Last updated: April 4, 2025
Thing to Do
Hike Castle Windy Trail
This trail is an easy half-mile walk through a maritime hammock to Castle Windy, a Timucuan mound of discarded shells on the shore of Mosquito Lagoon. The mound is about 1,000 years old. Please help us preserve this important remnant from a former civilization. Do not climb on it or in any other way disturb the mound. April through October, be ready for mosquitos on your walk!
Details
Activity
Hiking
Pets Allowed
Yes
Reservations
No
Season
Winter
Time of Day
Day
Accessibility Information
This trail is not paved, has plant roots and is not wheelchair accessible. It is narrow at approximately 4 feet wide.
Pets and service animals are allowed on this trail on leash. For more information on service animals check out the park service animal webpage.
Pets and service animals are allowed on this trail on leash. For more information on service animals check out the park service animal webpage.
Collecting archeological artifacts is an Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) violation which has up to $100,000 fines and up to 5 years in prison.
Castle Windy Trail Guide
This trail is an easy half-mile walk through a maritime hammock to Castle Windy, a Timucuan mound of discarded shells on the shore of Mosquito Lagoon. The mound is about 1,000 years old. Please help us preserve this important remnant from a former civilization. Do not climb on it or in any other way disturb the mound. April through October, be ready for mosquitos on your walk!
Between the road behind you and the beach is the foredune, dominated by Saw Palmetto but also home to Cabbage Palms and other plants. Between the foredune and the road you may also see seasonal wildflowers, gopher tortoises, armadillos, and occasionally a wild pig, coyote, or jaguarundi. Plants in the foredune must be salt- and wind-tolerant; the plants at the beginning of the Castle Windy Trail must be too.
In the Maritime Hammock ahead of you, soil quality and the amounts of moisture and sunlight determine which plants grow well. This handout is keyed to numbered signs along the trail so you can read about the plant or plants near the sign.
This is your National Seashore, so please help us protect the plants, animals, and natural features. Take only photographs, and leave only footprints. Enjoy your walk!
Between the road behind you and the beach is the foredune, dominated by Saw Palmetto but also home to Cabbage Palms and other plants. Between the foredune and the road you may also see seasonal wildflowers, gopher tortoises, armadillos, and occasionally a wild pig, coyote, or jaguarundi. Plants in the foredune must be salt- and wind-tolerant; the plants at the beginning of the Castle Windy Trail must be too.
In the Maritime Hammock ahead of you, soil quality and the amounts of moisture and sunlight determine which plants grow well. This handout is keyed to numbered signs along the trail so you can read about the plant or plants near the sign.
This is your National Seashore, so please help us protect the plants, animals, and natural features. Take only photographs, and leave only footprints. Enjoy your walk!
The Cabbage (Sabal) Palm is the Florida state tree. It grows throughout the state. Early settlers used it to build cabins and pilings for docks because its wood resists insects and seaworms. The edible new growth at the top of a Cabbage Palm, often used in salads, is sold in stores as “heart of palm.” The black marks on the trunks are from controlled burns done every few years to clear out excessive underbrush, encourage new plant growth, and improve animal habitat.
The Saw Palmetto shrub has silvery-blue or sometimes bluish-green leaves. It stabilizes the sand and provides important protection for wildlife. It also produces orange berries that are harvested outside the seashore to make a medication for prostate illness. The sharp “teeth” on the sides of the leaf stems give the plant its name.
The Saw Palmetto shrub has silvery-blue or sometimes bluish-green leaves. It stabilizes the sand and provides important protection for wildlife. It also produces orange berries that are harvested outside the seashore to make a medication for prostate illness. The sharp “teeth” on the sides of the leaf stems give the plant its name.
Nakedwood (Simpson’s Stopper) is named for its skin-like bark. Its fragrant white flowers in the Spring attract birds, bees, and butterflies. The tree produces edible red fruit, and tea from the leaves was used to treat diarrhea – hence the name “stopper.” The tree was named after Charles Simpson, a naturalist in south Florida in the early twentieth century. Many plant names include the name of the person who discovered the plant or first studied it extensively.
