Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Gear recommendations, hike planning, where to hike, and how to get the most out of your hike
Thinking of section hiking, thru-hiking, or simply backpacking the Florida Trail? Plan ahead with this step-by-step guide of what you need to do in advance of hiking the Florida Trail.
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.
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.
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.
During hiking seasons in Florida, you are often sharing the trails with hunters. General gun season – deer hunting – is the main hunting season for hikers to be concerned about.
We launched a new full-color edition of 50 Hikes in Central Florida at the National Trails Festival in Deland the first weekend of October. Take a peek inside.
Our beloved Florida Trail is only one piece in a nationwide network of trails born of the National Trails System Act, established 50 years ago by the U.S. Congress. Learn about the many National Trails across America.
Ponce de Leon, it seems, was a short fellow. In Punta Gorda, Florida, you’ll find pint-sized statues, murals, and even the Fountain of Youth to recollect his 1513 visit to Charlotte Harbor.
At the Florida Trail Association (FTA) Annual Meeting on April 7, 2018 in Gainesville, Florida, longtime FTA volunteer, author, trail expert, and FloridaHikes.com publisher Sandra Friend was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
When we revisited Spring Hammock Preserve in December 2017 for research for our third edition of 50 Hikes in Central Florida, we discovered radical changes to the trail system that needed explanation. Here’s what’s up at one of our favorite preserves.
With more than 1,400 miles of hiking statewide, the Florida Trail provides a gateway to grand landscapes for botanical beauty. Here are our top suggestions for fascinating botanical destinations along the Florida Trail.
…Mama, you got to move. And so it goes for the Florida Trail, as the flood-induced breach in a levee along the Kissimmee River south of KICCO means the trail must move in order for clear passage north from Kissimmee Prairie Preserve.
