Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
The Orlando section of the Florida Trail spans from the Ocala National Forest south through the prairies of Osceola County, encompassing the eastern suburbs of the Orlando metro.
At Three Lakes WMA / Prairie Lakes Unit, the Florida Trail traverses one of the largest expanses of open prairie in the Southeast, the Kissimmee Prairie.
Bridging an immense expanse of pine flatwoods bisected by floodplain forests, an 11-mile segment of the statewide Florida Trail crosses Tosohatchee WMA.
Along this 8.6-mile route spanning the eastern side of Bronson State Forest, experience the majesty of ancient oak and palm hammocks near the St. Johns River.
Dueling fireworks – Winter Springs and Oviedo – were visible from the Florida Trail the other night if you knew where to look! The Cross Seminole Trail bridge over SR 434 makes a great viewing platform.
A hike along the Cross Seminole Trail – which the Florida Trail follows – through Oviedo and Winter Springs means an introduction to suburbia in the Orlando metro.
JK learns what it’s like to hike the Florida Trail through the Orlando metro, following paved bike trails past McDonalds, over Interstate 4, and yes, even encountering deer.
Tieing together the Florida Trail, the Kolokee Trail, and the Flagler Trail, the 5.6-mile Kolokee Loop in Little Big Econ State Forest shows off the best facets of the its humid subtropical forest.
While The Senator is a charred stump, thanks to an arsonist, the grandeur of its surroundings at Big Tree Park – including a 2,000-year-old cypress – has reopened to the public.
While hiking through Mills Creek Woodlands on the Florida Trail, I came across these memorials to long time trail maintainers who have spent decades working on the trail in the Orlando area.
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 2013 thru-hikers catch up with us at Little Big Econ State Forest, and we invite as many as we can squeeze in back home for a nero day and a taste of suburban life.
