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

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Sams House Hammock Loop

Family-Friendly Hikes

Kids belong in the woods! Bring the whole family to enjoy hikes, parks, and other outdoor recreation at locations that are especially fun for kids.

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John and Sandra Big Cypress

Florida Trail Hikes guidebook
The Florida Trail Guide guidebook
50 Hikes in Central Florida 3rd edition
Explorer's Guide North Florida & The Panhandle guidebook
Five Star Trails Orlando guidebook
Five Star Trails Gainesville & Ocala guidebook

We’ve been writing Florida hiking books since 2001. These are our newest, published over the past five years. Both the 50 Hikes series and the Five Star Trails series provide lists of the best trails in each region for families.

Play Outdoors!

It’s not just an urban thing: Florida has hundreds of outstanding nature trails and parks with facilities that work well for families with young children.

You can play on a beach, or visit a nature center. Stroll a boardwalk at a wetlands park to see thousands of birds. Or walk along a short interpretive trail at a Florida State Park.

Blue Spring State Park

Florida State Parks

Explore the outdoors in our award-winning Florida State Parks system! There are more than 160 state parks scattered across Florida, bringing you the best camping, hiking, biking, and paddling.

Beaches in Florida

From hard-packed sands to powdery white strands to jagged rocky shorelines, Florida’s beaches will delight you

Nature Centers

Nature centers in Florida’s parks often have their own trail systems and are great places to get the family outside to learn about Florida’s habitats, flora, and fauna firsthand

Wetlands at Circle B Bar Reserve

Wetlands Parks

Wildlife watching is superb in Florida’s wetlands parks

For the youngest ones, finding a playground to enjoy after a hike is always a plus. Dig through our list of parks where you’ll find one.

Parks With Playgrounds

Our Favorite Family-Friendly Trails

The map at the top of the page shows all locations suitable for families. These particular parks and trails are our favorite places in Florida to send families with young children.

Nature Center Trails kiosk Apalachicola NERR

Apalachicola NERR Nature Center

Apalachicola NERR Nature Center
Barrier Island Trail

Barrier Island Sanctuary

Barrier Island Sanctuary
Bear Cut Preserve

Bear Cut Preserve

Bear Cut Preserve
Lady Liberty and photographer

Big Tree Park

Big Tree Park
Boardwalk at Blue Spring

Blue Spring Boardwalk

Blue Spring Boardwalk
Path at Boyd Hill Park

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

Brooker Creek Preserve

Brooker Creek Preserve
Castaway Island Preserve

Castaway Island Preserve

Castaway Island Preserve
Adderly House at Crane Point Hammock

Crane Point Hammock

Crane Point Hammock
Pond apple tree

Daggerwing Nature Center

Daggerwing Nature Center
De Soto National Memorial

De Soto National Memorial

De Soto National Memorial
Dudley Farm

Dudley Farm Historic State Park

Dudley Farm Historic State Park
Enchanted Forest Titusville trail

Enchanted Forest Sanctuary

Enchanted Forest Sanctuary
Erna Nixon boardwalk

Erna Nixon Park

Erna Nixon Park
Fern Forest ferns

Fern Forest Nature Center

Fern Forest Nature Center
Grassy Waters Preserve

Grassy Waters Preserve

Grassy Waters Preserve
Spring basin in eerie green

Green Springs Park

Green Springs Park
Homosassa Springs fishbowl

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
Blue sky and palm reflected in river

James E Grey Preserve

James E Grey Preserve
Visiting the Bottle Tree at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden

Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden

Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden
Kirby Storter Boardwalk

Kirby Storter Boardwalk

Kirby Storter Boardwalk
Lake Lotus Park

Lake Lotus Park

Lake Lotus Park
Lyonia Preserve

Lyonia Preserve

Lyonia Preserve
Moccasin Lake

Moccasin Lake Nature Park

Moccasin Lake Nature Park
Morningside Nature Center (2)

Morningside Nature Center

Morningside Nature Center
Ferns in a marsh

Oakland Nature Preserve

Oakland Nature Preserve
Okeeheelee Nature Trail at Okeeheelee Park

Okeeheelee Nature Trail

Okeeheelee Nature Trail
Oxbow Eco Center

Oxbow Eco-Center

Oxbow Eco-Center
Pinecrest Gardens

Pinecrest Gardens

Pinecrest Gardens
Trail through oak canopy

Ponce Preserve

Ponce Preserve
Punta Gorda Harborwalk

Punta Gorda Harborwalk

Punta Gorda Harborwalk
Mangroves up close

Rookery Bay NERR

Rookery Bay NERR
Sams House Hammock Loop

Sams House at Pine Island

Sams House at Pine Island
Secret Woods tropical forest

Secret Woods Nature Center

Secret Woods Nature Center
Cross Trail junction in Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve

Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve
Spring Boils Trail

Spring Boils Trail

Spring Boils Trail
Flamingo feeding at Sunken Gardens

Sunken Gardens

Sunken Gardens
Tallahassee Museum

Tallahassee Museum

Tallahassee Museum
Tibet-Butler Preserve

Tibet-Butler Preserve

Tibet-Butler Preserve
Shady trail at Trimble Park

Trimble Park

Trimble Park
Trout Lake Adventure Trail

Trout Lake Nature Center

Trout Lake Nature Center
Creek with palms and dense vegetation

Turkey Creek Sanctuary

Turkey Creek Sanctuary
Turkey Creek Boardwalk

Turkey Creek Walk

Turkey Creek Walk
Mobbly Bay

Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park

Upper Tampa Bay Conservation Park
Boardwalk under oaks with a bench along it

Visitor Center Boardwalk

Visitor Center Boardwalk

Weedon Island Preserve

Weedon Island Preserve

ALL Family-Friendly Trails

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NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. Crestview. DeFuniak Springs. Destin. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Fort Walton Beach. Freeport. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Navarre Beach . Niceville. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Quincy. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka

NORTH FLORIDA
Alachua. Amelia Island. Baldwin. Branford. Bunnell. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Crescent City. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Gainesville. Green Cove Springs. High Springs. Jacksonville. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler.Lake City. Live Oak. Mayo. Macclenny. Micanopy. Olustee. Orange Park. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Perry. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Welaka. White Springs. Williston

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MULTI-REGION
Big Cypress Swamp. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka. Belleview. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Christmas. Chuluota. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. Daytona Beach. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Frostproof. Geneva. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Lakeland. Largo. Leesburg. Longwood. Melbourne. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Ocala. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Orlando. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Palm Bay. Ridge Manor. Sanford. Silver Springs. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. St. Petersburg. Tampa. Tarpon Springs. Titusville . Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction

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

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Clewiston. Everglades City. Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. LaBelle. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Pahokee. Port Mayaca. Sebring. South Bay

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Northeast Everglades Natural Area. Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

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