Florida Hikes

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

St Johns River at Welaka

St. Johns River

Hiking, biking, paddling, camping, and other outdoor recreation, public lands, and communities along the shores of the St. Johns River. This is Florida’s longest river, rising in marshes west of Vero Beach and flowing northward 310 miles to the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville. As it has a vast floodplain, there are extensive public lands along its entire route.

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.

St. Johns River Center

A destination for environmental education with a dash of regional history, the St. Johns River Center in downtown Palatka tells the story of Florida's longest and most storied river.

Sunflowers on the St. Johns

For more than a decade, I've been chasing sunflower blooms in Florida wetlands in October. In 2021, it's a banner year for these showy beauties in Central Florida.

Taylor Creek Loop

Cocoa   4.7 miles

Blending a historic route of the Florida Trail with an easy return along a forest road, the 4.7 mile Taylor Creek Loop traverses palm hammocks along the St. Johns River floodplain.

Theodore Roosevelt Area

Jacksonville   3.1 miles

Hike 3.1 miles looping around an ancient midden fronting the St. Johns River on this scenic hike honoring the conservation legacy of Willie Brown, who preserved his coastal forest for us to enjoy.

Timucuan Preserve

Florida's northernmost National Park encompasses a diverse collection of historic and cultural sites on both sides of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville.

Timucuan Trail

Jacksonville Northshore   8.4 miles

Connecting a series of state parks north of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, the Timucuan Trail is a delightfully scenic segment of the East Coast Greenway.

Titusville

Between the St. Johns River and the Indian River Lagoon, Titusville is a gateway to nature, trails, and space

Walter Jones Historical Park

Mandarin   0.9 miles

Centered on a farmstead set under a canopy of old-growth riverfront forest at historic Mandarin Point south of Jacksonville, Walter Jones Historical Park is a step into the past.

Welaka State Forest

Welaka   27 miles

Protecting over four miles of forested waterfront on the St. Johns, Welaka State Forest offers a glimpse of what botanists John and William Bartram saw in the 1700s.

William Bartram St. Johns River Loop

Welaka   5.0 miles

Discover the beauty of Welaka State Forest on a 5 mile footpath that winds along ecotones and hugs the bluffs of the St. Johns River to showcase natural wonders that botanist William Bartram documented in 1774.

Yeehaw Junction

A crossroads amid vast agricultural lands, Yeehaw Junction is the nearest "there" to some of Central Florida's more remote trails.