• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Florida Hikes logo

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

  • Trails
  • Maps
  • Guidebooks
  • Search
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
Fakahatchee ferns

The Florida Hikes! Blog

News, trail updates, and conservation issues, as well as our explorations of trails around Florida and the world.

Red-cockaded woodpeckers hatching

June 3, 2009    Sandra Friend

With four active red-cockaded woodpecker nests, the Disney Wilderness Preserve in Poinciana – a great place to hike – has become a hotbed of activity as the little ones hatch out. The Nature Conservancy manages this mosaic of prairies and pine forests, and keeps an eye on the endangered species who live here: using video …

Reopen Barley Barber Swamp?

January 8, 2009    Sandra Friend

I was surprised to see a Google alert pop up today about a rally going on at the Port Mayaca Florida Power & Light nuclear power plant. Back before September 11, 2001, the Barley Barber Swamp was open to the public for hiking tours led by a very knowledgable guide, who I had the pleasure …

Secret Spring

March 6, 2009    Sandra Friend

Here’s another one that’ll get trotted out in earnest on the Florida Hikes! blog once I transcribe all my notes  from the hike. Talk about a beauty spot, and a hard-won one. I found this treasure deep within the forests of Washington County, between Fountain and Ebro, north of Panama City, after a rigorous several …

Snakes alive! (Or maybe not)

September 2, 2009    Sandra Friend

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission sent out notice this past week that they’re expanding their Burmese python hunting to all hunters on state and federal lands in South Florida – including Big Cypress National Preserve. That’s good news to Florida hikers, since stumbling across one of these monster snakes in the wilds isn’t …

Suggested hikes around Pasco County

February 13, 2009    Sandra Friend

I received an email yesterday from Bonnie, a reader who’s visiting the Port Richey area soon. She asks: I’ll have a few days to do some hiking – perhaps a 2 -3 day backpack trip – something within a 50 mile radius of the Port Richey area preferably…So – which one of your books would …

Take a hike, leave a (virtual) trace?

February 13, 2009    Sandra Friend

Yesterday, Google launched a product that will make some hikers leap for joy and others wince. We go to the woods to get away from it all, right? At least some of us do. Well, with the new My Tracks application for Android-powered cell phones (like the T-Mobile G1), you can beam a real-time track …

The Mountains of Florida?

December 8, 2008    Sandra Friend

Where in Florida am I? I took this image at sunset today (with the moon rising), and it wasn’t on a hiking trail. However, there are several excellent places to hike within 15 minutes of here, three of which are in one of my 50 Hikes guides. I’m headed out over the next two days …

Time for the Everglades

December 22, 2008    Sandra Friend

It’s officially winter in Florida, when thoughts turn to pink flamingos … and Everglades National Park.  For the next 90 days or so, it’s prime time to visit this unique wilderness along the tip of Florida’s peninsula.  “There are no other Everglades in the world,” wrote Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, advocate for the creation of the …

Time to ramp it up

April 7, 2008    Sandra Friend

Hi, gang! We returned from Apalachicola today in a driving rain, the Gulf of Mexico so dark and silvery it felt like driving through a Clyde Butcher photograph. Rob and I just celebrated our third wedding anniversary AND my latest book, “Orlando & Central Florida: An Explorer’s Guide” is turned in, AND the Florida Hiking …

Torreya: No Wimps Need Apply

February 9, 2007    Sandra Friend

Spent last Sunday hiking a kick-butt section of the Torreya Hiking Trail about 1/3 of the way around the loop, going counterclockwise from the blue trail out past the Confederate gun emplacements near the Gregory House. A living history group had just decamped the night before. Joining me was Judd from our FTA Tallahassee office, …

Trek a wild shore at St. Joseph Peninsula

August 4, 2009    Sandra Friend

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is rather remote. To get there, you need to drive through Indian Pass, where the Indian Pass Raw Bar will tempt with its old Florida funk and fresh oysters. It isn’t anywhere near the beaten path – it’s about as far as you can get from I-10 in the Florida …

Update on Fisheating Creek

January 28, 2009    Sandra Friend

I was in search of the new interpretive trail at Fisheating Creek last Monday when time overtook me the first try, and dusk overtook me the second try.  However, I managed to get some clarifications from folks who’ve been there and seen it. The interpretive trail starts from at the new FWC office along SR …

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

FIND A TRAIL OR PARK

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. Quincy. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka

NORTH FLORIDA
Alachua. Amelia Island. Baldwin. 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. Macclenny. Micanopy. Olustee. Orange Park. 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

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

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. Northeast Everglades Natural Area. 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

  • Trails
  • Parks
  • Beaches
  • Gardens
  • Springs
  • Ecotours
  • Attractions
©2006-2021, Sandra Friend & John Keatley | Disclosure | Site Index | Work with Us | Advertise with Us
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy | Florida Hikes PO Box 93 Mims FL 32754| Contact