With its natural waterfront on Tampa Bay, Apollo Beach Nature Preserve is a perfect place for birders, not beachgoers, a place to launch a kayak and scan the skies for osprey.
Central Florida
With some of the state's largest population centers and easiest access by air, Central Florida is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts in the know.
Apopka
Only 30 minutes from downtown Orlando, Apopka has interesting hikes in public lands along the Wekiva River basin and its tributaries, as well as the chain of lakes connecting to Lake Apopka.
Arrowhead Nature Trail
Explore coastal habitats on the Arrowhead Nature Trail at Fort De Soto Park, an interpretive walk where you’ll learn about salt-dependent plants along Mullet Key Bayou.
Back to the Hammock
Hiking the Hammock Trails in Merritt Island NWR this weekend brought back memories of hiking and camping in these woods as a young Boy Scout in the 1960s and 70s
Bairs Cove
If you’ve wanted to see bioluminescence while paddling in Florida, this is your put-in spot. Bairs Cove offers an easy launch into the Indian River Lagoon as well as a sheltered cove along Haulover Canal.
Barrier Free Trail
The 0.4 mile Barrier Free Trail at Fort De Soto Park has a graded path wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass and six touch-activated interpretive speakers along the path.
Barrier Island Sanctuary
Home to a gentle 1-mile loop hike through coastal habitats, Barrier Island Sanctuary is a gateway to Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, with an informative oceanfront coastal biology center.
Bayport Park
Where the highway ends, Bayport Park begins. Perched on the edge of the estuary where the Weeki Wachee River meets the Gulf of Mexico, it offers spectacular sunset views along with its water access.
Bayport-Linda Pedersen Paddling Trail
Following the Bayport-Linda Pedersen Paddling Trail for 1.7 miles through mazes of needlerush along Florida’s Adventure Coast, you’re immersed in the sights and sounds of a coastal estuary.
Bear Creek Nature Trail
A patch of wild in a sea of suburbia, Bear Creek provides nearly a mile’s worth of exploration atop sandy bluffs in a shady creekside hammock in Winter Springs.