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Florida Hikes!

Your guide to Florida's outdoors, by Sandra Friend, Florida's hiking expert, and her co-author John Keatley, covering the Florida Trail and other trails throughout Florida.

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Canoeing Shingle Creek

Shingle Creek Regional Park
Kissimmee   [28.303795,-81.451203]   

Canoeing Shingle Creek

Paddle down Shingle Creek from Shingle Creek Regional Park at Steffee Landing in Kissimmee, where canoe and kayak rentals are now available for visitors.

Filed Under: Blog, Canoe & kayak rentals, From our readers, Get Outdoors, Go Paddling, Launch points, Paddling, Waterways Tagged With: Kissimmee, Orlando, Shingle Creek Regional Park

Catfish Creek Preserve State Park

Dundee   [27.984103,-81.497243]   

Catfish Creek Preserve State Park

On the ridges at Catfish Creek Preserve State Park, some steep as a ski slope, these elevated slivers of blinding white sand are some of Florida’s most ancient hills.

Filed Under: Central Florida, Day Hikes, Equestrian, Florida State Parks, Hikes, Loop Trails, Parks Tagged With: Birding, Botanical, Fishing, Hilly, Kissimmee, Lake Wales, Lake Wales Ridge, Lakeland, Wildlife Viewing

Catfish Creek Preserve Trails

Catfish Creek Preserve State Park
Dundee   [27.983800,-81.496800]   3.5 miles

Catfish Creek Preserve Trails

Allan David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park isn’t just “a perfect example of Lake Wales Ridge Scrub,” it’s a landscape unlike any other you’ll find in Florida.

Filed Under: Central Florida, Day Hikes, Florida State Parks, Hikes, Loop Trails, Trails Tagged With: Birding, Botanical, Catfish Creek SP, Fishing, Kissimmee, Lake Wales, Lakeland, Scenic, Wildlife Viewing

Clermont

Clermont

At the northernmost extent of the Lake Wales Ridge, the rolling hills of Clermont touch the edge of the Green Swamp. It’s at this intersection you’ll find interesting places to hike and cycle in state parks and other natural lands.

Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach

Home of “I Dream of Jeannie” and the best surfing on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, Cocoa Beach is a top destination for beachgoers and folks who just love to play outdoors.

Disney Wilderness Preserve

Poinciana   [28.129015,-81.430470]   2.5 miles

Disney Wilderness Preserve

Managed by The Nature Conservancy, the Disney Wilderness Preserve is a 12,000 acre showcase for habitat conservation amid growing suburban sprawl south of Orlando

Filed Under: Central Florida, Day Hikes, Hikes, Loop Trails, Nature Centers, Trails Tagged With: Accessible, Birding, Clermont, Kissimmee, Orlando, Poinciana, Walt Disney World, Wildflowers

Fall in the floodplain

January 13, 2012 by Sandra Friend Leave a Comment

For years, I’ve heard people fuss about the “lack of seasons” in Florida. Spend a little time in the woods, and you’ll tune in to Florida’s unique seasonality. Wildflowers do the best job of showing off what time of year it is, but our floodplain forests do, too. Depending on where you are in the […]

Filed Under: Blog, Get Outdoors Tagged With: Kissimmee, Melbourne, St. Cloud

Florida Trail, Western Corridor

Florida Trail, Western Corridor

241.0 miles. The Western Corridor provides excellent hiking opportunities within easy reach of residents of the Tampa Bay area, offering numerous backpacking loops. It traverses the Green Swamp in addition to vast sections of Withlacoochee State Forest and the entire Cross Florida Greenway.

Gatorland

Orlando   [28.355165,-81.40424]   

Gatorland

Gatorland is not just a historic Florida attraction but an immersion into what this part of Central Florida used to be, a cypress swamp full of critters.

Filed Under: Central Florida, Natural Attractions Tagged With: alligators, Birding, Family-friendly, Historic Sites, Kissimmee, Orlando, Walt Disney World, Wildlife Viewing

Help save Split Oak Forest

October 1, 2017 by Sandra Friend Leave a Comment

Help save Split Oak Forest

The irony is beyond comprehension. Split Oak WEA was preserved for wildlife as mitigation regional development. Now, it’s lack of development puts it at risk of being sliced in two by an extension of the Osceola Parkway – which is being built because of all the development.

Filed Under: Advocacy, Blog, News Tagged With: Kissimmee, Narcoosee, Orlando, St. Cloud

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Updates on Florida’s outdoors


Hiking Guidebooks for Florida

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The Florida Trail


Celebrating 50 years of Florida's favorite hiking destination. 228 pages, full color.

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Latest Articles

Celebrate National Park Week

Celebrate National Park Week

Sandra Friend receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Sandra Friend receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Alligators Everywhere

Alligators Everywhere

Bike ride at Orlando Wetlands Park

Bike ride at Orlando Wetlands Park

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NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola . Apalachicola National Forest . Apalachicola River . Blackwater River State Forest . Blountstown . Crawfordville. Crestview . DeFuniak Springs . Destin . Fort Walton Beach . Ebro . Freeport . Gulf Islands National Seashore . Madison . Marianna . Milton . Navarre . Niceville . Panama City Beach . Pensacola . Ponce De Leon . Port St. Joe . Sopchoppy . St. Marks . St. Marks NWR . Tallahassee

NORTH FLORIDA
Amelia Island . Cedar Key . Chiefland . Fernandina Beach . Flagler Beach . Gainesville .High Springs . Jacksonville . Lake City . Live Oak . Mayo . Micanopy . Osceola National Forest . Palatka . Perry . Salt Springs . St. Augustine . Steinhatchee . Suwannee River Wilderness Trail . Trenton . White Springs

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka . Belleview . Brandon . Brooksville . Bushnell . Canaveral National Seashore . Christmas . Clearwater Beach . Clermont . Cocoa Beach . Cross Florida Greenway . Crystal River . Dade City . Daytona Beach . Deland . Deltona . Dunnellon . Frostproof . Geneva . Inverness . Kissimmee . Lakeland . Lake Wales . Leesburg . Melbourne . Merritt Island NWR . Mount Dora . New Port Richey . New Smyrna Beach . Ocala . Ocala National Forest .Orlando . Ormond Beach . Oviedo . Sanford . Silver Springs . St. Cloud . St. Petersburg . Tampa . Tarpon Springs . Titusville . Walt Disney World . Withlacoochee State Forest . Withlacoochee State Trail . Yeehaw Junction

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

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia . Big Cypress . Big Cypress National Preserve . Clewiston . Everglades City . Everglades National Park . Fisheating Creek . Lake Okeechobee . Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail . Lake Placid . Moore Haven . Okeechobee . Sebring

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Biscayne Bay . Biscayne National Park . Boca Raton . Coral Gables . Everglades National Park . Florida Keys . Fort Lauderdale . Fort Pierce . Hobe Sound . Homestead . Jupiter . Key Biscayne . Miami . Ocean to Lake . Palm Beach . Port St. Lucie . Sebastian . Stuart . Vero Beach . West Palm Beach

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