A Yaupon Holly shrub grows to your left. Mature leaves are dark green on top, paler below. Yaupon Holly is the only plant in North America that naturally contains caffeine. Indigenous peoples dried its leaves to make a tea used in ceremonies. Today, a local company produces a light herbal tea (with a little caffeine) from the leaves. Yaupon Holly shrubs can grow into trees 15 to 25 feet tall, with light gray trunks. The plants are either male and female. The female shrub or tree produces bright red berries in late Fall and Winter.
Behind you grows a White Stopper. In sunny areas, pollinators are attracted to its white flowers when oils in the leaves evaporate, creating a skunk-like odor. The flowers produce red berries that birds enjoy; when ripe (black), people can eat the berries. New White Stopper leaves are red but turn medium green. Settlers used White Stopper leaves to make tea for colds, and (like Simpson’s Stopper) used them to stop diarrhea.
Behind you grows a White Stopper. In sunny areas, pollinators are attracted to its white flowers when oils in the leaves evaporate, creating a skunk-like odor. The flowers produce red berries that birds enjoy; when ripe (black), people can eat the berries. New White Stopper leaves are red but turn medium green. Settlers used White Stopper leaves to make tea for colds, and (like Simpson’s Stopper) used them to stop diarrhea.
Red Mulberry has small flowers that produce blackberry-like fruit about an inch long. When ripe, the fruit are black and can be eaten raw or made into pie or wine; however, the leaf sap and unripe fruits can cause central nervous system problems. Birds usually get the ripe fruit before people can. A Red Mulberry must be ten years old to produce the fruit, which is rich in vitamin C, iron and potassium. The tree can grow to 50 feet tall and live 125 years. Unlike the invasive White Mulberry, Red Mulberry cannot be used to make silk, as the silkworms won’t eat its leaves.
Coast Live Oak trees can live to be hundreds of years old. Their dense, strong wood has been used for building, fuel, and furniture. Live Oak was used in the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) because of its strength. Live Oak limbs often are covered with Resurrection Fern, which looks dead when dry but turns green after rain. Live oak acorns are important food for wildlife; people can eat them only after their tannins have been leached out by thorough soaking and rinsing.
Marlberry is an attractive evergreen shrub that produces white flowers and then bunches of berries at the ends of stems. Unripe (green or orange) berries are food for birds, but black (ripe) berries are edible. Marlberry shrubs can grow to 15 feet tall and are often used in landscaping. The wood is too soft for building but is used for finished carpentry such as bookcases and cabinets.
Marlberry is an attractive evergreen shrub that produces white flowers and then bunches of berries at the ends of stems. Unripe (green or orange) berries are food for birds, but black (ripe) berries are edible. Marlberry shrubs can grow to 15 feet tall and are often used in landscaping. The wood is too soft for building but is used for finished carpentry such as bookcases and cabinets.
Wild Coffee is related to coffee produced commercially in Central and South America, and elsewhere in the world, but it has no caffeine. Growing best in partial shade, its leaves stay bright green all year. Tea from the leaves has been used to treat colds. Small white flowers in the spring become attractive red berries that can be roasted to serve as a “decaf” coffee substitute.
The Golden Polypody Fern usually grows on the trunks of palm trees but also on oaks. The ferns near this sign are growing on the palm tree arching over the trail, but there are many others high up in the palms in front of you. The Polypody is epiphytic, like orchids; it does not harm the tree but only uses it for a place to live, getting its moisture and nutrients from the air. Each leaf attaches to a stem that grows like a vine in the “boots” (leaf bases) of the palm. The spores on the underside of each leaf are dispersed by wind. This fern has been studied for use in treatment of skin disorders.
