Ridge Audubon Center
Babson Park 0.3 milesAtop the Lake Wales Ridge, the nature trails at the Ridge Audubon Center in Babson Park do a fabulous job of interpreting the unique flora and fauna of this island of biodiversity.

Gentle, short hikes in Florida to introduce people new to hiking or hiking with very young children. Mobility challenged? See our accessible recommendations.

Atop the Lake Wales Ridge, the nature trails at the Ridge Audubon Center in Babson Park do a fabulous job of interpreting the unique flora and fauna of this island of biodiversity.

At Saarinen Preserve near Newberry, a series of color-coded loops wander across mixed pine and hardwood hammock communities teeming with wildlife.

A delightful immersion into the natural side of Merritt Island, the trails at Sams House at Pine Island range from mild to wild as they draw you deeper into coastal habitats along the Indian River Lagoon.

A sweeping view of the Apalachicola River estuary waits like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on this beautiful nature trail and boardwalk

Designated the first “urban wilderness area” in Florida in 1978, Secret Woods protects a 56-acre floodplain of cypress strand and mangroves with uplands of tropical hammock.

The accessible Seminole Rest Trail interprets a historic and archaeological site at Canaveral National Seashore along the shores of the Indian River Lagoon.

Explore an easy loop in scrubby uplands in residential Fort Pierce to search for scrub-jays from ground level and from an observation tower.

With boardwalks and trails through pine flatwoods and along the floodplain of Shingle Creek, the Historic Steffee Homestead at Shingle Creek Regional Park makes for an easy family ramble.

Winding 1.4 miles through the slough, the broad wheelchair-accessible boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers leads you into a dark cypress strand.

A delight to visit, the Spring Boils Trail showcases bubbling springs both big and small, starting within sight of the main springs at Silver Glen Springs before it leads you to coves of tiny bubblers

In Boca Raton, the trails at Sugar Sand Park radiate from a nature center and playground surrounded by the remains of a coastal scrub and pine flatwoods in this urbanized area.

Protecting 66 acres of natural habitats in Coral Springs, Tall Cypress Natural Area offers a wonderland of ferns along its loop trail through a cypress slough.
