Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State

Second Edition

Building on a first edition published in 2005 and sold for two decades, this new spin on the most comprehensive printed resource for Florida hikers ups the ante on quality and quantity, doubling from nearly 500 hiking trails covered to over 1,000. It provides a concise digest on where the top trails are, where to take the kids, where you can walk your dog, and which hikes are accessible for wheelchairs and slow walkers.

Reorganizing the contents was a must. The first edition broke out destinations by county. All new from the ground up, the second edition centers on 46 cities, towns, and metros across Florida with high concentrations of hiking trails.

Each of these chapters breaks out our Recommended Hikes for the region, with Accessible Hikes grouped under their own subheading. We also suggest a handful of campgrounds worth using as base camps as you travel across Florida to explore the outdoors.

Our merit-based selections include short interpretive nature trails, multi-day backpacking trips, and day hikes of every length. Each chapter has a locator map for all trails we mention. We end each chapter with hiking details for one or two Featured Trails.

Research for this guidebook spanned several years, with both Chris and I assisted by family members as we did the fieldwork. Chris’ wife Chelsey and their son are featured on the cover.

Yes, we hiked every one of the trails we recommended in this book. And to select those, we hiked more than that we didn’t bother to include because they didn’t impress us. You’ll benefit from us being picky, and from my two decades of canvassing the state since the first edition to share the outdoors with you on this website.