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 2020 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.
Beloved of paddlers and largely protected by Fisheating Creek WMA, South Florida’s wildest waterway rises south of Lake Placid and flows towards Lake Okeechobee.
10.4 miles. Along the vast marshes that buffer Buckhead Ridge, the sweep of the Florida Trail past Indian Prairie leads up to the mouth of the Kissimmee River
11.9 miles. In the sweep of the Herbert Hoover Dike past Lakeport, the Florida Trail overlooks the vast western marshes of 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.
Discover uniquely wild panoramas along Lake Okeechobee with a walk on this paved trail in Lakeport
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.
