45.5 miles. The Blackwater section of the Florida Trail walks you through Atlantic white cedar and longleaf pine forests, pitcher plant bogs and titi swamps en route to the Alabama border.
Florida Trail, Central Panhandle
99.3 miles. West of the Apalachicola River, the Florida Trail stitches a series of public lands together along the corridor of the Northwest Florida Greenway.
Florida Trail, Eglin
98.3 miles. One of the most compelling sections of the Florida Trail for backpackers, Eglin offers rugged elevation changes and crystalline waterways.
Florida Trail, Northeast Florida
123 miles. Showcasing the best public lands, the Florida Trail walks you into the past between Palatka and Osceola National Forest, through rural farms and timber lands.
Florida Trail, Seminole
56.2 miles. Stretching from the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation to Lake Okeechobee, the Florida Trail Seminole section traverses a vast agricultural region, the former Everglades. Hiking is on roads and levees.
George LeStrange Preserve
Along Ten Mile Creek west of Fort Pierce, George LeStrange Preserve protects uplands and floodplain forest along the edge of a restored sand mine turned into a lake.
Hal Scott Preserve
At Hal Scott Preserve, enjoy vast prairies and seepage bogs, the Econ River, and camping under a live oak canopy—all within minutes of the Orlando International Airport
Lake Lotus Park
At Lake Lotus Park in Altamonte Springs, the 1.7-mile trail system along Lake Lotus and the Little Wekiva River floodplain provides a great respite from surrounding suburbia.
Mount Royal
One of Florida’s largest mounds, Mount Royal was first documented by William Bartram in 1765, when it was an important central feature of a large village along the St. Johns River.
Murphy Creek Conservation Area
With hiking in scrubby flatwoods and sandhills above forested slopes draining to Murphy Creek, as well as on Murphy Island in the St. Johns River, this water management preserve provides two places to explore.
On a Bartram Adventure Tour
On a guided Bartram Adventure Tour, we hiked, biked, and paddled to follow the travels of William and John Bartram along the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida
Paddling the Bartram Trail in Welaka
Learning how botanists William and John Bartram traveled along the St. Johns River in the 1700s, I followed an experienced river guide for a look at part of the Bartram National Recreation Trail from the water on our Bartram Adventure Tour in Palatka.