Walk In the Woods

Walk In the Woods has been outfitting Central Florida hikers, paddlers, and weekend campers since 2005, long enough that the shop is now something of a downtown Mount Dora landmark in its own right. It occupies space in the historic Ramsey Building, known locally as the Mardi Gras Building, at the corner where North Donnelly Street starts to bend, and the location alone tells you something about the shop’s staying power in a downtown where storefronts turn over more often than people expect.

The inventory covers clothing, footwear, and accessories built for actual outdoor use rather than outdoor themed souvenirs, which puts it in a different category from most of the gift shops nearby. Customers come in looking for hiking boots before a trip to the nearby Wekiva or Ocala trails, moisture wicking shirts for a Florida summer, and gear for fishing, paddling, and travel. The shop has built its buying around brands selected for durability and, increasingly, for sustainable materials and manufacturing practices, a detail the owners highlight on their own site as part of what separates the store from a typical mall outfitter.

Reviewers consistently point to two things: a staff that actually uses the gear they sell and can speak to how a boot or a pack performs on a real trail, and an inventory deep enough that a visitor can walk out with a complete outfit for a hiking trip rather than one item. That combination has built a loyal following well beyond Mount Dora, evident in the shop’s large social media following relative to its size, and in the fact that the business expanded to a second nearby location, The Outpost, at points over the years to handle overflow inventory and foot traffic.

Because Walk In the Woods sits in the middle of Mount Dora’s main shopping corridor, it works well as one stop on a longer downtown walk that includes the antique malls to the south and the boutiques and gift shops along Fourth and Fifth Avenue. It is an easy shop to underestimate from the sidewalk, since the storefront reads more like a small specialty boutique than an outfitter, but the depth of the inventory inside surprises most first time visitors. Anyone heading toward the Florida Trail, the St. Johns River, or one of the springs an hour or two away in either direction is better served stopping here first than trying to find equivalent gear once they arrive. For locals, it has become the default answer to where to buy a decent pair of trail shoes or a daypack without driving to Orlando, which after two decades in business is exactly the role a shop like this is supposed to play in a small town.