Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Small waterfront community between the western shore of the St. Johns River and Ocala National Forest, southwest of Lake George
Surrounding one of Florida’s most picturesque first magnitude springs, Alexander Springs is a prime destination for a summer swim or snorkel
What did the Juniper Prairie Wilderness look like before the fires of 2009? Here’s what I photographed on a hike just a few weeks before the devastating blaze.
8.6 miles. Dive deep into the world’s largest sand pine scrub forest on this hike through the Big Scrub
10.5 miles. Hike the original miles blazed by Florida Trail Association trailblazers in 1966 along one of the most beautiful sections of the Florida Trail in the Ocala National Forest
9.7 miles. Follow a ribbon of tall grasses and lily-dotted ponds along Farles Prairie before trekking miles through classic sand pine scrub to the Juniper Prairie Wilderness
Hiking along the Farles Prairie section of the Florida Trail adjoining Pine Castle Bombing Range, we get to experience both a bomb concussion and a charred “nightmare forest” after a dropped bomb.
For immersion into the world’s largest sand pine scrub forest, take a journey along the Florida Trail through the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. It’s perennially a getaway for backpackers thanks to its natural beauty.
A return to the Juniper Prairie Wilderness seven years after my last hike finds things very different after wildfires scour across the landscape.
What’s it like to do trail research? Here’s a typical day out on the trail for us when we’re tracking down relocations of the Florida Trail or finding new trails to add to this website.
While less than a mile long, the Timucuan Trail at Alexander Springs Recreation Area is the best place to sample the Big Scrub habitats of the Ocala National Forest while enjoying lush habitats along a spring run.
