Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Outdoor recreation in Lakeport on the western shoreline of Lake Okeechobee
Our 2018 update of the state of the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee. Thru-hikers should continue to use Okeechobee West as their route around the lake. We provide full details on why.
Nine days, 109 miles: that’s the circuit around Lake Okeechobee to complete a walk around the second largest lake inside American borders on the Big O Hike.
Making the decision to walk the Florida Trail east or west around Lake Okeechobee used to be easy. Now, with construction zones blocking access to much of the southern half of the lake, it isn’t. Here are the facts on each route’s strengths and weaknesses to help you decide the best route for you.
For an immersion into the soul of ancient Florida, plan a paddle down Fisheating Creek. This wild and scenic waterway wends its way south through a puzzle of dense cypresses towards Lake Okeechobee
112.8 miles. Looping around one of America’s largest lakes, the Okeechobee section of the Florida Trail provides panoramic views from atop the Herbert Hoover Dike.
Heading north through Big Cypress, the Florida Trail immerses hikers through one of the last wild spaces of the region, then connects to Okeechobee via dikes.
Explore Fort Center, a pre-Colombian village lost in Florida’s past – and uncovered again by archaeologists – by following this trail in Fisheating Creek WMA.
Covering 730 square miles, Lake Okeechobee is the liquid heart of South Florida
An overlay on the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee, the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail provides a mostly paved cycling and walking route around the second largest lake entirely within the borders of the United States.
