Florida Hikes

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

Boardwalk through small palms

Collier Seminole State Park

Trails and explorations at Collier-Seminole State Park, an oasis of a park offering access to a vast wilderness bounded by the Ten Thousand Islands and the Big Cypress Swamp.

Adding to the Life List

Although John is a native Floridian, our research trip to South Florida became an opportunity for him to see many natural "firsts" in Florida that most people have on their life lists.

Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail

Naples   6.5 miles

A wet and wild 6.5-mile loop into the watery wilderness of the Big Cypress Swamp, the Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail provides a challenging wade into beauty.

Collier-Seminole Prairie Hammock Trail

Naples   3.5 miles

A parade of habitats awaits in a lesser-visited corner of Collier-Seminole State Park on this multiuse loop utilizing portions of the Old Marco Road built in the early 1900s.

Collier-Seminole State Park

Protecting the largest natural hammock of royal palms in the United States, Collier-Seminole State Park opened in 1947 south of Naples along the Tamiami Trail.

Royal Palm Hammock Nature Trail

Naples   0.9 miles

Not quite a mile long, this intriguing nature trail explores a gradient of habitats from tropical hammock to salt marsh and mangrove forest.