Florida Hikes

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

St Johns River at Welaka

North Florida

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.

INTERACTIVE MAP

Wacahoota Trail

Micanopy   0.7 miles

Savor the view from five stories up as you scan the horizon for wild horses from the observation tower on the south rim of Paynes Prairie.

Wadsworth Park

Edging a tidal creek flowing towards the Intracoastal Waterway, this recreational park has a showy boardwalk and a short walk through a coastal hammock.

Walter Jones Historical Park

Mandarin   0.9 miles

Centered on a farmstead set under a canopy of old-growth riverfront forest at historic Mandarin Point south of Jacksonville, Walter Jones Historical Park is a step into the past.

Washington Oaks Gardens State Park

Notable for its historic landscaped gardens under a canopy of ancient live oaks, Washington Oaks Gardens State Park is also the home of one of Florida's rare rocky shorelines.

Watermelon Pond Preserve

Gainesville   5.5 miles

With more than 4,200 acres in this FWC Wildlife Environmental Area, Watermelon Pond Preserve offers both solitude and scenery along a vast system of prairie habitats.

Welaka State Forest

Welaka   27 miles

Protecting over four miles of forested waterfront on the St. Johns, Welaka State Forest offers a glimpse of what botanists John and William Bartram saw in the 1700s.

Welcome Home

There's always been a certain magic about crossing the Florida state line. It's not that the terrain looks any different than South Georgia. But it's Florida.

Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park

A top international destination for cave divers, Peacock Springs also offers a unique interpretive hike for non-divers to trace the watery passages beneath the surface.

White Springs

Florida's original spa town is now an outdoor mecca on the Suwannee River for hikers, cyclists, and paddlers, a Florida Trail Gateway Community, and a launch point for adventure.

Wild horses on Paynes Prairie

That magical moment when you climb to the top of the observation tower on the rim of Paynes Prairie and see the wild horses on the prairie for the first time: priceless.

William Bartram St. Johns River Loop

Welaka   5.0 miles

Discover the beauty of Welaka State Forest on a 5 mile footpath that winds along ecotones and hugs the bluffs of the St. Johns River to showcase natural wonders that botanist William Bartram documented in 1774.