Florida Hikes

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

Taylor Park Cocoa

Cocoa

The urban flip side to Cocoa Beach, Cocoa is the original settlement along the Indian River Lagoon and now stretches west to the St. Johns River

Biking Indian River Drive

Nearly 15 miles of Indian River Drive (CR 515) parallels US 1 through Cocoa and Rockledge along the Indian River Lagoon, providing a scenic and safe road bike ride.

Helen & Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary

Cocoa   1.1 miles

Loop 140 acres of scrub forest on the Atlantic Coastal Ridge in Rockledge to catch a glimpse of Florida scrub-jay families from an easy 1.1 mile trail.

Intracoastal Trike Ride

John takes his recumbent trike out for a spin with his friend Richard along the Indian River Lagoon, and finds it an easy and comfortable ride.

Island Pioneer Trail

Merritt Island   3.2 miles

Along a swamp-edged ribbon of greenway south of Kennedy Space Center, much of this 3.2 mile hike along the Island Pioneer Trail follows an early roadway on Merritt Island.

Kayaking the Thousand Islands with Lew and Dale

As most of you know, I met Sandy while preparing for an Appalachian Trail hike. Between our AT adventure and all the hiking for Florida Hikes, I never returned to what I was doing prior to all these miles on foot: I was spending once a week in my kayak, or …

Kings Park

Merritt Island   5.1 miles

A mosaic of landscapes disturbed by past development now lush with vegetation, Kings Park protects both freshwater and brackish waterways with a ribbon of bike path between them.

Paddling the Thousand Islands

One of the hidden natural treasures of Cocoa Beach, the Thousand Islands provide a fun paddle through a maze of mangroves on a marked trail through a conservation area.

Pioneer Paddling Trail

Merritt Island   2.7 miles

Amid mangrove swamps along an old pioneer route in Kings Park, the Pioneer Paddling Trail offers an intimate look at a forgotten wild corridor on Merritt Island.

Taylor Creek Loop

Cocoa   4.7 miles

Blending a historic route of the Florida Trail with an easy return along a forest road, the 4.7 mile Taylor Creek Loop traverses palm hammocks along the St. Johns River floodplain.

Tosohatchee WMA

Protecting more than 30,000 acres of the St. Johns River floodplain near Christmas, Tosohatchee WMA is a place to immerse yourself in the grandeur of old Florida and its bounty of botanical beauty.