Sunrise at Kissimmee Prairie
A spectacular sunrise camping along the Florida Trail at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park makes up for the disappointment of stargazing foiled by weather. Essay by Rob Rogers.
Articles on camping
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.
National Forests in Florida Implement New Fees
Effective July 26, 2019, fees go up at many National Forest campgrounds, boat ramps, and recreation areas
Every Kid Outdoors
Got kids? If any of them are in fourth grade, they can get a free pass to ALL Federal public lands good for the whole family through the end of August. Here's how.
Do Not Feed the Bears
Bear bagging is the art of hanging your food properly out of reach of bears. If you're a Florida backpacker and haven't learned how, here's a short course. Securing your food from bears is required in the Ocala, Osceola, and Apalachicola National Forests.
Hanging at HangCon
What's it like hanging out with a bunch of hammock hangers? Here's a peek at the 6th Annual Hammock Hanging Convention, now called HangCon, held at Doe Lake last month.
Just Married
After three years of roaming the woods and the world together, John & Sandy get married in the Ocala National Forest with a very hiker-style wedding.
Primrose and the Big O Hike
Our first outing with Primrose this hiking season was a trip to the Big O Hike. It rained, of course, in both directions to and from Okeechobee. But we had a splendid road trip in our VW camper.
Ocala National Forest Dog Policy
Except for service dogs, dogs are not permitted at Alexander Springs, Salt Springs, Silver Glen Springs, Juniper Springs, Clearwater Lake, Fore Lake, Lake Dorr and Mill Dam Recreation Areas in the Ocala National Forest
Do not feed the bears
"A fed bear is a dead bear," says Florida Fish & Wildlife. It's time to make homeowners responsible for keeping trash and food out of reach when they live in bear territory.
Westy in Hibernation
When summer heat settles across Florida, the thing to do with an antique VW camper is to squirrel it away in hibernation in the garage until the weather cools down.
This is Camping?
At 30,000 feet in a middle seat, there’s not a lot to do. So I started looking through the magazine, the ones that are always in the seat pockets in front of you. I normally rarely give them any attention, as the stories they run don’t interest …