Backpacking skills are survival skills. Use your knowledge and gear to make personal preparations for hurricane season power loss and evacuations in Florida.
Health & Safety
Articles on health and safety in Florida’s outdoors
Articles on health and safety in Florida’s outdoors
August 28, 2019 Sandra Friend
Backpacking skills are survival skills. Use your knowledge and gear to make personal preparations for hurricane season power loss and evacuations in Florida.
July 1, 2019 Sandra Friend
Florida has six species of venomous snakes. Here is what they look like, and how to identify them outdoors.
June 22, 2019 Sandra Friend
Southeast Florida is home to two poisonous trees, the poisonwood and the manchineel. Learn how to recognize them so you don’t get too close, and find out how truly dangerous they are.
May 11, 2019 Sandra Friend
While hiking with your dog can be very satisfying, Florida hiking has its own special perils for your best buddy. Here’s a heads-up on what to look for and where it’s best to take a hike.
February 23, 2019 Sandra Friend
As Florida black bears become active in late winter and spring, the chances of a bear encounter go up significantly if you leave food unsecured outdoors – whether in your campsite or at home.
November 8, 2018 Sandra Friend
Fall is a fabulous time for hiking in Florida, but you need to be aware that you may be sharing the trails with hunters, too. Here’s how to find out where, and where you can go where hunting is not permitted.
February 27, 2018 John Keatley
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.
June 30, 2017 Sandra Friend
Let’s face it: Florida is a breeding ground for ticks, and summer is prime time for these nasties. Here’s what you can do to minimize tick bites and how to handle if you do get bitten.
May 30, 2016 Sandra Friend
Basic wayfinding – understanding where the sun is, looking at landscape, picking out landmarks as you hike – comes as second nature to some people. It’s an important skill that all hikers should cultivate.
June 30, 2014 Sandra Friend
A mosquito-borne disease, Chikungunya fever was first identified in 1952 in Tanzania. In recent years it has spread prolifically throughout the Caribbean. It has no known cure, and it is now present in Florida.
May 1, 2014 Sandra Friend
Florida has four species of venomous spiders, including the red widow spider, which is only found in our state.
April 29, 2014 Sandra Friend
Since they crawl on your skin and attach themselves to you to feed, ticks and chiggers are especially creepy. Unlike mosquitoes, you can’t just swat them away. Here’s the difference between them.
NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. Crestview. DeFuniak Springs. Destin. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Fort Walton Beach. Freeport. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Navarre Beach . Niceville. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka
NORTH FLORIDA
Amelia Island. Branford. Bunnell. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Gainesville. Green Cove Springs. High Springs. Jacksonville. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler.Lake City. Live Oak. Mayo. Micanopy. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Perry. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Welaka. White Springs. Williston
MULTI-REGION
Big Cypress Swamp. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail
CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka. Belleview. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Christmas. Chuluota. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. Daytona Beach. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Frostproof. Geneva. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Lakeland. Largo. Leesburg. Longwood. Melbourne. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Ocala. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Orlando. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Palm Bay. Ridge Manor. Sanford. Silver Springs. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. St. Petersburg. Tampa. Tarpon Springs. Titusville . Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor. Ding Darling NWR. Englewood. Estero. Fort Myers. Immokalee. Naples. Pine Island. Port Charlotte. Punta Gorda. Sanibel Island. Sarasota. Venice
SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Clewiston. Everglades City. Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. LaBelle. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Pahokee. Port Mayaca. Sebring. South Bay
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach