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.
The Florida Nature and Heritage Tourism Center in White Springs has been closed permanently. You will still find historic White Sulphur Springs down the stairs from it.
West of Trenton along the Suwannee River, Otter Springs is a second magnitude spring surrounded by clusters of ancient oaks and towering cypress. It is a Gilchrist County Park.
Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park is a top international destination for cave divers thanks to its extensively mapped system of underwater tubes: more than six miles of passageways connecting two major springs, six sinkholes, and the Suwannee River.
Immerse in the massive floodplain forest surrounding the Suwannee River as it nears the Gulf of Mexico, on the the River Trail at Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, a boardwalk to the river’s edge
Staring into Royal Springs, it feels like looking into a bottomless pit. Steep and broad, it drops 42 feet into shimmering waters of turquoise and royal blue.
Between Madison and Marianna and across Wakulla County, explore a colorful collection of natural springs for swimming and snorkeling, all within an hour of Tallahassee.
Visits to four springs along the lower Suwannee River enlightens us as to the changes occurring in Florida’s springs, even in rural areas.
It’s August. It’s Florida. Where do you go to cool off? The springs of the Suwannee River Valley. No matter the size, these natural swimming holes are a delight.
No Florida State Park is as celebrated as Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. For more than a half-century, it’s been home to the Florida Folk Festival, a Memorial Day Weekend treat with over a dozen bands playing on stages simultaneously throughout the expansive green space.
Perched on the bluffs at the confluence of the Withlacoochee and Suwannee Rivers, Suwannee River State Park is one of those don’t-miss Florida outdoors experiences, with two ghost towns, Civil War battlements that once protected a strategic railroad bridge, and the ruins of a former governor’s riverfront mansion.
Showcasing springs, sandy beaches, waterfalls, and haunting swamp forests where manatees gather, the 170-mile Suwannee River Wilderness Trail is a paddling trip of a lifetime
Not so busy thanks to their locations on the lower Suwannee River, this series of four major springs provide another 3-day weekend getaway option for active outdoor recreation in Florida
