Favorite Hikes

With ten years of actively exploring Florida’s hiking trails behind us – and fifty years of outdoor adventures in Florida starting when we were kids – we certainly have our favorites among the many places to hike in Florida. Use our favorite hikes to help you narrow down where you want to go next.

Alfred A. Ring Park

Alfred A. Ring Park features a dense slope forest along Hogtown Creek with old-growth trees and rare wildflowers along Appalachian-style ravines, a scenic hike
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Alligator Creek

Part of Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, Alligator Creek has two loop trails where freshwater and saltwater habitats meet, enabling you to explore a variety of coastal habitats in less than three miles.
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Ancient Dunes Trail

At Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine, the Ancient Dunes Trail leads you on a short scramble up and over relict dunes deeply shaded by ancient live oaks
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Angus Gholson Nature Park

Above the Apalachicola River, the community of Chattahoochee hides a natural treasure in its deep ravines—a park named for its native son, botanist Angus Gholson.
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Anhinga Trail

For most visitors, the Anhinga Trail is their first glimpse into Everglades National Park. It's short, and the alligators are right there: hard to miss.
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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
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Bear Lake Trail

At Blackwater River State Forest, each of the recreation areas offers access to hiking, and popular Bear Lake is no exception. A 4-mile trail loops around this impounded reservoir, which flows into Sweetwater Creek.
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Bear Swamp Trail

Little known except to those who frequent Salt Springs Recreation Area in the Ocala National Forest, the Bear Swamp Trail provides a walk into an ancient forest
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Bear-N-Oak Trail

Part of the Florida State Forests Trailwalker program, the Bear-N-Oak Trail at Indian Lake State Forest is a 1.6-mile loop that provides a fascinating look at habitat diversity centered on Indian Lake, a major karst feature in the Ocala Limestone
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Bella Vista Trail

A 1.8-mile loop through the uplands of Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, the Bella Vista Trail walks you through most of the habitats found on this barrier island.
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Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk

East of Naples, the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park offers a peek into a notable natural landmark, a stand of virgin cypress.
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Big Lagoon Hiking Trails

Near Perdido Key, Big Lagoon State Park is best known for its (really big) lagoon, but the scenic trail system through the scrub is a delight for hardy hikers, involving much trekking through soft white sand.
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Big Shoals Trail

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
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Black Bear Wilderness Loop Trail

Trot out your sense of adventure for an immersion into one of the wildest trails you'll find near Orlando, the new 7.1-mile loop in the Black Bear Wilderness Area in Sanford
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Black Hammock Wilderness Area

Black Hammock is a bit of Old Florida in Oviedo, with a trail showcasing a delightfully long boardwalk and a loop through scrub habitats above Lake Jesup
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Blowing Rocks Preserve

One of the most dramatic shorelines in Florida, the rocky shore of Blowing Rocks Preserve has sea caves and bluffs to explore on a hike through the oceanfront preserve
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Blue Spring State Park Boardwalk

If you’ve never seen manatees by the dozens, let alone over a hundred, there’s no better place to watch them than along the boardwalk at Blue Spring State Park in wintertime
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Bulow Creek Loop

Stretching 5.2 miles through an primordial forest of sluggish, fern-lined waterways, ancient live oaks, magnolias, and cabbage palms, the Bulow Creek Loop is one of North Florida's most scenic hikes.
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Buster Island Loop

The 6.9-mile Buster Island Loop at Lake Kissimmee State Park is a favorite for both day hikers and backpackers, as it shows off a variety of habitats along the open prairies
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Butler Mill Trail

Lake Jackson Mounds is best known for being one of the largest ceremonial temple mound complexes in the Southeast, but it offers a cool, shady nature trail, too
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Castellow Hammock Preserve

At Castellow Hammock, you’re stepping into Florida’s past as you follow the nature trail into a remnant of tropical forest.
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Caverns Trail System

Most people come to see the stalactites and stalagmites at Florida’s only show cave. But the hiking’s even weirder at Florida Caverns State Park, home of Florida's only hiking trail through a cave.
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Cedar Point Environmental Park

Charlotte County's flagship environmental park, with a broad range of habitat diversity and wildlife, Cedar Point protects 115 acres of a peninsula in Lemon Bay
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Churchhouse Hammock Trail

Providing a peek at the estuary along Crystal River, the Churchhouse Hammock Trail at Crystal River Preserve State Park has accessible and adventuresome options.
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Circle B Bar Reserve

At Circle B Bar Reserve, an extensive network of trails with an outer circuit of nearly 6 miles is atop the levees through vibrant wetlands near Lake Hancock.
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Citrus Hiking Trail

One of Florida's longest backpacking loops - and the longest within a single piece of public land - the Citrus Hiking Trail offers up to 43 miles of rugged and interesting terrain near Inverness
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Clear Creek Nature Trail

Imagine a wonderland of bright red blossoms and lacy white-veined trumpets reflected against reflections of the sky, where everywhere you turn, beauty surrounds you. You'll find it near Milton at the Clear Creek Nature Trail
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Coconut Point Sanctuary

Call it the Ocean-to-Lagoon Hike: this 1 mile loop through one of Brevard County's most diverse natural lands connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon in Melbourne Beach
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Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary

You'll find Florida's best and most extensive boardwalk hike at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, meandering 2.3 miles through an old-growth cypress forest.
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Curry Hammock Nature Trail

For an immersion into a tropical rockland hammock and its rare bounty of Florida thatch palms, explore this short but rugged and fascinating loop along the bay side of Curry Hammock State Park.
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Cypress Boardwalk

Teeter-tottering above a swamp, experience a stretch of old-time catwalk through the cypress swamp on the Cypress Boardwalk at Highlands Hammock State Park
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Devil’s Millhopper Nature Trail

The nature trail at Devil's Millhopper State Park circles the lip of an enormous sinkhole before plunging down into it on a series of staircases with views of natural waterfalls.
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Ding Darling Calusa Shell Mound Trail

A wheelchair-accessible boardwalk near the end of Wildlife Drive in Ding Darling NWR, the Calusa Shell Mound Trail provides a peek into the ancient history of Sanibel Island.
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Disappearing Creek at Camp Branch

On the Disappearing Creek Loop off the Florida Trail along the Suwannee River, watch Camp Branch burble through rapids and cascade into a giant sinkhole
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Econfina Nature Trail

On the Econfina Nature Trail, discover rugged climbs, steep drop-offs, bubbling springs, and deep crevices into the earth as you walk between two major springs where you can swim.
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Eldora Hammock Trail

At Canaveral National Seashore, the Eldora Hammock Trail provides an interpretive loop through the beauty of a lush coastal hammock, highlighting the tropical understory below.
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Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park

Ancient magnolias, massive tulip poplars, and sinuous alluvial streams are all part of the delights of Phipps Park, the city of Tallahassee's most expansive and wild urban park
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Enchanted Forest Sanctuary

It's not rocket science: the first and finest of the Brevard Environmental Endangered Lands, Enchanted Forest Sanctuary in Titusville is a fabulous destination for family hiking.
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Falling Creek Falls

A boardwalk trail at Falling Creek Falls north of Lake City leads you to overlooks on a waterfall with a 10-12' drop in a picturesque setting
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Falling Waters Sinkhole Trail

Iconic as the home of Florida’s tallest waterfall, Falling Waters State Park is a showcase for Florida geology just south of I-10 in Chipley. Follow the Sinkhole Trail to see the waterfall and some very deep sinkholes.
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