Msgt John E Hayes Memorial Park
Middleburg 0.5 milesWith five acres of waterfront and boater access to Black Creek in Middleburg, Msgt. John E Hayes Memorial Park honors a hometown hero and protects old-growth cypress.


With five acres of waterfront and boater access to Black Creek in Middleburg, Msgt. John E Hayes Memorial Park honors a hometown hero and protects old-growth cypress.

At Mud Spring, mud isn't what you'll see in the gently rounded basin that cradles an underwater garden, but a glassy natural pool.

Set along a remote sweep of vast marshes along the St. Johns River, Mullet Lake Park is home to a stunning array of swamp sunflowers each fall.

With hiking in scrubby flatwoods and sandhills above forested slopes draining to Murphy Creek, as well as on Murphy Island in the St. Johns River, this water management preserve provides two places to explore.

For immersion in the vast central prairies of the Florida peninsula, the 39-mile Myakka Hiking Trail is a serious backpacking destination in South Florida near Sarasota.

At Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, the Canopy Walk provides a sky-high view of the Myakka River basin as well as an intimate immersion in the live oak canopy in a beautiful hammock of oaks and palms.

With tall waving grasses, saw palmetto, and the sound of birds, Myakka River State Park is Florida's Big Sky country, blanketing more than 37,000 acres east of Sarasota.

Along the southwestern Gulf Coast of Florida, Myakka State Forest offers an extensive trail network along the Myakka River basin, with tent camping under the stars.

Winding across open prairies of palmettos, the North Loop Trail at Myakka State Forest offers views of pine flatwoods and glimpses of the Myakka River.

Circling vast prairies amid pine flatwoods and depression marshes, the South Loop in Myakka State Forest provides a sense of perspective along the Myakka River basin.

Along a 2.1 mile loop largely under a lush canopy of live oaks and cabbage palms, circle a deeply eroded basin holding sinuous Myakkahatchee Creek, also known as Big Slough.

Myron B. Hodge City Park offers a nature trail where you can linger along the Sopchoppy River amid the sweet spring scent of Florida azalea.
