Florida Botanical Gardens
Walk through the garden gates into a wonderland of sensory stimulation. With nearly 180 acres in the heart of Largo, the Florida Botanical Gardens is a place for peaceful immersion.
Florida Great Outdoors Initiative
Through January 13, 2024, the Florida Great Outdoors Initiative offers park visitors a half-price discount on annual passes to Florida State Parks.
Florida Hikes for Botanical Beauty
Enjoy Florida's botanical bounty with this handpicked selection of walks in the woods to see spectacular wildflowers, big trees, and unique habitats throughout the state of Florida.
Florida loses a trail icon: Wiley Dykes, Sr.
One person CAN make an enormous difference. Wiley Dykes, Sr., one of the strongest and most persistent trail builders of the past 40 years in the Orlando area, has died at the age of 81.
Florida natives share John Muir’s landscapes on film
Sliding, backpacks on, down steep slopes covered with snow. Wading, waist-deep, through the icy waters of a mountain stream. Plunging into crystal clear lakes reflecting the beauty of the snow-capped Sierra. Relaxing in broad meadows beneath blue skies. …
Florida Panther
A subspecies of cougar, the Florida panther has been making a slow but steady comeback in their stronghold in Big Cypress and the Everglades, with sightings of individual cats reported by hikers throughout the state
Florida Park and Trail Closures
Hurricane damage (2024) and other issues causing full or partial closures to public lands in Florida - including parks, trails, campgrounds, and beaches - as of March 2025.
Florida Rosemary
Florida rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides) is not related to the edible herb rosemary, which is in the mint family. It is one of the showier shrubs in scrub habitat due to its rounded shape and sometimes enormous size.
Florida scrub-jay
Seen in very specific scrub habitats with smaller trees, the Florida scrub-jay is only found in Florida, its population in decline and severely limited by lack of habitat.
Florida Scrub-Jay Hikes
Natural lands in Florida with known Florida scrub-jay families or pairs that you might glimpse along the trails as you're hiking.
Florida thanks Irma first responders
As a thank you from the state of Florida, first responders (including lineworkers) who worked on support statewide during and after Hurricane Irma are eligible for a free annual Florida State Parks pass with proof of their service.
Florida Trail Southern Terminus marker installed
Since its debut on a hand cart this January during the thru-hiker season kickoff at Oasis Visitor Center, we’ve been eagerly awaiting the permanent placement of the Florida Trail Southern Terminus marker in Big Cypress National Preserve. The marker …