Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Hiking, biking, camping, paddling and other outdoor recreation throughout North Florida, including along the Suwannee River and the St. Johns River between Palatka and Jacksonville.
The Big Oak Trail is one of the most scenic hikes in North Florida. Much of the hiking parallels the Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers, which meet here at a confluence.
At Big Shoals State Park, see Florida’s largest series of rapids, churning the Suwannee River with hydraulics in Class III whitewater at certain times of year.
At Big Shoals State Park, the Big Shoals Trail leads you to scenic perches high atop the river bluffs when you can watch Florida’s only Class III whitewater rapids
The southernmost trail on Big Talbot Island is the 0.8-mile Big Pine Trail, a short walk out to a bluff above the estuary through a maritime hammock riffled by breezes
At low tide, a walk along Bluffs Beach from the Bluffs Picnic Area of Big Talbot Island State Park brings rewarding views of the unusual black “rocks” and shimmering waters
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.
The City of Gainesville’s very first nature park, Bivens Arm surrounds a marshy “arm” of Paynes Prairie, where trees tower above the network of nature trails.
Walk along a bluff where early explorers and native peoples once looked out over vastness of Paynes Prairie to discover a panorama that invites you to immerse in it
With more than 1,400 miles of hiking statewide, the Florida Trail provides a gateway to grand landscapes for botanical beauty. Here are our top suggestions for fascinating botanical destinations along the Florida Trail.
Gainesville’s original city water source, Boulware Springs is home to a historic waterworks where turtles sun and a trailhead providing access to preserves along Paynes Prairie
An excellent example of conservation of natural lands, Buck Bay Flatwoods provides a pair of loop trails through a gradient of habitats including restored pine flatwoods.
Looping around a cypress-lined pond in the midst of pine flatwoods northwest of Dunnellon, the Buck Island Pond Trail at Goethe State Forest has quite a few interesting features, including a pitcher plant bog.
