Florida Hikes

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

Dingy-star orchid in Big Cypress

South Florida

In the tip of the Florida peninsula, the prairies meet the tropics, with Florida’s largest lake, agriculture, and wilderness on a grand scale between the densely populated coasts.

INTERACTIVE MAP

Ortona Mounds

Ortona   0.8 miles

While less than a mile long, the Ortona Mounds Trail in the ranchlands of Glades County takes you back to a time more than 3,000 years ago.

Otter Cave Hammock Trail

Shark Valley   1.0 miles

Complementing Shark Valley’s loop trail and Bobcat Boardwalk, the Otter Cave Trail gets you out into the Everglades at a walking pace, where you’ll see more wildlife.

Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk

Long Pine Key   0.2 miles

For a sweeping panorama of the "River of Grass" from a personal perspective, get out of your car and walk the short Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk at Everglades National Park.

Panther Prowls & Gator Growls

Will you see a panther when hiking at Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge? I was fortunate to hike with a panther biologist and go on a tracking expedition, but we still came up empty-handed when it came to finding a big cat.

Paynes Creek Flatwoods Trail

Bowling Green   1.6 miles

On higher ground behind the museum, the Flatwoods and Mary Jane Trails traverse uplands with scrub and broad prairies at the western end of Paynes Creek Historic State Park.

Paynes Creek Historic State Park

Bowling Green   4.6 miles

Straddling the former treaty boundary of Seminole lands, this interpretive site along the Peace River features a network of trails tied together by a swinging footbridge.

Paynes Creek Historic Trail

Bowling Green   1.9 miles

Linking the Peace River Trail and the Flatwoods Trail, a 1.9 mile hike on the Historic Trail provides interpretation of physical sites linked to the Seminole Wars.

Peace River

Rising from marshes in the Green Swamp basin in Lakeland, the Peace River winds through fossil-rich Bone Valley west of the Lake Wales Ridge, reaching the Gulf of Mexico at Charlotte Harbor.

Pelican Island Centennial Trail

Sebastian   0.8 miles

Designed the first Federal Bird Reserve in 1903, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge celebrated its century mark by creating this short, scenic, accessible trail for birding.

Pelican Island NWR

Sebastian   miles

The birthplace of the National Wildlife Refuge system, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge protects more than 5,400 acres along and in the Indian River Lagoon off Sebastian.