By Tom Craig, Treasures of the Trails

When you are looking for a park with free admission and fun for the whole family, including your leashed pet, Whispering Pines Park is a great choice. There are nearly 300 acres of natural beauty and wildlife, with a variety of experiences for visitors.

The Whispering Pines Park is a gem in the heart of Citrus County. It attracts almost 200,000 people a year who love to walk in the woods. The City of Inverness parks are open from dawn to dusk and this one attracts hikers, joggers, and cyclists.

Recently, there has been construction to widen US 41, and a new entrance to Whispering Pines Park is planned for US 41 which has caused temporary rerouting of some trails.

Don’t worry about the construction because the Perimeter Trail is still open with its temporary re-route. After the highway construction is completed there will be a small reroute around the retention pond created for the newly widened US 41.

Whispering Pines Park is Part of the City of Inverness Park System

Whispering Pines Park is located on Forest Drive at the intersection with SR 44. The park is described on the Inverness website as, “Whispering Pines Park is a 290-acre woodsy park complete with pickle ball, basketball, disc golf, splash pad, and pool. Joggers and walkers find the trails to be uniquely refreshing, offering the coolness of forest shade during summer months and the crispness of leaves and pine needles in winter.”

Entering from the Forest Drive entrance you see many baseball/softball fields complete with grandstands. Winding through the paved roads you pass a few ample parking lots with restroom facilities and pavilions.

The next large parking area is the pool complex where you will also find the tennis and pickle ball courts, the start of a disk golf course, and the basketball courts. The many hiking trails provide an escape into the woods where a hiker may pick to follow any of the well-signed trails or choose to make a combination of trails to vary your walk every time you visit.

The Perimeter Trail is Used by Hikers, Joggers and Cyclists

Hikers, joggers, and cyclists all use the Whispering Pines Park’s Perimeter Trail (The Pink Trail on the signs). Joggers like to use the trail after work, because of its long straightaways and relative flatness.

The Perimeter Trail is also the only trail in the park that can be used by cyclists other than the dedicated mountain bike trail. The mountain bike trail is a one-way, 2½-mile loop through the park. The trailhead is located near the parking area of the Recreation Building.

Construction has caused Rerouting of the Perimeter Trail

The Perimeter Trail has been re-routed due to construction on US 41. The route of the detour mainly follows the yellow trail where the trail is being dug up until it can be permanently rerouted after the construction is done. 

The City of Inverness has posted signs clearly marking the detour away from the construction area. The re-route extends the 2.9-mile Perimeter Trail walk to about 3.1 miles. Cyclists may use the re-routed section on the Yellow Trail until the new Perimeter trail is completed by FDOT.

The Florida Department Of Transportation (FDOT) website describes the current trail changes with these words, “What are the Whispering Pines Park Improvements? FDOT will be restoring the perimeter trail, adding native plantings to the trail, and replacing the fence. FDOT will be making accommodations for a new park entrance at the shopping center signalized intersection and providing a dedicated left turn lane to the new entrance.”

The City of Inverness website already mentions the new entrance. “The Perimeter trail is the longest trail at 2.9 miles, encircling the park and offering access/parking from two major entry roads: Forest Drive Park Entrance and State Road 41 North.”

The City will be paving a section of road from the new US 41 entrance along the old powerline clearing to the existing paved road near the pool rotary. (See the map in this article.)

Whispering Pines City Park Walking and Jogging Trails

The park has 4 major foot trails.

• Yellow is 2.3 miles with its trailhead near the Whispering Pines City Park Pool Facility. This popular trail winds through the entire park touching every other trail in its path.
• Blue is a swift mile, for a great lunch-hour workout.
• Red and Green are a gentle seven-tenths of a mile, perfect for an afternoon stroll.
• The Perimeter trail is the longest trail at 2.9 miles, encircling the park.

All trails are monitored by park staff. 

If your walking companion happens to be a four-legged pooch, pets are allowed. For safety reasons, your pet must be leashed and, please be prepared to pick up after them. There are convenient, easy to access waste stations to help with this process located throughout the park.

All in all, Whispering Pines City Park has a lot to offer visitors. For many, the Perimeter Trail is one of the best so we thought it would be good to update readers on the project.

The Park’s entrance is located at 1700 Forest Dr, Inverness, FL 34453. Get out there and hike in one of the best trail parks in Citrus County: Whispering Pines Park.

About Treasures of the Trails

Treasures of the Trails showcases the little-known hiking, biking, and birding trails of Citrus County, Florida. It is specifically written for novice hikers and bicyclists and is most helpful to those who are not familiar with Citrus County or Florida’s Nature Coast. It was written by Max Schulman and Tom Craig.

It is a one-stop primer that covers the basics a novice can use to locate, learn about, and prepare for great adventures on these trails. It is the “Read This First” handbook that enables a “crawl, walk, run” approach to safely getting out in the diverse trails the area offers and managing a one-year transition to an intermediate-level hiker. Most importantly, it is a book written in plain English. A book you will read, use, and keep in your car or backpack.