When people ask us “where’s the best place to hike in Florida?” it’s tough to come up with a quick answer. Our state is so diverse, with 83 different types of habitats to explore.
We are always delighted to come across a new “wow” moment when visiting a trail. If we return and feel the same, it’s on our scenic hikes list. But that list itself is pretty long, so we narrowed it down even more.
Florida's Best Scenic Hikes
These are our top personal picks for the best scenic hikes in Florida.
Walk a 4.4-mile linear stretch of the Florida Trail on a narrow footpath across natural bridges and stone arches that drop into natural voids in earth like Swiss cheese, deep sinkholes which the most ancient residents of Florida used to trap mastodons.
In Florida, "hammock" means "woods." Bulow Hammock is among the most ancient in the state, its immense trees casting deep shade along this 5.2-mile loop through a primordial landscape.
Enter a rare cathedral of old-growth cypress trees in the heart of Corkscrew Strand, the realm of the ghost orchid and the Florida panther, on a 2.3-mile boardwalk loop through this Audubon preserve.
On narrow catwalks and trails originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, immerse into one of Florida's oldest state parks in a palm-shaded landscape straight out of Florida's past.
In this "land between the lakes" in the Kissimmee River basin, vast prairies are punctuated by dense oak and palm hammocks on a figure-8 route along the Florida Trail with several lakefront panoramas.
Of all 1,400+ miles of our National Scenic Trail in Florida, this segment on Eglin Air Force Base is tops for its tough terrain, immersive magnolia-beech forest, and suspension bridge over Alaqua Creek.
The longest loop trail on a single piece of public land, the 43-mile Citrus Hiking Trail in Withlacoochee State Forest features rugged rocky terrain, rolling hills, trailside caves, and a sense of quiet.
The longest loop trail in a Florida State Park, the Myakka Hiking Trail offers a two-mile walk across an open prairie as a part of its 39-mile series of loops. A day hike to Bee Island provides highlights of the habitats along this extensive trail system.
Follow a Florida Trail segment from Bell Springs along the Suwannee River on a 4.6-mile round-trip to views of the only Class III rapids in Florida, with a waterfall to circle along the way.
If you can only do one hike in Everglades National Park, this is it. It's the shortest and busiest trail in Everglades National Park, but it provides panoramic views as well as up-close viewing of alligators, orchids, and hundreds of wading birds.
Top Trails in Florida
In addition to the trails listed above, we have a list of Top Ten Trail Destinations for planning your next trip. These are not individual trails that you can tackle all at once, but major trail systems and large parks and preserves throughout Florida which have many different trails in them. Some can be tackled on a bicycle, and some offer paddling trails as well.
All Scenic Trails in Florida
Let’s face it: even though we don’t have much elevation, we do have a lot of fascinating habitats. Florida is a very pretty place. Here are more suggestions for trails that you should put on your to-do list.
We’ve tagged a lot of trails on this website as scenic, and you can see their locations on our Scenic Trails Map.
Our Favorite Scenic Trails
In addition to the ones at the top of the page on our list of top scenic trails, these are some of our personal favorites statewide.
