Okeechobee’s history runs deep. Today’s walk slips past many ghosts, of fish camps and fish canneries, an early Florida toll road and more shoreline where the lake waters once lapped.
Alderman’s Ford Preserve
Alderman’s Ford Nature Preserve offers a surprising treat for a Central Florida hike: whitewater, showcasing the Alafia River churning as it winds through a deeply eroded channel
Alligator Creek
Part of Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Alligator Creek has two loop trails where freshwater and saltwater habitats meet, enabling you to explore a variety of coastal habitats in less than three miles.
Alligator Lake
In the city once called Alligator, first home of the University of Florida and named for a great chief of the Seminoles, Alligator Lake has long been a gathering place. Established as a park in 2002, hiking and bicycling are now its primary focus.
Alligators
Alligators are the number one fear that new hikers to Florida have. True, they’re at the top of our food chain. But we’ll take an alligator stretched across the trail over a grizzly any day.
Ancient Hammock Trail
At Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring, the Ancient Hammock Trail shows off the glory of towering cabbage palms and live oaks up to a thousand years old and more
Anhinga Trail
For most visitors, the Anhinga Trail is their first glimpse into Everglades National Park. It’s short, and the alligators are right there: hard to miss.
Arlington Park
A breezy walk along the St. Johns River is an easy way to start your day in Jacksonville at the Arlington Lions Club Park, with riverside boardwalks and a mile of trails
Arrowhead Nature Trail
Explore coastal habitats on the Arrowhead Nature Trail at Fort De Soto Park, an interpretive walk where you’ll learn about salt-dependent plants along Mullet Key Bayou.
Babcock Ecotour Trail
At Babcock Wilderness Adventures – a popular ecotourism attraction east of Punta Gorda – the Ecotour Trail is a no-cost option to getting your feet wet on an exploration of wet flatwoods habitats along a well-maintained trail through the palmetto prairie.
Babcock Ranch Footprints Trail
Following old forest roads, the purple-blazed loop of the Footprints Trail through the heart of Babcock Ranch, a vast prairie punctuated by cypress strands, provides a simple introduction to this often-squishy ecosystem.
Bailey Tract
One of the lesser-known trails at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at the Bailey Tract, off Tarpon Bay Road. Loop around impoundments with great birding.
