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Florida Hikes!

Your guide to Florida's outdoors, by Sandra Friend, Florida's hiking expert, and her co-author John Keatley, covering the Florida Trail and other trails throughout Florida.

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Swamp walks in Florida

Get your feet wet on these watery wades, which immerse you in habitats found nowhere else on earth. Best to experience these with friends or on a guided trip.

Apoxee Wilderness Trail

Grassy Waters Preserve
West Palm Beach   [26.727542,-80.151119]   4.7 miles

Apoxee Wilderness Trail

In the wet prairies and tropical hammocks of Apoxee Wilderness, an urban wilderness area, you’ll walk through the water supply of West Palm Beach on a 4.7-mile day hike through the southernmost part of Grassy Waters Preserve

Filed Under: City Parks, Day Hikes, Hikes, Loop Trails, Natural Lands, Southeast Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Birding, Boardwalks, Favorites, Grassy Waters Preserve, Observation Decks, Scenic, West Palm Beach, Wildlife Viewing

Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail

Collier-Seminole State Park
Naples   [25.990033,-81.578300]   6.0 miles

Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail

A wet and wild 6-mile loop into the watery wilderness of the Big Cypress Swamp, the Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail provides a challenging wade into beauty

Filed Under: Backpacking, Day Hikes, Florida State Parks, Hikes, Loop Trails, South Florida, Southwest Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Big Cypress, Big Trees, Botanical, Collier-Seminole State Park, Naples, Primitive Camping, Tropical Forests, Wildflowers, Wildlife Viewing

CREW Corkscrew Marsh

Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed
Felda   [26.492046,-81.534029]   5 miles

CREW Corkscrew Marsh

Explore the northwestern boundary of Corkscrew Marsh – one corner of a massive conservation area surrounding Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and protecting the watershed feeding the swamp – on a series of trails that traverses through pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, and palm hammocks.

Filed Under: Backpacking, Day Hikes, Hikes, Loop Trails, Nature Trails, South Florida, Southwest Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails, Water Management Areas Tagged With: Big Cypress, Birding, Botanical, CREW, Fort Myers, Observation Towers, Picnic, Primitive Camping, Wildflowers, Wildlife Viewing

Estero Scrub Preserve State Park

Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve
Estero   [26.442232,-81.834292]   4.8 miles

Estero Scrub Preserve State Park

A tough hike when it’s wet, Estero Scrub Preserve State Park has several loops through wet flatwoods and tidal marshes along the rim of Estero Bay

Filed Under: Day Hikes, Florida State Parks, Hikes, Loop Trails, South Florida, Southwest Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Birding, Estero, Fort Myers, Mangroves, Wildlife Viewing

Fern Forest Nature Center

Coconut Creek   [26.229667,-80.186817]   2.2 miles

Fern Forest Nature Center

A bounty of ferns await at Fern Forest Nature Center, an urban wilderness area established in 1979, spanning 247 acres that surround the original floodplain of Cypress Creek

Filed Under: County Parks, Hikes, Loop Trails, Nature Centers, Nature Trails, Parks, Southeast Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Accessible, Birding, Boardwalks, Boca Raton, Botanical, Family-friendly, Favorites, Fort Lauderdale, Picnic, Tropical Forests, Wildlife Viewing

Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge

Copeland   [26.161522,-81.349219]   1.1 miles

Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge

The longer of two loops at Florida Panther NWR guarantees a wet walk through panther habitat of wet pine flatwoods and cypress domes

Filed Under: Day Hikes, Hikes, Loop Trails, National Wildlife Refuges, South Florida, Southwest Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Big Cypress, Birding, Botanical, Everglades City, Naples, Wildlife Viewing

Florida Trail, Big Cypress South

Florida Trail, Big Cypress
Big Cypress National Preserve   [25.857105,-81.032913]   30.3 miles

Florida Trail, Big Cypress South

Traversing the wet, wild landscapes of the Big Cypress National Preserve, this 30.3 mile segment of the Florida Trail is its most remote part, and is the toughest backpacking trip in the state of Florida. It’s a hike like no other in the world.

Filed Under: Backpacking, Florida Trail, Hikes, National Parks, South Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Big Cypress, Big Cypress National Preserve, Big Cypress Swamp, Everglades City, Florida Trail, FT Big Cypress, Miami, Naples

Florida Trail, Bradwell Bay

Florida Trail, Apalachicola
Apalachicola National Forest   [30.1687,-84.5008]   12.3 miles

Florida Trail, Bradwell Bay

12.3 miles. You’re guaranteed to get wet on Florida’s roughest, wildest day hike. Situated south of Tallahassee, the Bradwell Bay Wilderness is one of the most majestic and wild places in Northwest Florida.

Filed Under: Backpacking, Day Hikes, Florida Trail, Hikes, National Forests, Northwest Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Apalachicola National Forest, Big Trees, Birding, Botanical, Crawfordville, Florida Trail, FT Apalachicola, Pitcher Plants, Primitive Camping, Sopchoppy, Tallahassee, Wildflowers, Wildlife Viewing

Florida Trail, Jewel to Vilas

Florida Trail, Apalachicola
Apalachicola National Forest   [30.196779,-84.727692]   14.3 miles

Florida Trail, Jewel to Vilas

14.3 miles. Delving deep into the swampy heart of the Apalachicola National Forest, this section spans some of the gnarliest titi and gum swamps you’ll see outside of Bradwell Bay.

