Seminole, for bear

One of my most recent delights, a walk in the woods, was the surprise provided by Seminole State Forest on a revisit after a decade. Walking the Florida Trail south from Cassia to the Bear Pond Trailhead, the perfect weather made for an easy pace and plenty of photographic opportunities. The moment I froze with my camera, however, was the moment I saw the bears.

Paul and I had just come around a corner, turning from a narrow trail onto a broad road, where I saw the most amazing sight: the hind end of a mama bear vanishing into a thicket of myrtle oak and Chapman oak, with her tiny baby cub, no bigger than a raccoon, nipping at her heels.

I stopped short and held my breath. Three beats, and they were gone. A magical moment in one of the most likely places in Florida to see the Florida black bear in the wild, Seminole State Forest.

Hiking information for Seminole State Forest

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Sandra Friend

Author of 45 books, Sandra Friend established FloridaHikes.com in 2006 to expand on the field research she'd completed for her first six hiking guides. She has been honored with lifetime achievement awards from the Florida Trail Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association.