Jones Grade Lakes Trail: A Hidden Fakahatchee Hike

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I like to think I’ve done pretty much everything near Everglades City and Big Cypress, but I also know I’m still missing a few trails.

My goal on the 2024 trip was to do as many new things as possible and I think that was accomplished pretty well.

One of the trails on my list was the Jones Grade Lakes trail, which also ended up including a nearby trail that was NOT the right one, although it seems like it should have been.

Hence, the (Not) Jones Grade Lakes trail title. You’ll be hearing about both the wrong trail and the right one.

Looking back though, I see the area is called Jones Grade Lakes AND Trails, so that’s kind of my bad. And there isn’t all that much out there about them so I considered it a fact finding mission.

I would have been curious about both anyways, so it worked out in the end.

Not Jones Grade Lakes Trip Report

First up we have the Not Jones Grade Lakes trail, which is actually the trail by the lakes. I’m not sure if these are where the area get it’s name because looking at Google Maps, there are some smaller natural lakes in the area, but not right by trails.

We accidentally passed our turnoff so had to turn back to get here but once we did we found this dirt parking area on the right down the road with the white “Quail” mailbox no problem.

We hit the trail and immediately began to wonder if we were even at the right spot. But we kept going, thinking maybe this would lead us into the woods.

Spoiler, it didn’t. This trail is also on old road but instead of the woodsy grassy kind, it’s just open gravel that goes along to edge of and between the lakes.

There’s no shade, it’s just all open, so it was pretty hot. When you get to the first fork, we went to the left and once you get to the back of the lake(ish), it just sort of stops.

If you were really determined you could probably keep going through the tall grass but I’m not sure how worth it that would be.

We turned around there and went back to the car, we didn’t go the other direction at the fork because on the map it seems to just go out to the highway.

We did see some kind of skeleton on here which was exciting, and the views were really nice, but overall it was just ok. I wouldn’t do it again but if you want lake views, it’s worth it since it doesn’t take that long.

Once we got to the point where we turned around, I realized this was definitely NOT the spot I was reading about earlier.

I got out those directions and we realized we had to keep going down that dirt road until we got to a green gate, so back down the road we went.

Jones Grade Lakes Trip Report

As soon as we got to the gate I knew we were in the right place. Like plenty of other trails in the area, it’s an old logging road and straight as can be.

So, off we went. There wasn’t much to see along the way, there wasn’t even much water along the sides of the trail like the West Tram trail or Fakahatchee Hilton trail.

There were tons of wild coffee plants along the whole trail though! They didn’t have berries or anything, just the leaves but it was still cool to see.

Eventually we came to a fork and went to the left. The straight/right looked more closed in(?) and the left was more open, tree wise.

I am curious what the straight/right would be like and would be willing to come back to do that in the future. I just need to know!

But we went left. Here, it was a lot sunnier which made it quite a bit hotter which generally made it less enjoyable. It wasn’t a bad trail already but it wasn’t great either and the heat didn’t help.

Going to the left had a couple of turns so it wasn’t 100% straight but it was literally just corners so still nothing too crazy.

It did eventually open up a bit on the right so we could see some cypress domes which was nice but it still wasn’t like, great views of them.

Just before the point where we turned around there was a sign saying you’re on camera here and they’re always watching (100 tiny cameras that you’ll never see).

I’m not sure what that was about but my best guess would have to do with orchid poaching. I don’t know that for sure, it could be totally unrelated.

By now we were ready to head back, it was hot and the scenery wasn’t all that great so back we went.

Once we were almost back to the car, on the trail where we had passed on the way in with nothing there, we saw a fresh pile of bear poop AND a panther track!!

I’m so sad we missed both because I’ve never seen a bear here, or even evidence of one, or a panther at all (that I’ve seen tracks of before).

But it wasn’t the right time so I guess I’ll just have to come back. I think seeing the poop and track were the most exciting part of this hike.

I’m glad we did this because I would have been curious about it, and I would go back to try the straight/right direction but not the left again.

Looking at Google Maps, it looks like the both the left and straight/right routes might lead to some other old logging road type trails.

This was definitely not my favorite trail in the Big Cypress area but I didn’t hate it by any means either.

Travel Services I Recommend:
AllTrails – This is my favorite hike tracking app.
America the Beautiful – The national park pass is essential.
Booking.com – This is great for finding and booking hotels.
Get Your Guide – I recommend Get Your Guide for booking tours.
National Park Obsessed – This is the best national park planner.
Skyscanner – Skyscanner is great for finding and booking flights.
Enterprise – This is my rental car recommendation.
See all my resources here.

Where is the Jones Grade Lakes trailhead?

First, you have to get to the turnoff. It will be on Highway 29 (the road straight out of Everglades City), just south of Miles City and Alligator Alley.

There are no signs at the turnoff but it’s at a dirt road with a white mailbox that says “Quail.”

We drove past it the first time and had to turn around. Once you turn down here, if you want to do the first (Not) trail, there will be a dirt parking area on the right with some Fakahatchee signs.

If you just want the jungle-y trail, skip this right tun and just keep going straight on the dirt road until you get to a green gate.

There isn’t tons of parking space so make sure you don’t block the green gate or any of the road.

It’s about 30 minutes from Everglades City and 40 minutes from Naples.

How long is the Jones Grade Lakes trail?

The first hike we did, that I call Not Jones Grade Lakes (even though it’s actually the one by the lakes) was 1.22 miles, tracked on AllTrails.

The second trail we did, which I think is the actual Jones Grade Lakes trail, was 2.57 miles but we didn’t get to an end point, we just turned around because it was hot and not super thrilling.

So, for both, a total of 3.8ish miles but you could easily do more than that. We went left at the fork on the second trail but is a straight/right option too.

And there was a short part of the first trail that we did that leads back to the highway that we skipped because we knew we weren’t in the right spot.

Is the Jones Grade Lakes trail hard?

Nope (neither is)! Like most trails in this area, this one is straight and flat as can be. It does have some turns in it, unlike the West Main Tram Trail, but it’s the same type of trail.

Can you see Florida panthers on the Jones Grade Lakes trail?

If you’re really lucky maybe! They do live in the area, and I don’t know why but I feel like when I see one it will be in Fakahatchee, which this is part of.

We saw a track not far from the bear poop also on our way out that wasn’t there on the way in, so they’re out there somewhere!

Are there bears on the Jones Grade Lakes trail?

Yes! There are actually bears all over Big Cypress! I haven’t actually seen one here yet, and only saw evidence of one on this trail!

I have seen other people say they’ve spotted them on the wildlife spotting boards in the visitor centers but I had never even seen tracks before here!

And we still didn’t notice tracks but we did see a pile of poop right before the trailhead on our way back out that wasn’t there on the way in. Still no bear though!

Is the Jones Grade lakes trail worth it?

This isn’t the best hike in the Big Cypress area, but if you’ve done most of the other trails or want a trail without much of a chance of seeing other people, this is a good option.

There wasn’t anything particularly intriguing about it but it certainly wasn’t bad. I usually give all trails ratings of four or five stars but these got two and three, respectively, so do with that what you will.