Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Restoring a ranch back to natural habitats takes time, but brings to life the natural beauty of these soggy habitats in the Deep Creek basin near Lake Ashby
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
148.0 miles. Spanning from the Ocala National Forest south through the prairies of Osceola County, the Orlando section of the Florida Trail encompasses the eastern suburbs of the Orlando metro
7.5 miles. Walk through vast, open spaces that you’d never imagine existed so close to Orlando.
Protecting nearly 950 acres of lush oak hammocks, palm hammocks, and wetlands along the rim of Lake Monroe, Gemini Springs Addition has many options for hikers
With nearly 5 miles of gentle woodland paths and paved trails, playgrounds, picnic area, paddling trail and a dog park, Gemini Springs Park is a popular, well-connected getaway
An unearthly glowing bowl in shades of green, the centerpiece of an ancient forest at Green Springs is surrounded by gurgling streams and the trails that follow them
An island in the St. Johns River, Hontoon Island State Park is accessible to boaters thanks to a marina big enough to accommodate a houseboat and to everyday visitors by a free ferryboat. It’s worth the short trip to see the bounteous wildlife of the St. Johns River, from wading birds to manatees to turtles lying in the sun.
All is still, pristine, natural. Night closes in, and I hear the lapping of the river beneath my window as the houseboat gently rocks.
On Hontoon Island, the Indian Mound Nature Trail leads you through a ancient forest to an ancient midden on the edge of a vast swamp floodplain.
Explore the cypress-lined shore of Lake Ashby on a gentle trail system consisting of a boardwalk and easy pathways beneath deep shade along the lakeshore.
