Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Hiking, biking, paddling, camping, and other outdoor recreation, public lands, and communities along the famed Suwannee River, a blackwater river fed by the outflow of Okeefenokee Swamp and hundreds of springs on its 246-mile meander to the Gulf of Mexico.
.Suwannee River
Expect a reroute of the Florida Trail in White Springs, as the Suwannee Valley Campground has been purchased and turned into a nudist resort.
The Big Oak Trail is one of the most scenic hikes in North Florida. Much of the hiking parallels the Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers, which meet here at a confluence.
You hear them well before you can see them: a burble of water that rises to a roar as you approach the Big Shoals of the Suwannee River, Florida’s largest series of rapids complete with hydraulics and holes and Class III whitewater at certain times of year.
At Big Shoals State Park, the Big Shoals Trail leads you to scenic perches high atop the river bluffs when you can watch Florida’s only Class III whitewater rapids
Not far from where the Suwannee River flows out into the Gulf of Mexico, Chiefland is a major community with access to public lands along the Suwannee River and Goethe State Forest.
How do we close the gap in the Florida Trail between the Suwannee and Aucilla Rivers? Learn the history of how the trail was developed and routed through that region, the discussions going on now, and a potential solution for future protection of the trail corridor.
On the Disappearing Creek Loop off the Florida Trail along the Suwannee River, watch Camp Branch burble through rapids and cascade into a giant sinkhole
One of the Suwannee River’s largest swimming holes is the clear, cool reflecting pool of Fanning Springs, located along the edge of its namesake town.
With Florida’s only Class III whitewater and the beauty of a Florida waterfall along a stretch of trail that is rugged but extremely scenic, this 2.8 mile section of the Florida Trail is a real winner
7.4 miles. Rugged climbs through abandoned river channels and along the highest elevations along the Suwannee River make this hike a serious roller-coaster through river bluff forests and sandy beaches.
This roly-poly section of the Florida Trail is pretty rugged despite its short distance, since it involves a lot of scrambling in and out of ravines and eroded bluffs created when the Suwannee River seasonally overflows its banks.
75.5 miles. Along the Suwannee River, the Florida Trail clings to bluffs and scrambles through ravines for physical challenges and great scenery
