Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

In the Dark

January 11, 2013    John Keatley

After our wonderful reception at the I-75 rest area, several hikers decided to backtrack a bit and camp.  I decided to push on and try for a few more miles.  I was rested and filled with good food. It wasn’t long after I made it through the north I-75 gate to Nobles Road that the …

Kicking off Hiker Season with Primrose

January 29, 2014    John Keatley

On January 5th, we loaded up Primrose and headed south, traveling parallel to the Florida Trail for much of the trip, starting out at Christmas. Driving south of Tosahatchee, we continued through the Deseret Ranch where we spotted our first two Florida Trail thru-hikers walking up the highway. Although they are not keeping online journals, …

Kingsley Plantation

Timucuan Preserve  |  Jacksonville
( 30.438971, -81.437571 )      0.8 miles

One of the historic treasures of Timucuan Preserve in Jacksonville, Kingsley Plantation interprets the everyday lives of free and enslaved peoples on an early 1800s Florida plantation.

Mahogany Hammock Trail

November 10, 2011    Sandra Friend

Mahogany Hammock is a tree island, a tropical oasis in the Everglades “river of grass,” where the short boardwalk trail immerses you in the jungle-like hammock.

New Florida National Scenic Trail terminus dedicated

January 4, 2013    Sandra Friend

This morning marked the first time that Florida Trail thru-hikers could get their picture taken in front of a terminus marker as found, say, on Springer Mountain in Georgia or Mt. Kathadin in Maine. Although the monument isn’t in place yet – the chunk of limestone hadn’t arrived – here’s a look at the marker …

Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk

November 10, 2011    Sandra Friend

For a sweeping panorama of the “River of Grass” from a personal perspective, get out of your car and walk the short Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk at Everglades National Park.

Pinelands Ecotone

Everglades National Park  |  Long Pine Key
( 25.434370, -80.695732 )      5.9 miles

Unnamed, un-blazed, and wild, on an old jeep road, the Pinelands Ecotone is an extraordinary hike between two rare habitats – pine rocklands and sawgrass prairies.

Pinelands Trail

Everglades National Park  |  Long Pine Key
( 25.423100, -80.679800 )      0.4 miles

The Pinelands Trail is a showcase for South Florida’s weird and wonderful karst, a limestone bedrock that’s full of Swiss-cheese like holes, in a tropical forest where colorful tree snails make their home.