Florida Hikes! | Get outdoors in Florida | Your guide to Florida's outdoors, by Sandra Friend, Florida's hiking expert, and her co-author John Keatley, covering the Florida Trail and other trails throughout Florida.

The Florida Trail: A History

How to order a copy of The Florida Trail: Florida's National Scenic Trail, our limited edition full-color coffee table book that tells the comprehensive story of the first 50 years of routing, building, maintaining, and enjoying our statewide National Scenic Trail.

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The Florida Trail: A History

Crossing Big Cypress

It's Florida's roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best tackled with friends. Along this 30 mile stretch of the Florida Trail in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve, immersing in the swamp is the point of the hike. Sandra tackled it as the final stretch of her multi-year 1,110-mile section hike of the Florida Trail, end-to-end.

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Crossing Big Cypress

Paddling the Intracoastal Waterway for Alzheimer’s Awareness

Traverse the Intracoastal Waterway on a paddleboarding adventure for a cause: broken into a series of day paddles, Something I Will Never Forget, an organized paddleboard journey, spans from St. Augustine to Palm Beach.

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Paddling the Intracoastal Waterway for Alzheimer’s Awareness

Welaka State Forest

Protecting more than four miles of deeply forested waterfront on the St. Johns River across Little Lake George from the Ocala National Forest, Welaka State Forest offers both natural beauty and a deep subtext of cultural history.

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Welaka State Forest

Florida is different. Stretching 1,400 miles from the edge of the Everglades to Pensacola Beach, the Florida Trail is one of only 11 National Scenic Trails across America. It starts in a swamp, and ends on a beach. What you’ll see in between will give you a new appreciation for natural Florida.

Get the Book Get the App Explore the Trail

Learn more about this fantastic statewide resource for backpacking and hiking. Dig in!

Get Trail Updates Backpacking Scenic Hikes

Planning a future THRU-HIKE or SECTION HIKE? Look into the resources of the Florida Trail Hikers Alliance.

Upcoming Workshops

Feb 20: 50 Hikes in Central Florida. Space Coast Paddlers, Eau Gallie
Mar 14: 50 Hikes in Central Florida. FTA Black Bear Chapter Meeting, Tomoka State Park
Apr 10: 50 Hikes & More: Hiking Central Florida with Florida Hikes. College of Central Florida, Ocala
Apr 10: Alligators Everywhere! Outdoor Writing in Florida. College of Central Florida, Ocala

Upcoming Events

Mar 2: I-Did-A-Hike, Suwannee Springs
Mar 2: 24th Annual Bradwell Bay Swamp Tromp
Mar 29-31: Panhandle Trace Hike
Apr 20: National Park Week
Jun 1: National Trails Day

2019 FEE-FREE DAYS FOR FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS:
Apr 20, Aug 25, Sep 28, Nov 11.

Lafayette Creek, Nokuse

Florida Trail, Nokuse

27.7 miles. Spanning from the Choctawhatchee River west to the boundary of Eglin Air Force Base, Nokuse is a compelling backpacker’s destination in the Florida Panhandle.
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Bridge in Eglin East

Florida Trail, Eglin East

41 miles. Simultaneously rugged and scenic: that’s the beauty of a backpacking trip across the Alaqua, Catface, and Titi sections of the Florida Trail in Eglin Air Force Base.
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Florida Trail historic marker

Florida Trail, Ocala National Forest

72.2 miles. Of all of the sections of the Florida Trail statewide, the Ocala National Forest is both the oldest section of the trail and the most compelling for backpackers.
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Juniper Prairie Wilderness

Florida Trail, Juniper Springs to Hopkins Prairie

10.6 miles. CLOSED. One of the few designated wilderness areas that the Florida Trail traverses, the Juniper Prairie Wilderness in the Ocala National Forest is a wildlife-rich mosaic of ancient scrub forests, pine islands, and broad open prairies.
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The Florida Trail book interior pages

The Florida Trail: A History

How to order a copy of The Florida Trail: Florida’s National Scenic Trail, our limited edition full-color coffee table book that tells the comprehensive story of the first 50 years of routing, building, maintaining, and enjoying our statewide National Scenic Trail.
Read More

Florida Trail, Big Cypress

Crossing Big Cypress

It’s Florida’s roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best tackled with friends. Along this 30 mile stretch of the Florida Trail in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve, immersing in the swamp is the point of the hike. Sandra tackled it as the final stretch of her multi-year 1,110-mile section
Read More

Paddling the Intracoastal Waterway for Alzheimer’s Awareness

Traverse the Intracoastal Waterway on a paddleboarding adventure for a cause: broken into a series of day paddles, Something I Will Never Forget, an organized paddleboard journey, spans from St. Augustine to Palm Beach.
Read More

The Planetary Court at Koreshan State Park

Florida’s Utopia

At the Koreshan Unity in Estero, Florida, a group of believers gathered in 1894 to begin building their paradise. It is now a National Historic Site and a Florida State Park. Walk the trails and streets of “New Jerusalem” to learn its story.
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