dupuis reserve

While looking for a way to spend the day I happened upon this reserve. I first stopped at the visitor center. Staff was excellent. They explained the trails, told me about wildlife I could expect to see, and answered all my questions with pride in their reserve.You can drive thru to the fishing pier at the end of the park which I chose to do that day. I got out of the car numerous times for short hikes and to take photographs. The first thing I noticed was the peacefulness. All I heard was the singing of birds. In my travels I spotted woodpeckers, ibis, heron, a hawk and gators. I left with more photos than expected. The entire park is well maintained and what old Florida must have been like.

What a great place to hike and see wildlife! We were out geicaching and had a nice day. The florida trail was nice and manicured so no trampling thru large tall grass. The managers were able to come say hi too. Highly recommend this reserve! Beautiful place. Free camping. Horse back riding too!

Lovely! One of the best places on Florida ! We were there fishing for a day !! Beautiful forest, lake , clean quiet , wild life ! We really love it. We are coming back. We could believe we found that place. Make sure to take water and food is nothing out there. I highly recommend if you want some peace and quiet for you and your family !

We happened upon this gem after leaving the commotion of Miami. Great walks through a pine/palm prairie. There was a walk through a cypress some (I think it was stop 6 on the auto tour) that was probably the prettiest such place we have seen in Florida - ferns, lichen, flowers, cypress, alligator flag. The equestrian camp ground is level, shaded, and FREE. We liked it so much we stayed three nights -five are permitted. There are miles of horse and people trails throughout the reserve. We didn't see a lot of wildlife, but enjoyed our walks anyway.

I tent camped with a group in the group area. Free camping and they provide 3 portable toilets,2 pavilions with picnic tables and a large fire ring with benches. You need to reserve the area in advance. You need to bring in your own water for drinking, bathing and cleaning dishes and you need to bring your garbage out with you. Very large area. Plenty of room for a large group. Lots of areas you can put your tent under a tree. The group area is at gate 1 (5 gates) about 7 miles into the park. Since so far back it is very quiet. Lots of great hiking trails. About 1/2 mile from the group camping area is a nice lake with a fishing pier and pavilions with picnic tables.

Unbelievably beautiful Wildlife Management Reserve and FREE camping! Nicely groomed campsites with fire rings and toilet facilities. You can only have a popup or a tent at Gate 1 Family Csmp, but it is family friendly. Gate 3 offers showers and equestrian stalls and barn, and you can have a RV there. Great place, nice hosts throughout!

First thing we noticed ,,,Visitors are all liking this park ... and are all extremely friendly , our daughter was even offered to go on horse-back-riding !! Camping is FREE .... YES FREE !! Now the accommodations are basic ... but it's free , feels welcoming ... plenty of space ... and trust me ... kids can run free All in all ....If you have a little time to spare ... give them a visit !!

We had so much fun on this easy relaxed hike,loop 1. It was only 3.9 miles. It was beautiful and there wasn't anybody else on the trail.The staff in the Visitors Center were friendly and helpful.

This preserve is well worth a visit -- a beautiful piece of Florida's interior geography -- the part of the state many tourists don't get to see (unless there is a "mouse" or "wizard" involved). The reserve is extremely well managed by people who care about the environment, the wildlife and their community.

The nature was spectacular. In the wild we saw deer, wild turkeys, hawks and an eagles nest with babies in it. It was roped off so you couldn't get too close but close enough and its good to see they are being protected. It is so beautiful out there, untouched and so "old florida". You can almost picture what it was like back in the day.We then went to the Visitors Center which was a few miles up the road as we wanted to sign in and browse the gift store. In the brochure it said it was opened from Tuesday through Friday from 9-4. We went on a Firday. When we pulled in the gate there was a sign out that said open. The first parking area says "Employees Only" and there were 2 City type trucks and one city type car. We drove around the back where it said "visitors parking". We parked noticing that there were no other cars. This was about 10:15 AM. We walked up to the door and noticed the lights on inside but the door was locked and so were the bathrooms they advertised as being open. We rang the doorbell several times and knocked loudly but no-one came. We then walked around the back through what they call their butterfly garden, which was so overgrown with dead plants, there was nother pretty about it. We then took the small nature trail, about a 10 minute walk and again all dead vegetation, and nothing to see. It is all very unkept and doesn't appear that anyone ever works on it. As we walked back by the door to the center we noticed that the lights inside were now out. We got in our car and drove around the front towards the exit and discovered the gate was closed and and locked! One of the County trucks was gone. So apparently whoever had been there left without checking the visitors parking lot and locked the gate. We tried to call the number in the brochure but I had to leave a message on a machine. So if you are caught there without a phone or a husband like mine you could be locked in a long time. Not a very good situation. So I would have to say I recommend the Reserve area but stay far away from the "Visitors Center"