Florida Hikes

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

Lush vegetation surrounding footpath in forest

Ocala National Forest

Established in 1908 as the first National Forest east of the Mississippi, the Ocala National Forest is a mecca for hikers as the birthplace of the Florida Trail.

Salt Springs Loop

Salt Springs   1.9 miles

Savor the beauty of the Big Scrub and habitats along crystalline Salt Springs Run on this easy loop on the outskirts of Salt Springs.

Salt Springs Recreation Area

See the beauty of William Bartram's "amazing crystal fountain" as you gaze into the depths of this rocky spring in the Ocala National Forest

Silver Glen Springs

With a strong aquamarine hue accented by refracted rainbows as sunlight plays across the ripples on its sandy bottom, Silver Glen Springs is a first-magnitude spring in the Ocala National Forest.

Silver Springs

Florida's original tourist destination, Silver Springs is both one of the world's largest springs and the name of the community that grew up around it in the 1800s.

Spring Boils Trail

Silver Glen Springs   1.0 miles

A delight to visit, the Spring Boils Trail showcases bubbling springs both big and small, starting within sight of the main springs at Silver Glen Springs before it leads you to coves of tiny bubblers

St. Francis Trail

Deland   7.9 miles

One of Central Florida's most scenic and easy-to-follow day hikes, the St. Francis Trail leads to a ghost town within the St. Johns River floodplain.

The Other Side of Farles Prairie

What's it like to do trail research? Here's a typical day out on the trail for us when we're tracking down relocations of the Florida Trail or finding new trails to add to this website.

The Weeks Act: a Century of Conservation

A follow-up to the conservation legacy of Teddy Roosevelt's administration, The Weeks Act was signed by William Howard Taft in March 1911. It authorized the Federal government - for the first time - to purchase private land to protect watersheds throughout …

The Yearling Trail

Salt Springs   5.3 miles

On Pat's Island, discover the landscape and the history that inspired Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings to write her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Yearling in 1938.

Timucuan Trail

Alexander Springs   0.9 miles

While less than a mile long, the Timucuan Trail at Alexander Springs Recreation Area is the best place to sample the Big Scrub habitats of the Ocala National Forest while enjoying lush habitats along a spring run.

To Hidden Pond

On a return trek to Hidden Pond, we find that all is well in this oasis in the middle of the Juniper Prairie Wilderness, just waiting for backpackers to savor it.