Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Florida parks and other places where paddlers can arrange rentals of canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards
Surrounding one of Florida’s most picturesque first magnitude springs, Alexander Springs Recreation Area provides visitors with many options to enjoy the spring and the woodlands around the spring basin.
A sweep of Atlantic Coast beach awaits along the southern tip of Amelia Island, where the sand glistens and the surf is frequently up. Amelia Island State Park protects 200 acres along the island’s shore.
For a taste of tidal pools and black rock beaches in Florida, get out of your car and walk down to the unique shoreline of Big Talbot Island State Park.
Florida’s largest offshore park, Biscayne National Park protects living coral reefs and islands that are the northernmost part of the Florida Keys
With sandy beaches tempting on every curve of the river and trails for paddlers and hikers to enjoy, Blackwater River State Park is the gateway to thousands of acres of public lands stretching northward to the Alabama border.
Blue Spring State Park is well acclaimed for being the best place in Florida to see manatees in the wild, and we don’t mean a dozen or two. Upwards of 200 crowd spring run each winter.
With a developed swimming area surrounding a first-magnitude spring, Blue Springs Recreation Area is a liquid playground in hues of blue, a broad open basin pouring forth a spring run with a dozen more major springs along its length.
Burned to the ground by a Seminole war party in 1836, the Bulow Plantation fell into ruins, and the remaining towering ruins of a sugar mill are the focus of Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park.
A windswept sentinel off the coast of Dunedin at the edge of Clearwater Harbor, Caladesi Island enthralls visitors with its remoteness, its quiet beaches, its extensive forests and mangrove swamps.
Paddle down Shingle Creek from Shingle Creek Regional Park at Steffee Landing in Kissimmee, where canoe and kayak rentals are now available for visitors.
A popular destination for sun worshipers, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park is an easy getaway for most folks in the Miami area, with a long strand of beachfront complimenting trails along Biscayne Bay and a historic lighthouse at the point.
To spend a day or a weekend on your own deserted island? Heaven. This is one of the tougher and costlier state parks to get to, but well worth it.
