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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Big Cypress Swamp

Hiking Adventures on the Florida Trail

Adventures while we section-hike the Florida Trail and support other hikers on thru-hikes and section hikes

A night in Clewiston

JK getting into the Hiker Trash spirit

January 19, 2013    John Keatley

When you reach the turnoff to continue north on the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee, you don’t quite reach the town of Clewiston. After all the heat and bugs while camping and cooking outdoors, the group decided to enjoy real food and a night in an air-conditioned, bug-free motel room. The owner gave us a …

Along Hopkins Prairie

Sand cordgrass at Hopkins Prairie

February 19, 2009    Sandra Friend

Hiking around Hopkins Prairie for the third time, I have my first encounter with the Rainbow People and meet backpackers along this scenic stretch of the Florida Trail.

Around Okeechobee

Dike reconstruction at Rardin Park

January 8, 2020    Sandra Friend & John Keatley

Our 2020 update of the state of the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee. Thru-hikers should continue to use Okeechobee West as their route around the lake. We provide full details on why.

Before the Burn: Juniper Prairie Wilderness

Florida Trail, Juniper Prairie Wilderness

March 26, 2009    Sandra Friend

What did the Juniper Prairie Wilderness look like before the fires of 2009? Here’s what I photographed on a hike just a few weeks before the devastating blaze.

Best Hikes on the Florida Trail

Explore our picks for the best scenic hikes along the Florida Trail. We’ve hiked the entire trail: these are pieces of the trail we’d be happy to hike again and again.

Biking the Florida Trail

Biking KICCO Grade

Florida National Scenic Trail      ( Where to Bike )      

Eager for an off-road ride on our statewide National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail? We’ve compiled a guide to the best locations for touring and bikepacking, with details on where bikes are and aren’t allowed to ride the trail.

Calhoun, Chipola, and the Altha Trail

April 8, 2013    Sandra Friend

About a decade ago, I was in Blountstown for the grand opening of the brand-new Blountstown Greenway, a project that, it seemed, the whole town rallied around. They showed up in droves for the grand opening to celebrate the first-ever public pathway in Calhoun County, one of Florida’s more rural spots about an hour west …

Choosing Gear for a Florida Trail Hike

Backpack Big Cypress

Our detailed recommendations and reviews of the best hiking and backpacking gear for your thru-hike or section hike of the Florida Trail based on our own successful use of certain tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, and more.

Circling Central Florida on the Florida Trail

Canoe Creek Road Florida Trail

September 12, 2015    Sandra Friend

East vs. West: which is best? I hiked both as a loop, so here’s a rundown of how the two corridors of the Florida Trail compare through Central Florida – and a little trail history.

Converging on the Panhandle Trace

April 11, 2013    John Keatley

With two hikes behind us, we drove toward west to join the Panhandle Trace Hike. Knowing that after ten years of leading this event long-time Florida Trail Association activity leader Peggy Grantham would be retiring, Sandy wanted to participate this year and fill in a few new spots on the Florida Trail map. We arrived …

Cross Seminole County

Done with Seminole County! At the Brumley Road access

February 13, 2013    John Keatley

JK finishes up his last Florida Trail miles in Seminole County as he continues to fill in the blanks on a section hike of the statewide Florida Trail.

Crossing Big Cypress

Florida Trail, Big Cypress

February 4, 2019    Sandra Friend

It’s Florida’s roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best tackled with friends. Along this 30 mile stretch of the Florida Trail in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve, immersing in the swamp is the point of the hike. Sandra tackled it as the final stretch of her multi-year 1,110-mile section hike of the Florida Trail, end-to-end.

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