Filed Under: Backpacking, Florida Trail, Hikes, National Forests, Northwest Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails Tagged With: Apalachicola National Forest, Bristol, FT Apalachicola, Wildflowers

Florida Trail, Lafayette Creek

Florida Trail, Central Panhandle
Florida Trail, Nokuse   [30.526541,-86.048592]   9.3 miles

Florida Trail, Lafayette Creek

9.3 miles. From a tricky traverse of the floodplain of Lafayette Creek to a roller-coaster of steep dips through wooded ravines, this scenic and surprisingly hilly section of the Florida Trail will give you a serious workout.

Filed Under: Backpacking, Day Hikes, Florida Trail, Hikes, Land Trusts, Northwest Florida, Swamp Walks, Trails, Water Management Areas Tagged With: DeFuniak Springs, Dog-friendly, Florida Trail, Freeport, FT Central Panhandle, FT Nokuse, Hilly, Scenic

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Updates on Florida’s outdoors

Hiking Guidebooks for Florida

Guthook GuidesGuthook Guides Comprehensive logistics and offline maps for the Florida National Scenic Trail.


Florida Trail Guide 50 Hikes in Central Florida Five Star Trails Orlando Five Star Trails Gainesville & Ocala Hiker's Guide to the Sunshine State 50 Hikes in South Florida

The Florida Trail


A comprehensive history of the Florida National Scenic Trail. Full color limited edition coffee table book, 228 pages.

Order Now

Get Outdoors!

GET OUTDOORS. GO CAMPING. GO CYCLING GO HIKING. GO PADDLING. GO EXPLORE GREAT EATS. GREAT STAYS.

FLORIDA TRAIL. NATURE TRAILS. DAY HIKING . LOOP HIKES. BACKPACKING. ACCESSIBLE. WITH DOGS. WITH KIDS. BEACH WALKS. SWAMP WALKS. WILDFLOWERS. BOTANICAL. GEOLOGIC. HISTORIC. SCENIC.

STATE PARKS. STATE FORESTS. NATIONAL PARKS. NATIONAL FORESTS. NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGES. COUNTY PARKS. NATURAL LANDS. CITY PARKS. WATER MANAGEMENT AREAS. WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENTAL AREAS. WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS.

Hiking Resources

  • ALDHA
  • American Hiking Society
  • Florida Trail Association
  • Two Heel Drive

Find your way

NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola . Apalachicola National Forest . Apalachicola River . Blackwater River State Forest . Blountstown . Crawfordville. Crestview . DeFuniak Springs . Destin . Fort Walton Beach . Ebro . Freeport . Gulf Islands National Seashore . Madison . Marianna . Milton . Navarre . Niceville . Panama City Beach . Pensacola . Ponce De Leon . Port St. Joe . Sopchoppy . St. Marks . St. Marks NWR . Tallahassee

NORTH FLORIDA
Amelia Island . Cedar Key . Chiefland . Fernandina Beach . Flagler Beach . Gainesville .High Springs . Jacksonville . Lake City . Live Oak . Mayo . Micanopy . Osceola National Forest . Palatka . Perry . Salt Springs . St. Augustine . Steinhatchee . Suwannee River Wilderness Trail . Trenton . White Springs

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka . Belleview . Brandon . Brooksville . Bushnell . Canaveral National Seashore . Christmas . Clearwater Beach . Clermont . Coast to Coast Trail . Cocoa Beach . Cross Florida Greenway . Crystal River . Dade City . Daytona Beach . Deland . Deltona . Dunnellon . Frostproof . Geneva . Inverness . Kissimmee . Lakeland . Lake Wales . Leesburg . Melbourne . Merritt Island NWR . Mount Dora . New Port Richey . New Smyrna Beach . Ocala . Ocala National Forest .Orlando . Ormond Beach . Oviedo . Sanford . Silver Springs . St. Cloud . St. Petersburg . Tampa . Tarpon Springs . Titusville . Walt Disney World . Withlacoochee State Forest . Withlacoochee State Trail . Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor . Ding Darling NWR . Englewood . Estero . Fort Myers . Naples . Pine Island . Punta Gorda . Sanibel Island . Sarasota . Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia . Big Cypress . Big Cypress National Preserve . Clewiston . Everglades City . Everglades National Park . Fisheating Creek . Lake Okeechobee . Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail . Lake Placid . Moore Haven . Okeechobee . Sebring

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Biscayne Bay . Biscayne National Park . Boca Raton . Coral Gables . Everglades National Park . Florida Keys . Fort Lauderdale . Fort Pierce . Hobe Sound . Homestead . Jupiter . Key Biscayne . Miami . Ocean to Lake . Palm Beach . Port St. Lucie . Sebastian . Stuart . Vero Beach . West Palm Beach

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