Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Known as Florida’s Canoe Capital thanks to the Blackwater River and its tributaries, Milton has fabulous hiking and biking trails as well
INTERACTIVE MAP
Near Milton, Arcadia Mill showcases ongoing work to uncover Florida’s first “modern” industrial complex.
At Blackwater River State Forest, each of the recreation areas offers access to hiking, and popular Bear Lake is no exception. A 4-mile trail loops around this impounded reservoir, which flows into Sweetwater Creek.
At Blackwater River State Forest near Milton, immerse yourself in the largest state forest in Florida: 190,000 acres surrounding the Blackwater River and its tributaries.
Blackwater River State Park is the gateway to thousands of acres of public lands stretching northward to the Alabama border.
A candid review of the campground at Blackwater River State Park near Milton, where we spent nearly a week, in numerous different sites, in spring 2013.
At Blackwater River State Park, the Chain of Lakes Trail provides access to sandy beaches along the river and meanders along oxbow lakes out to pine flatwoods in a loop
The Clear Creek Nature Trail leads you to a wonderland of bright blossoms and lacy white-veined trumpets reflected against reflections of the sky.
A private nature retreat north of Milton, Coldwater Gardens is a study in serenity, melding camping, gardening, and enjoyment of natural habitats along the Coldwater Creek basin.
With two hikes behind us, we drove toward west to join the Panhandle Trace Hike. Knowing that after ten years of leading this event long-time Florida Trail Association activity leader Peggy Grantham would be retiring, Sandy wanted to participate this year and fill in a few new spots on the Florida Trail map. We arrived …
Enjoy a cool dip in the Blackwater River at Blackwater River State Park near Milton. The Florida Trail runs right through the park, crossing Deaton Bridge, but your best access to the least-busy broad sandy beach on a river bend is along the Chain of Lakes Trail, an interpretive trail that follows old oxbows left …
At the University of West Florida, the Edward Ball Nature Trail offers an escape for quiet contemplation beneath the shade of old cypresses on a 1 mile loop.
In mid-April, the pitcher plants of Santa Rosa County are at their peak of bloom. During the 2013 Panhandle Trace Hike, we went in search of them and here’s what we found.
