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

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Lake Eola Park

Orlando

Orlando is one of Florida’s best places to hike and bike, with a large quantity of trails and superb quality

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Exploring Orlando

Best known for its theme parks, Orlando and its surrounding communities have a surprising diversity of character. Historic neighborhoods are shaded by ancient live oaks. Parks and gardens hug the many lakes. It doesn’t take long to find a natural area nearby for hiking, biking, and paddling, or a spring for swimming. A growing network of bike paths extends across the region, providing day-long riding opportunities.

As residents of the Orlando metro for many years before moving to the Space Coast, we explored our own backyard more than anywhere else in Florida. For backpacking in palm-shaded wilderness, head to the Florida Trail along the St. Johns River floodplain. For day hikes in the many regional parks and preserves, check out the trails we suggest in Five Star Trails Orlando, all within an hour of downtown.

Resources

50 Hikes in Central Florida 5 Star Trails Orlando Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us continue to provide public information on this website.

Download a list of hikes around Orlando with GPS coordinates for trailheads
See all Florida Trail hikes in the Orlando area for backpacking and day hiking
See our list of the region’s Five Star Trails and learn more about our book
Go on a guided hike in the Orlando area with the Florida Trail Association

Featured Destinations

A pause between walkways at Orlando Tree Trek

Orlando Tree Trek

Orlando Tree Trek
Boardwalk in subtropical forest

Little-Big Econ Kolokee Loop

Little-Big Econ Kolokee Loop
Orange blaze in dense woods

Bronson Northeast Loop

Bronson Northeast Loop
Florida Trail at Forever Florida

Florida Trail, Orlando

Florida Trail, Orlando
Shady trail at Trimble Park

Trimble Park

Trimble Park
Forested walkway adjoining a pond

Mead Garden

Mead Garden
Ribbon of marsh beyond pines

Crosby Island Marsh Preserve

Crosby Island Marsh Preserve
Pine flatwoods in Florida

Tosohatchee White Loop

Tosohatchee White Loop

ALL Destinations

Recent Articles

Lake Jesup Wilderness

Sunflower Season on the St. Johns River near Orlando

May 31, 2020//  by Sandra Friend & John Keatley

In September, swamp sunflowers put on a colorful show along the St. Johns River between Sanford and Geneva, north of Orlando. Here’s where to take a hike to find them.

Econ River Wilderness east shore hammock

Expand Econ River Wilderness

February 19, 2020//  by Sandra Friend

A proposal has been made public of a land swap offer between a developer and Seminole County for possession of Econ River Wilderness Area. We think that the existing preserve should be expanded, instead. Here’s how.

Sally White zip line Gatorland

Zipping Over Gators at Gatorland

June 23, 2019//  by Sally White

What’s it like to sail over a pondful of alligators on a zip line in Florida? Contributor Sally White of the Adventures of Mom shares her experience on Gatorland’s Screamin’ Gator Zip Line in Orlando.

50 Hikes Central Florida graphic

The new 50 Hikes in Central Florida

October 5, 2018//  by Sandra Friend

We launched a new full-color edition of 50 Hikes in Central Florida at the National Trails Festival in Deland the first weekend of October. Take a peek inside.

ALL Articles

Disney World

Where to Stay in Orlando

With Florida’s largest concentration of hotel rooms, you’ll find something here to meet your family’s budget. Before we moved to the metro, we stayed in – and can still recommend – unique lodgings like The Courtyard at Lake Lucerne and the EO Inn & Spa, downtown.

Camping? You’ll delight in the woodsy campgrounds you’ll find here. The trick at Wekiwa Springs State Park is reserving a space well in advance. You’ll find cabins at Lake Louisa State Park, not far from Walt Disney World. Lesser known but nice for families are the well-shaded campgrounds at Kelly Park, Trimble Park, and Lake Mills Park. Inside city limits, Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake has RV sites, tent camping, and cabins.

NEARBY: Apopka, Christmas, Clermont, Cocoa Beach, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Lakeland, Maitland, Poinciana, Sanford, Walt Disney World, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Winter Springs | PART OF: Central Florida

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FIND A TRAIL OR PARK

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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