The Florida National Scenic Trail 2012 State of the Trail Report is now available for download from the USDA Forest Service.
The Florida Hikes! Blog
News, trail updates, and conservation issues, as well as our explorations of trails around Florida and the world.
4th of July Fireworks from the Florida Trail
Dueling fireworks – Winter Springs and Oviedo – were visible from the Florida Trail the other night if you knew where to look! My friend Joan, aka Bluetrail, had a great plan – head out on the Cross Seminole Trail bridge over SR 434 after dark. Sure enough, it was a high enough vantage point […]
A chat with Nimblewill Nomad
I had a pleasant chat Wednesday night with one of my hiking heroes, M.J. Eberhart, aka Nimblewill Nomad, calling from Paradise. That’s Paradise, Michigan, and Eb is within a couple of days of completing the North Country Trail through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and swinging down into the rest of Michigan as he continues […]
A new perspective on the St. Johns River
If you’ve ever hiked along or near the St Johns River off SR 46 between Sanford and Mims, you know the landscapes are flat. Sometimes the braided river channels through this chain of lakes may have just enough elevation for an oak hammock, limbs gracefully arched over the marshy shallows. Sometimes the floodplain is a […]
A quick trip through Leon Sinks Natural Area
I’m trying out a few new tricks using WordPress plugins and specialized code from my image host, SmugMug.com. Let’s see how this works… [HTML1]
A ramble on the new Hinson Trail
A ramble along the newly opened Hinson Trail, a loop trail system on the southern edge of Marianna along the Chipola River Greenway – scenic, rugged, unusual, and historic.
A ramble through Robinson Preserve
Several years ago, while researching Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders, I stumbled across the newly opened Robinson Preserve in Palma Sola. Managed by Manatee County and directly across the road from Palma Sola Botanical Gardens, this preserve of mud flats and mangrove-lined shores has one of the best observation tower views in Florida, as well as […]
A Short Walk at Dickerson Bay
I was staying in Wakulla County last week while attending meetings in Tallahassee, and I took advantage of the time shift by enjoying some rambling about in the late afternoons. I stopped at the Wakulla County Visitor Center, along US 98 across from the historic springs in Panacea (or, more easy to see from the […]
A Tale of Two Ravines
Yesterday I needed some time to play in the woods, so off we went to Ravine Gardens State Park and Gold Head Branch State Park. To visit both in one day highlights how human intervention changes the natural landscape. Ravine Gardens was a WPA project in the 1930s to keep people employed, and became one […]
A visit to Trout Lake Nature Center
A quick visit to Trout Lake Nature Center in Eustis opened up a new world of things to do close to home.