The Eastern Red Cedar is a type of juniper. The light purple berries on the female tree are food for birds, and they have been used to treat flu and stomach problems. In the western U.S., the berries are harvested to flavor gin. Cedar wood is aromatic and repels insects, so it was popular for making cedar chests and closets. The straight grain of the wood makes it ideal for manufacturing pencils. The oldest Eastern Red Cedar in the U.S. is in West Virginia; it is estimated to be 940 years old.
Behind you are two Cabbage Palms. One has “boots” (the stub ends of leaves that have fallen off) from the ground to the top; the other has smooth bark until near the top. They are the same species of tree, but genetic traits result in the varied appearance.
The curly Resurrection Fern is an epiphyte that grows on the limbs and sometimes the trunks of oak trees. It looks brown and dead in dry weather, but rain will turn it green again. The fern has been studied for possible treatment of cardiac arrhythmia. Green Fly Orchids like to grow among Resurrection Ferns. They too are epiphytes, with three-inch leaves that look like blades of grass. Their small yellow flowers bloom on stems at various times during the year, usually fall and early spring.
The Giant Wild Pine is another epiphyte. It grows on tree limbs and branches, especially oaks. The grayish-green leaves resemble a pineapple’s. There are two small Wild Pines 15 feet to your right, 12 feet overhead. When mature, a Wild Pine grows a flower stalk up to 3 feet tall with up to 13,000 seeds. Wind disperses the seeds, and the plant dies.
The Oranges in Canaveral National Seashore are descended from citrus trees introduced to Florida by the Spanish. Early settlers in the Eldora area grew oranges and grapefruit commercially until about 1900. They produced sweet fruit by grafting sweet fruit seedlings onto wild (sour) orange rootstock, which resisted insects. Citrus greening and citrus canker, two bacterial infections, have devastated Florida’s groves; only a few species of citrus are resistant. The trees you see in CNS are Sour Oranges, which have a small extra “leaf” at the base of the main leaf that sweet oranges don’t have. Sour Oranges are used in marinades and marmalades but are too sour to eat raw, so please leave them for the animals.
To the right of sign 13, two green-leafed Strangler Figs are growing out of boots of a Cabbage Palm. A much larger Strangler Fig grows at the end of the trail, at the foot of the shell mound. Birds eat the edible figs from mature trees and drop the seeds, which often land in palm boots. Strangler Figs are tropical trees related to Banyans. They grow around a host tree, usually a palm or oak, and intercept its sunlight and moisture, often causing the death of the host tree.
Mangroves like the ones behind you grow along the edge of the lagoon and on the islands in the lagoon. Red, black, and white mangroves help prevent erosion, and they provide hiding places for small fish and other aquatic life. Red Mangroves have roots above the water that look like the ribs of an umbrella. Their yellow flowers develop into foot-long “propagules,” which look like pens or pencils. They are actually baby plants that will start a new tree if they land on the right sand or shell mix. Black and White Mangroves look like more traditional shrubs. Black Mangroves have foot-long “pneumatophores” that stick up out of the shore and enable the plant to take in oxygen. White Mangroves have more rounded, yellower leaves than the other mangroves. All the mangroves tolerate salt water and are very important for stabilizing the shorelines.
To the right of the sign are Florida Privet shrubs. Either male or female, they grow up to 20 feet. Their dark, glossy green leaves last most of the year. Small greenish-yellow spring flowers become purplish or dark blue berries that are important food for birds but not for people.
We hope you have enjoyed your walk on the Castle Windy Trail. You can find more information about the plants described here, and information about other plants along the trail, in the book Plants of Canaveral National Seashore, which is for sale at the Visitor Center.
To the right of the sign are Florida Privet shrubs. Either male or female, they grow up to 20 feet. Their dark, glossy green leaves last most of the year. Small greenish-yellow spring flowers become purplish or dark blue berries that are important food for birds but not for people.
We hope you have enjoyed your walk on the Castle Windy Trail. You can find more information about the plants described here, and information about other plants along the trail, in the book Plants of Canaveral National Seashore, which is for sale at the Visitor Center.