Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Sitting atop the ancient dunes of the Lake Wales Ridge, Lake Wales is rich with outdoor recreation opportunities with panoramic views
Discover the beauty of the land between the lakes east of Lake Wales while exploring the vast prairies and fern-laden hammocks of Lake Kissimmee State Park
South of Lake Apopka, the Lake Wales Ridge is a significant landform down the middle of the Florida peninsula, with its highest hills and oldest biological communities.
Atop the ancient sands of the Lake Wales Ridge, this massive state forest offers provides hikers and equestrians an expansive network of trails.
Crossing the Lake Kissimmee State Park park drive multiple times, the 6.8-mile North Loop is the easiest trail to access within the park, offering excellent birding
Atop one of the highest points in Florida stands a monument to an immigrant who lived the American Dream and decided that his legacy would be to preserve this high point: Bok Tower Gardens
An easy loop trail traverses scattered prairie ponds within a dry ecosystem suitable for one of the state’s most endangered birds, the Florida scrub-jay.
With up to 6.2 miles of trails – many of them a bit wet – SUMICA is one of the natural lands in Polk County where birding is especially superb.
We launched a new full-color edition of 50 Hikes in Central Florida at the National Trails Festival in Deland the first weekend of October. Take a peek inside.
Edward Bok’s “Jungle,” a deeply folded landscape between Tiger Creek and Patrick Creek south of Lake Wales, is protected by The Nature Conservancy as Tiger Creek Preserve.
Offroad riding means a lot of bounce, especially on a washboarded limerock road like KICCO Grade. Adding trekking bars to John’s mountain bike made all the difference.
