Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
The northern terminus of the Florida Trail is at Pensacola Beach, but the wonders of this region extend far inland
Stretching across three Gulf Coast states, Gulf Islands National Seashore protects portions of the barrier islands between Navarre Beach, Florida and Gulfport, Mississippi.
Naval Live Oaks Preserve outside Pensacola was our nation’s first tree farm, established in 1828 by President John Quincy Adams to protect a significant coastal stand of live oaks for military use
Gulf Islands National Seashore in Pensacola is the fortunate recipient of federal stimulus funds for National Parks, according to a story in the Pensacola News-Journal. Part of the funds will be used to replace an existing natural surface trail with a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk. My guess is that it will provide access from the visitor center …
It was a delight this year – Peggy Grantham’s last as hike leader – to join the Panhandle Trace and get to know the far northern reaches of the Florida Trail. It’s been 11 years since I hiked through Blackwater River State Forest and while some things remain the same, others certainly have changed. I …
With nearly a mile of boardwalks above Pensacola Bay, Pensacola Bay Bluffs Park offers scrambles up and down the steep hillside on many sets of staircases.
Sugary-white sand and emerald water are counterpoints on a hike that leads you through nearly 4 miles of pristine dunes – up and over and down, a true roller-coaster of a hike – at the UWF Dunes Preserve in Pensacola Beach
With sand so white you’d think it was fresh-fallen snow, Perdido Key State Park tempts with a slice of natural beach amid condos and hotels crowding the Gulf Coast at Florida’s westernmost point.
I spent a weekend seeking out Florida’s most uncommon and unusual flora – pitcher plants – in their stronghold of the Western Panhandle. Here’s what I found.
At Tarkiln Bayou State Park, the showy blooms of pitcher plants are on parade each spring. The boggy Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie is ground zero for these beauties.
Conserving a vast swath of wetland habitats in low-lying areas along the Perdido River floodplain, Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park is home to four species of Sarracenia – pitcher plants – unique to the Gulf Coast.
Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park offers several trails – including an accessible boardwalk – leading to pitcher plant bogs along a bayou on the Alabama border, west of Pensacola.
The tower at Big Lagoon State Park offers a sweeping view of the park, the lagoon, the Gulf of Mexico, parts of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Perdido Key, and the surrounding shorelines.
