Fort Cooper State Park, State park and historic site in Citrus County, United States.
Fort Cooper State Park is a 710-acre historic site two miles south of Inverness, off U.S. Highway 41 on South Old Floral City Road. It borders 160-acre Lake Holathlikaha and holds nearly 5 miles of hiking trails, a beach, a primitive campground and a picnic and playground area. A brown wooden sign at the trailhead reads "Old Military Road, Seminole War Trail between Fort Brooke and Fort King along the west side of the Cove of the Withlacoochee."
The fort was built in 1836 when the United States was fighting the Seminoles and establishing defensive positions across Florida's interior. Major Mark Anthony Cooper commanded this remote outpost to protect settlers in this disputed frontier zone.
Each March the park stages a re-enactment of the Siege of Fort Cooper from the Second Seminole War. A brown-and-white sign at the trailhead marks the Old Military Road, the Seminole War trail between Fort Brooke and Fort King along the west side of the Cove of the Withlacoochee.
Fort Cooper State Park lies two miles south of Inverness, off U.S. Highway 41 on South Old Floral City Road, and can also be reached from the Withlacoochee State Trail. The park is open from 8 a.m. until sundown every day of the year, holidays included. Trails run nearly 5 miles (8 km) past Lake Holathlikaha, and a primitive campground and youth camping area are on site.
The grounds connect to a network of multi-use trails that span across multiple counties, linking visitors to other parks and communities. These regional routes turn the location into a stopping point for larger journeys through central Florida.
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