Florida Hikes
Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Following the Kissimmee River floodplain, this is a scenic section of the Florida Trail with a mix of levees, shady woods, river views, open prairies, and cattle ranches.
This is one of those right place, right time stories. As usual, I was lagging at the tail end of our group of backpackers, taking photos and shooting video between Hickory Hammock and Bluff Hammock. Lori Burris, who led our group, stayed with me. After we …
2.7 miles. Burrow deep into the oak hammocks surrounding a beauty spot of the campsite near the Kissimmee River on this short but satisfying hike.
3.7 miles. It looks like a mountain ridge from a distance, but Chandler Slough is a ribbon of cypress strand through the flat Okeechobee prairies. Follow its rim through beautiful oak hammocks and soggy marshes.
3.4 miles. Take in a panorama of marshes busy with birds in the Kissimmee River floodplain at River Ranch along the northernmost reaches of the Kissimmee River
10.1 miles. Ancient live oaks break up the expanse of cattle pastures and prairies along the Florida Trail adjoining the Kissimmee River in KICCO
See why Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park is Florida's only Dark Sky Park along this 11.4 mile "big sky" section of the Florida Trail.
Hike 13.3 miles through the southern extent of one of Florida's largest prairies while connecting the Kissimmee River with the heart of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park.
11.4 miles. Ancient riverside forests and picturesque prairie panoramas along the Kissimmee River make a hike to Micco Bluff worth the walk
14.9 miles. Panoramic views across cattle ranches and the channelized Kissimmee River are the highlights of this connector from Lake Okeechobee to natural lands north of Okeechobee.
8.1 miles. Traversing the heart of the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, the Florida Trail at Prairie Lakes is one of Central Florida's oldest and most scenic hiking destinations.
7.7 miles. Discover a natural cathedral of ancient oaks and palms along a thin ribbon of public land fronting the Kissimmee River floodplain.
8.5 miles. Winding through picturesque prairies and primordial oak hammocks, the Florida Trail showcases the best of Three Lakes WMA south of the Prairie Lakes Unit.
