Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
For more than two centuries, Florida’s natural attractions have wowed visitors who love nature.
First established in 1919 by botanist Henry Nehrling as a caladium farm, Caribbean Gardens grew into a major tourist attraction for tropical trees and plants, and is now the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens.
Entering a 15-acre grove of pine trees with cables and wood strung up in the air, we knew this wasn’t going to be like our normal hikes. Orlando Tree Trek is an aerial attraction, a canopy walk and ziplines for outdoor adventure.
Established in the 1930s as a tropical tourist attraction, Parrot Jungle, this tropical forest in Pinecrest has deep roots, if you will, showcasing both native and exotic tropical species.
A place of beauty that morphed from phosphate pits to botanical attraction over the course of a century, Rainbow Springs State Park cradles one of Florida’s most beautiful first-magnitude springs
One of the world’s largest and deepest springs, Silver Springs pours out more than 550 million gallons of water daily, forming the Silver River
A glimmering monument to recycling and ingenuity, Solomon’s Castle is a quirky work of art. A nature trail leads along the forested edge of Horse Creek.
At Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, Florida pioneer crafts and Florida folk music are as important as the lovely setting on the Suwannee River
Yep, that’s a stegosaurus hiding in the bushes. Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens has had a lot of faces over the ages, including a stint in the 1950s as Bongoland, a roadside attraction full of not-so-scary dinosaurs.
One of Florida’s oldest roadside attractions, Sunken Gardens is now a county park showing off more than a century’s worth of botanical bounty in St. Petersburg
With an elevated boardwalk guiding you through picturesque cypresses along the floodplain of Lake Bradford, the Tallahassee Museum is a multifaceted educational center focused on the natural and cultural history of the region.
A 1930s resort turned nature park surrounding one of the world’s largest and deepest springs, Wakulla Springs State Park leads you back in time at Florida’s only state park lodge
Surrounding a sparkling first-magnitude spring, Weeki Wachee Springs State Park has been a draw for tourists since its mermaids first started wooing visitors in the 1940s.
