Since 1966, the Florida Trail has been Florida’s biggest destination for backpackers, with hundreds of trailheads and access points. Along its 1,500 mile length, most are within an hour of most major cities in Florida.
Since 2001, we’ve been researching and writing guidebooks to help you day hike, backpack, and thru hike the Florida Trail.
We partner with FarOut Guides (formerly known as Guthook) to provide trail details for a Florida Trail app with an abundance of waypoints on up-to-date geolocated maps, as well as Eastern Continental Trail details for Florida.
We’ve photographed our own end-to-end hike of the Florida Trail for a mini coffee table book, and produced a large format coffee table book covering the full history of the first 50 years of our National Scenic Trail in Florida.
Planning | Permits | Day Hikes | Backpacking | Thru Hiking | Maps | Trail Updates
Contents
- 1 About the Florida Trail
- 1.1 Plan your Florida Trail Hike
- 1.2 Choosing Gear for a Florida Trail Hike
- 1.3 Florida Trail Map
- 1.4 Best Hikes on the Florida Trail
- 1.5 Florida Trail Backpacking
- 1.6 Biking the Florida Trail
- 1.7 Section Hiking the Florida Trail
- 1.8 Thru Hike the Florida Trail
- 1.9 Florida Trail Updates
- 1.10 Florida Trail for Scouting
- 1.11 The Florida Trail: A History
- 2 Florida Trail by Region
- 3 Florida Trail by Section
- 3.1 Florida Trail, Big Cypress
- 3.2 Florida Trail, Seminole
- 3.3 Florida Trail, Okeechobee
- 3.4 Florida Trail, Kissimmee
- 3.5 Florida Trail, Orlando
- 3.6 Florida Trail, Ocala
- 3.7 Florida Trail, Western Corridor
- 3.8 Florida Trail, Northeast Florida
- 3.9 Florida Trail, Suwannee
- 3.10 Florida Trail, Big Bend
- 3.11 Florida Trail, Apalachicola
- 3.12 Florida Trail, Central Panhandle
- 3.13 Florida Trail, Eglin
- 3.14 Florida Trail, Blackwater
- 3.15 Florida Trail, Seashore
- 4 Florida Trail Connectors
- 5 Florida Trail Maps
About the Florida Trail
Two loops, two spurs, and over 1,500 miles of blazes from one end of this gigantic state to another. It’s a lot to take in.
The Florida Trail is one of only eleven long distance trails distinguished as a National Scenic Trail in America.
It is the only long distance trail in the United States that is a winter destination, as winter is our prime season for backpacking in Florida.
But it’s not just about backpacking and camping. There are segments of the Florida Trail that make enjoyable day hikes, and there are portions shared with bike routes that work well for cyclists.
Drawing a growing number of section hikers and thru-hikers every year, the trail has a growing long distance hiker community.
Section Hiking the Florida Trail
Section hiking the Florida Trail provides some logistical challenges, but a sense of satisfaction in being able to complete an 1,100-mile walk across Florida over time
Thru Hike the Florida Trail
A thru-hike in Florida takes 60-90 days through lush landscapes you won’t see on other long distance trails
We’ve been writing about the Florida Trail since 2001, so you can count on us as a trusted source of information.
Florida Trail Updates
Updates to our current edition of The Florida Trail Guide (Fourth Edition, published Nov 2021), keyed to pages and mileage numbers in each segment of the trail presented through the book.
Florida Trail for Scouting
There are many opportunities for Boy Scouts to complete hiking and backpacking merit badges and 50-miler awards along the Florida Trail; this list will start you planning your next trip.
In 2016, we celebrated the trail’s 50th anniversary by compiling its long and storied history into a coffee table book.
The Florida Trail: A History
How to order a copy of The Florida Trail: Florida’s National Scenic Trail, our limited edition full-color coffee table book that tells the comprehensive story of the first 50 years of routing, building, maintaining, and enjoying our statewide National Scenic Trail.
Florida Trail by Region
Since the Florida Trail stretches from one end of Florida to the other, we have broken up information on it by sections within regions. You’ll find those here.
