On New Years Eve day, I had the pleasure of leading 32 hikers through a trail system that none of them had ever explored before: Carney Island Park. One of Marion County’s finest parks, it preserves a peninsula jutting out into Lake Weir near Ocklawaha. I’ve been there several times before, rambling the trails both […]
Archives for January 2012
Fall in the floodplain
For years, I’ve heard people fuss about the “lack of seasons” in Florida. Spend a little time in the woods, and you’ll tune in to Florida’s unique seasonality. Wildflowers do the best job of showing off what time of year it is, but our floodplain forests do, too. Depending on where you are in the […]
Florida Trail relocation in Seminole Ranch
A recent relocation of the Florida Trail in Seminole Ranch Conservation Area has opened up another beautiful stretch of hiking along the floodplain of the St. Johns River north of Christmas. Removing the long-standing roadwalk along Wheeler Road from the equation means a well-shaded and most interesting walk in the woods as you head north […]
Hinson Preserve a hiker’s hideaway
A long entrance road belies the delights of Hinson Conservation & Recreation Area, the newest place for hikers to play in Marianna. Facilitated by the Office of Greenways and Trails, the preserve, just south of downtown along SR 71, encompasses a sweep of former pastureland and pine plantations, pecan groves and upland forest. On the […]
Robinson Preserve
Farmland turned back to mangrove marshes: that’s Robinson Preserve, with more than 4 miles of hiking on shell and wild pathways along Tampa Bay at Bradenton.
Seminole, for bear
One of my most recent delights, on a walk in the woods, was the surprise provided by Seminole State Forest on a revisit after a decade: a bear encounter.
Topsail Hill Preserve Hiking Trails
Protecting more than 3 miles of oceanfront on the Gulf of Mexico, Topsail Hill Preserve State Park has an extensive day hiking trails system with over 15 miles of hiking.