Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
News, trail updates, and conservation issues, as well as our explorations of trails around Florida and the world.
Florida Hikes! blog
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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 …
At the far north end of Market Street, that famed boulevard that slices right through the heart of Apalachicola’s historic business district, the road ends at the Apalachicola Reserve Nature Center and its adjoining nature trail. While the center is only open on weekends, the trail is available anytime (dawn to dusk), and I took …
Earlier this week, I had an email from Chris, a Central Florida father who wants to take his son on his first backpacking trip. In part, his email said: My son and I are looking for our first hike and camp (one overnight trip). We live in Orlando, FL and I so far Lake Louisa …
Out past Pensacola within earshot of the Gulf of Mexico, Big Lagoon State Park is notable for being a gateway to the Great Florida Birding Trail, with a large observation tower overlooking the vast sweep of the namesake lagoon. There are always wading birds and raptors here, either poking around the shallows or diving for …
My dear friend Linda “eArThworm” Patton has just set up shop at www.booksforhikers.com, where she is moving and expanding her long-time Backcountry Bibliography to include many more written resources for hikers. For those not in the know, Linda’s a retired librarian and just can’t help herself. Yup, she’s got shelves, bookcases, and stacks of these …
Hobe Mountain, that is … the highest point in Florida south of Lake Okeechobee, if you don’t count the mountainous landfills seen along Florida’s Turnpike. Okay, make that the highest natural landform in South Florida. And to top it off … a tower. Check out this short walk with a fabulous view at Jonathan Dickinson …
Enjoy a cool dip in the Blackwater River at Blackwater River State Park near Milton. The Florida Trail runs right through the park, crossing Deaton Bridge, but your best access to the least-busy broad sandy beach on a river bend is along the Chain of Lakes Trail, an interpretive trail that follows old oxbows left …
Yesterday I had the opportunity to cruise the Dora Canal with Blue Heron Cruises out of the Lakeside Inn in Mt. Dora. It’s been nearly 5 years since my last trip down the canal, and I’d forgotten just how much of a wonderland of ancient cypresses is hiding in there. It’s truly one of Florida’s …
North of Panama City, this little-known trail is a real gem. I discovered it last month while canvassing the region for new places to hike, and what a delight to find a trail that showcases some of the best geology this area has to offer. The Econfina Nature Trail starts at Pitt Spring off SR …
Within just a few miles of the Fort Lauderdale Airport, I-95, the Florida Turnpike, and the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, there’s a Secret Woods right under Fort Lauderdale’s nose. That’s Secret Woods Nature Center, the first-ever designated urban wilderness in Florida, established in 1978. With a little over a mile’s worth of trails …
Years ago, I had a wonderful time hiking with a bunch of friends at Grassy Waters Preserve, a nature center with trails north and south of Northlake Blvd in northern Palm Beach County. At the time, the fellow who led the hike mentioned that plans were in the works for hiking trails to be built …
