Loose Wrapping
Slogging through another day of rain, we question why we're here



A distinctive white-bellied blue heron, the Louisiana heron is also known as the tricolored heron.

With a name straight out of tourist fantasies of 1950s Florida, Lovers Key State Park is a series of slim barrier islands between Estero Bay and the Gulf of Mexico south of Fort Myers Beach.

One of Florida's more remote National Wildlife Refuges, the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge spans two counties, protecting over 30 miles of coastline along the Big Bend.

Immerse in the massive floodplain forest surrounding the Suwannee River as it nears the Gulf of Mexico, on the the River Trail at Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, a boardwalk to the river's edge.

The Sandhills Nature Trail at Lower Wekiva Preserve State Park has been destroyed by clearcutting of the forest by DOT for the Wekiva Parkway.

Before you head out to the beach at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, a quick stroll down the Satinleaf Trail will get you oriented to the tropical habitats that this park protects on Singer Island

Walk among towering trees along a pair of nature trails starting at opposite ends of Lake Hall Recreation Area to savor the hardwood forests overlooking the lake.

Behind the famed historic gardens at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park, the Lake Trail loops Lake Overstreet on a well-trodden hilly loop with overlook stops.

Under a mature canopy of hardwood forest, the mostly-level Ravine Trail at MacLay Gardens Lake Overstreet Addition makes an easy 2.2 mile hike with stunning seasonal wildflowers.

Mahogany Hammock is a tree island, a tropical oasis in the Everglades “river of grass,” where the short boardwalk trail immerses you in the jungle-like hammock.
