• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to footer

Florida Hikes LOGO

Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

  • Trails
  • Maps
  • Guidebooks
  • Search
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
    • National Trails System
    • National Parks
    • State Parks
    • Travel Gear
    • Follow our Journeys
  • Gear
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
    • National Trails System
    • National Parks
    • State Parks
    • Travel Gear
    • Follow our Journeys
  • Gear
Florida Trail at Rice Creek

Florida Trail, Northeast Florida

Showcasing the best public lands, the Florida Trail walks you into the past between Palatka and Osceola National Forest, through rural farms and timber lands.


<< Ocala HIKING DETAILS Suwannee >>

Florida Trail, Buckman Lock to SR 20

Florida Trail, Buckman Lock to SR 20

Florida Trail, Northeast Florida  |  Palatka
( 29.546718,-81.726853 )      7.4 miles

7.3 miles. A rough and swampy connector through timber lands, the Florida Trail between Buckman Lock and SR 20 west of Palatka is an often muddy ramble down old forest roads.

Florida Trail, Etoniah West

FT Etoniah West

Etoniah Creek State Forest  |  Florahome
( 29.788240, -81.876247 )      3.5 miles

On this 3.5-mile segment of the Florida Trail in Etoniah State Forest, you’ll encounter the rare Etonia rosemary and a number of sinkholes in the pine forests and scrub

Florida Trail, Gold Head Branch

Florida Trail, Gold Head Branch State Park

Gold Head Branch State Park  |  Keystone Heights
( 29.846850, -81.959783 )      3.5 miles

Following the high ground above Devil’s Washbasin and Gold Head Ravine, the Florida Trail works its way across Gold Head Branch State Park on a scenic 3.5 mile route

Florida Trail, New River to Hampton

Picturesque cypress swamp

Palatka-Lake Butler Trail  |  Starke
( 29.962053,-82.264244 )      9.3 miles

A surprisingly pleasant section of the Florida Trail that sees very few hikers, the most remote part of the Palatka-Lake Butler Trail stretches 9.3 miles between Hampton and the New River, southwest of Starke.

Florida Trail, Nice Wander Loop

Nice Wander Trail

Osceola National Forest  |  Olustee
( 30.212617, -82.389083 )      1.6 miles

In the Osceola National Forest, this short loop adjacent to Olustee Battlefield is one of the easiest places in the state to see red-cockaded woodpeckers

Florida Trail, Rice Creek

Florida Trail, Rice Creek

Palatka      ( 29.682369, -81.736847 )      5.2 miles

Home of ancient cypress trees and the remains of a 1700s rice plantation, Rice Creek Conservation Area has a fascinating loop trail along the statewide Florida Trail

Lake Butler Trail

Lake Butler Trail

September 4, 2015    John Keatley

There aren’t a lot of places you can (or should) bike down the Florida Trail, but the Lake Butler Trail in Union County is a nice country bike path that shares the trail with hikers.

National Forests in Florida Implement New Fees

Ocean Pond Olustee

July 24, 2019    Sandra Friend

Effective July 26, 2019, fees go up at many National Forest campgrounds, boat ramps, and recreation areas

OGT Palatka Visitor Center closed

Buckman Lock at St. Johns South

November 18, 2008    Sandra Friend

The Office of Greenways and Trails quietly closed their Visitor Center at Buckman Lock, near the north end of the Cross Florida Greenway in Palatka, for budget savings.

Palatka-Lake Butler Trail

Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail

Palatka, Keystone Heights, Lake Butler      ( 29.7640, -81.9925 )      47 miles

With a corridor spanning nearly 50 miles through North Florida, the Palatka-Lake Butler State Trail provides paved trail for riders and an unpaved corridor used by the Florida Trail

The Florida Trail: A History

The Florida Trail book interior pages

How to order a copy of The Florida Trail: Florida’s National Scenic Trail, our limited edition full-color coffee table book that tells the comprehensive story of the first 50 years of routing, building, maintaining, and enjoying our statewide National Scenic Trail.

The Rainbow Swamp

January 22, 2016    Sandra Friend

A perfect combination of cold weather, blue skies, and winter in a North Florida cypress swamp let us happen upon two instances of rainbow swamps on a hike in the Osecola Experimental Forest. Does that make a double rainbow?

Footer

FIND YOUR WAY

NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. Crestview. DeFuniak Springs. Destin. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Fort Walton Beach. Freeport. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Navarre Beach . Niceville. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka

NORTH FLORIDA
Amelia Island. Branford. Bunnell. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Gainesville. Green Cove Springs. High Springs. Jacksonville. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler.Lake City. Live Oak. Mayo. Micanopy. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Perry. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Welaka. White Springs. Williston

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

MULTI-REGION
Big Cypress Swamp. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka. Belleview. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Christmas. Chuluota. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. Daytona Beach. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Frostproof. Geneva. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Lakeland. Largo. Leesburg. Longwood. Melbourne. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Ocala. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Orlando. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Palm Bay. Ridge Manor. Sanford. Silver Springs. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. St. Petersburg. Tampa. Tarpon Springs. Titusville . Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor. Ding Darling NWR. Englewood. Estero. Fort Myers. Immokalee. Naples. Pine Island. Port Charlotte. Punta Gorda. Sanibel Island. Sarasota. Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Clewiston. Everglades City. Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. LaBelle. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Pahokee. Port Mayaca. Sebring. South Bay

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

  • Trails
  • Parks
  • Beaches
  • Gardens
  • Springs
  • Ecotours
  • Attractions
©2006-2019, Sandra Friend & John Keatley | Disclosure | Site Index | Work with Us
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy | Florida Hikes PO Box 93 Mims FL 32754| Contact