Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Public campgrounds in outdoorsy settings that accommodate campers, trailers, and RVs for longer stays
One of the few saving graces of former phosphate mines is that they provide awesome air for mountain bikers in Florida, and Alafia River State Park is one of the rare places where you can launch on a Florida downhill.
Surrounding one of Florida’s most picturesque first magnitude springs, Alexander Springs Recreation Area provides visitors with many options to enjoy the spring and the woodlands around the spring basin.
Anastasia State Park is windswept and sandy, with an arc of beach that stretches four miles to Matanzas Inlet, curving in on itself to face the ancient city of St. Augustine.
Long known for its natural beaches, Bahia Honda State Park has a lot of healing and rebuilding to do after the ravages of Hurricane Irma
At Blackwater River State Forest, each of the recreation areas offers access to hiking, and popular Bear Lake is no exception. A 4-mile trail loops around this impounded reservoir, which flows into Sweetwater Creek.
Little known except to those who frequent Salt Springs Recreation Area in the Ocala National Forest, the Bear Swamp Trail provides a walk into an ancient forest.
Protecting the heart of the Big Cypress Swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve was established in 1974. Exploring its lush subtropical landscapes means wading through crystal-clear swamps or paddling its channelized rivers.
Near Perdido Key, Big Lagoon State Park is best known for its (really big) lagoon, but the scenic trail system through the scrub is a delight for hardy hikers, involving much trekking through soft white sand.
As the name suggests, lagoons are the centerpiece of Big Lagoon State Park, but only one is THE Big Lagoon, a mirror-smooth expanse of saltwater trapped behind dunes within sight and sound of the surf of the Gulf of Mexico.
Inside the city of Orlando, the urban Bill Frederick Park has a wild side, too, with more than 2 miles of trails to meander through scrub forest and along Turkey Lake.
At Blackwater River State Forest near Milton, immerse yourself in the largest state forest in Florida: 190,000 acres surrounding the Blackwater River and its tributaries.
Blackwater River State Park is the gateway to thousands of acres of public lands stretching northward to the Alabama border.