Florida Trail by Section
These sections of the Florida Trail are listed from south to north, matching how they are described in The Florida Trail Guide. Within each you’ll find information on hikes in that section.
Florida Trail, Big Cypress
38.3 miles. Featuring the wettest, wildest wilderness traversed by backpackers in Florida, the Florida Trail in Big Cypress National Preserve is both beautiful and extraordinarily challenging.
Florida Trail, Seminole
56.2 miles. Stretching from the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation to Lake Okeechobee, the Florida Trail Seminole section traverses a vast agricultural region, the former Everglades. Hiking is on roads and levees.
Florida Trail, Okeechobee
112.8 miles. Looping around one of America’s largest lakes, the Okeechobee section of the Florida Trail provides panoramic views from atop the Herbert Hoover Dike.
Florida Trail, Kissimmee
111.3 miles. Following the Kissimmee River floodplain, this is a scenic section of the Florida Trail with a mix of levees, shady woods, river views, open prairies, and cattle ranches.
Florida Trail, Orlando
148.0 miles. Spanning from the Ocala National Forest south through the prairies of Osceola County, the Orlando section of the Florida Trail encompasses the eastern suburbs of the Orlando metro
Florida Trail, Ocala
72.3 miles. The birthplace of the Florida Trail and home of the world’s largest sand pine scrub forest, the Ocala section is Florida’s top backpacking destination
Florida Trail, Western Corridor
241 miles. With segments linking Withlacoochee State Forest and the Cross Florida Greenway, the Western Corridor provides access to wild spaces between Tampa and Ocala
Florida Trail, Northeast Florida
123 miles. Showcasing the best public lands, the Florida Trail walks you into the past between Palatka and Osceola National Forest, through rural farms and timber lands.
Florida Trail, Suwannee
74.8 miles. Along the Suwannee River, the Florida Trail clings to bluffs and scrambles through ravines for physical challenges and great scenery
Florida Trail, Big Bend
116.2 miles. After crossing rural farms and forests in the Big Bend, the Florida Trail reveals the secrets of the Aucilla River before tracing the Gulf coastline at St. Marks NWR
Florida Trail, Apalachicola
77.9 miles. Florida’s largest national forest, Apalachicola is a very lush place, which means soggy feet and spectacular botanical diversity south of Tallahassee.
Florida Trail, Central Panhandle
99.3 miles. West of the Apalachicola River, the Florida Trail stitches a series of public lands together along the corridor of the Northwest Florida Greenway.
Florida Trail, Eglin
98.3 miles. One of the most compelling sections of the Florida Trail for backpackers, Eglin offers rugged elevation changes and crystalline waterways.
Florida Trail, Blackwater
45.5 miles. The Blackwater section of the Florida Trail walks you through Atlantic white cedar and longleaf pine forests, pitcher plant bogs and titi swamps en route to the Alabama border.
Florida Trail, Seashore
32.3 miles. In addition to several bike paths and the wild and scenic UWF-SRIA Dunes Preserve, the Seashore section of the Florida Trail walks you along a beach to the trail’s Northern Terminus.
Florida Trail Connectors
These trails are not part of the National Scenic Trail but connect to the Florida Trail
Eastern Continental Trail
A hiking route spanning more than 4,800 miles along the East Coast, the Eastern Continental Trail spends nearly 1,300 miles crossing Florida from its southern terminus at the Southernmost Point in Key West.
Ocean to Lake Hiking Trail
61 miles. A spur of the Florida Trail that leads from Port Mayaca on the east side of Lake Okeechobee to Hobe Sound Beach on the Atlantic Ocean, treating hikers to unexpected wild landscapes north of West Palm Beach.
Florida Trail Maps
This is our current overview map of the Florida Trail, our National Scenic Trail in Florida.
MAP USAGE: You may use our map if credited to FloridaHikes.com and, if shared online, linked back to this page. The same is true for any of our section maps. Please be sure to credit us and to link them back to the appropriate section page.
We created the above map using our trail data from our interactive map inside the FarOut Guides app / Florida National Scenic Trail segment, copyright 2020 by FarOut Guides & Florida Hikes.
Water-resistant paper maps are available from the Florida Trail Association.