Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Florida is the only state in the United States with mangroves. Here’s where to find them.
At Amberjack Environmental Park, a surprising collision of scrub and mangrove habitats occurs in Rotunda in the Cape Haze peninsula of Charlotte County.
Explore coastal habitats on the Arrowhead Nature Trail at Fort De Soto Park, an interpretive walk where you’ll learn about salt-dependent plants along Mullet Key Bayou.
One of the lesser-known trails at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at the Bailey Tract, off Tarpon Bay Road. Loop around impoundments with great birding.
The 0.4 mile Barrier Free Trail at Fort De Soto Park has a graded path wide enough for two wheelchairs to pass and six touch-activated interpretive speakers along the path.
Home to a gentle 1-mile loop hike through coastal habitats, Barrier Island Sanctuary is a gateway to Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, with an informative oceanfront coastal biology center.
Providing a walk through the mangrove-lined edge of Florida Bay and the unique coastal prairie habitat within a short loop, the Bayshore Loop takes you what’s left of the fishing village of Flamingo.
On the shores of the Atlantic Ocean at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, Bear Cut Nature Preserve is a precious sliver of natural oceanfront in Miami with both hiking and bike paths
Paralleling the former Homestead Canal, the Bear Lake Trail takes you on a journey through tropical hammock and mangrove forests along a road scooped from the canal diggings.
A 1.8-mile loop through the uplands of Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, the Bella Vista Trail walks you through most of the habitats found on this barrier island.
Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve protects more than 200 acres of mangrove marsh, mud flats, and coastal uplands right on the edge of downtown Flagler Beach
At Lovers Key State Park, head to the north end of the island to explore the Black Island Trail. Shared with mountain bikers, the trail system at Black Island consists of two separate loops linked by an unpaved service road.
Black mangroves have shiny leaves and dark round seed cases. Their most distinguishing feature is their pnuemataphores, finger-like protrusions around the tree like slender, miniature cypress knees.
