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.
Anne’s Beach
Islamorada 0.5 milesAlong a picturesque Atlantic beach, a family-friendly accessible boardwalk weaves through a coastal forest, passing several covered picnic tables along the way.
Bahia Honda Beach Walk
Florida Keys 0.7 milesA walk around the southern tip of Bahia Honda Key, this shoreline hike at Bahia Honda State Park provides scenic views and an up-close look at the historic bridge.
Bahia Honda State Park
Long known for its beaches, Bahia Honda State Park provides a slender ribbon of Atlantic oceanfront amid a natural tropical setting in the lower Florida Keys.
Big Pine Key
The largest of the Lower Keys, most of Big Pine Key is protected as part of National Key Deer Refuge, home to the endangered and diminutive Key deer.
Biking the Southern Glades Trail
Taking a ride through the Everglades on one of Miami-Dade's most remote offroad bike trails made for "Bill and John's Most Excellent Adventure."
Biscayne National Park
Florida's largest offshore park, Biscayne National Park protects living coral reefs and islands that are the northernmost part of the Florida Keys
Blue Hole
For the easiest wildlife watching at National Key Deer Refuge, visit the trail and observation deck at Blue Hole, a cenote-like pond that is the largest body of fresh water in the Florida Keys.
Crane Point Hammock
Part native, part cultivated, Crane Point Hammock is 63 acres of tropical hammock in the heart of Marathon, with one of the most extensive trail networks in the Florida Keys.
Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Protecting more than 6,700 acres of Key Largo to provide prime habitat for the endangered American crocodile, Crocodile Lake NWR has a small visitor complex where you can learn about species conservation at the refuge.
Cuban chugs in Key West
Sometimes we take history for granted. A walk through the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden led to a collection of Cuban chugs, which we didn't know what they were until we learned their story.
Curry Hammock Nature Trail
Marathon 1.7 milesAn immersion into a tropical rockland hammock thick with rare Florida thatch palms, this rugged path leads to a bench overlooking the placid waters of Florida Bay.