Bellini Preserve
Poinciana 5.7 milesOn the eastern shore of Lake Marion, miles of marked trails explore a variety of natural communities including endangered scrub forests and pine flatwoods.
Catfish Creek Preserve State Park
Lake Wales 10.2 milesAt Catfish Creek Preserve State Park, the steep ridges of blinding white sand are some of Florida's most ancient landscapes, an unusual and unique natural area for Central Florida.
Catfish Creek Preserve Trails
Lake Wales 3.5 milesAllan 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.
Cherokee Point Conservation Area
St. Cloud 1.0 milesProtecting a marshy peninsula on the eastern shore of Lake Tohopekaliga, this remote preserve provides a panorama of natural wetlands from its boardwalk.
Day hikes near Sea World and Universal Studios
Hikes near Orlando theme parks, by reader request. The area between Sea World and Universal Studios is both heavily populated and commercial, so you have to drive beyond the Orlando International Airport to find the wild places.
Disney Wilderness Preserve
Kissimmee 2.5 milesProtected and managed by The Nature Conservancy, Disney Wilderness Preserve is a 11,500 acre showcase for habitat conservation amid suburban sprawl south of Orlando.
Fall in the floodplain
Don't believe people when they say there are no seasons in Florida. We always look forward to the change of color in Florida's floodplains, even if they happen in December.
Florida Trail, Western Corridor
St. Cloud to Salt Springs 241.1 milesLinking Withlacoochee State Forest and the Cross Florida Greenway, the 241 mile Western Corridor of the Florida Trail accesses wild spaces between Tampa and Ocala.
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.
Historic Babb Landing
Kissimmee 1.8 milesHome to Osceola Pioneer Village, this 160-acre segment of Shingle Creek Regional Park edges Shingle Creek with easy accessible trails looping a former homestead and citrus grove.
Lake Lizzie Conservation Area
St. Cloud 11.0 milesHugging the eastern shore of Lake Lizzie, Lake Lizzie Conservation Area encompasses more than a thousand acres, a vast mosaic of prairies, pine flatwoods, and scrub forest.
Lake Marion Huckleberry Island
Poinciana 4.2 milesProviding an easy walk into 8,000 acres of uplands draining into Lake Marion Creek, the trail system on Huckleberry Island at Lake Marion Creek WMA leads 4.2 miles.