere. Locals probably know these by heart but they are not easy for out of towners to navigate.
We loved it! Hard to navigate because of a lot of debris but absolutely will back again.
Enjoyed it! Some trail markers left a little to be desired, but it was fun and cleared!
Nice trails. I ran the white loop, about 8.2 miles. All called trees have been cleared and the path wasn’t muddy. A few enjoyable running trail. There were a few intersections that weren’t super clearly marked, but I made it without a wrong turn. I parked on the UWF campus at the trail head. Google the Edward Ball Nature Trail and it will take you there. I think your suppose to have a permit but the lot was maybe 10% full so I risked it. Once you head out on the boardwalk wooden trail, it will eventually get you to a map in the woods that explain the trails. Follow the colors and good luck!
the directions were inaccurate for best parking. I had a wagon for the kiddos. It led me to parking lot with stairs to the trail. I would not take a wagon next time. the boardwalk was very narrow. It was perfect weather today, October. The blood suckers are still there, so use bug spray. We loved the beautiful path
Hurricane Sandy blew down some trees, and the path was blocked. A little muddy but fun!
Extremely hot in mid-August but merciful shade along almost the whole route. Other reviews about confusing layout are accurate but if you follow the All Trails map, you will be just fine. The UWF sign at the trailhead does not list a 3.8 mile option, but you can cobble together a shorter or longer route based on the many mini-loops. The blue section, at least, is very well marked. A little buggy but no problem if you have spray. A few sandy spots but mostly tree-filled woods and leaf lined paths. A few slightly steep rock / root bits that you may scramble, but nothing my tennis shoes couldn’t handle. A fun trail!
We were able to see alligators and turtles, as well as many banana spiders and other insects. It was a great walk! The directions in this app are wrong though, look up the Edward Ball Nature Trail and Google Maps will take you right there.
Great trail. Actually very long loops, some as long as 12 miles. Start parked in lot G. Don’t follow directions on all trails. Follow paved path down to boardwalk. If going counterclockwise around loop take first dirt path off boardwalk. Continue 0.1-0.3 miles and there is a detailed map. Trails are fairly well marked. Looks to be other entrances to trails also. I saw a lot of turtles, fish, and a gator from the safety of the boardwalk.
It gets a little confusing because there’s multiple trails and we got lost very easily. Other than that it was a great trail for the colder times of the year.
First time here and walked the boardwalk circle. started to go off into the longer trail and there were no trail indicators and battery was low on my GPS so I turned back.
Great trail with a lot of different options. A nice change of terrain, with a lot of ups and downs. Have a game plan of which trail you want to take when you go (there's a few to choose from varying in distance) and stick to the markings. I ran into a few other hikers and mountain bikers. I will be back to finish exploring the other trails!
Great system of trails but a little out of sync with the AllTrails maps.
Had a lot of fun this morning exploring this trail as a trail run with a friend. Thank goodness for this app though, we would have been very lost without the map! The deeper in you go, the less marked the trails become. Hard to believe this is Florida! Lots of elevation changes and tight footpaths with twists and turns—reminded me a lot of trails I’ve done in North Carolina. Definitely recommend it and have your phone well charged for map help if you need it!