Florida Hikes

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

Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay is one of Florida’s largest landforms, a large shallow bay with many urban communities along its shores, most notably Tampa and St. Petersburg.

Apollo Beach Nature Preserve

Encompassing 63 acres along Tampa Bay, Apollo Beach Nature Preserve offers a natural waterfront and scenic views from an accessible observation tower.

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

St. Petersburg   3.5 miles

An oasis of natural landscapes in St. Petersburg features a nature center, bird of prey aviary, and 3.5 miles of hiking through several distinct habitats.

Bradenton

Between St. Petersburg and Sarasota, Bradenton is a coastal community on the Manatee River, home to a rich archaeological heritage and a national park, De Soto National Memorial.

Clam Bayou Nature Preserve

St. Petersburg   1.0 miles

Along an environmentally significant estuary of Boca Ciega Bay, Clam Bayou Nature Preserve offers well-established trails with several overlooks and a kayak launch

Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve

Tampa   1.8 miles

Directly across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, two loop trails in Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve navigate restored wetlands and a lookout point known as Mount Cockroach.

Cockroach Creek Greenway

Ruskin   4.0 miles

Surrounded by commercial farming, this rare piece of conserved natural land offers upland loops around a creek feeding Cockroach Bay.

De Soto National Memorial

Bradenton   1.2 miles

Interpreting the landing of Spanish conquistador Hernando De Soto, De Soto National Memorial occupies a peninsula where the Manatee River flows into Tampa Bay.

E.G. Simmons Park

E.G. Simmons Park in Ruskin offers a campground along with its beaches and mazy mangrove-lined waterways for paddlers and anglers along Tampa Bay.

Egmont Key State Park

In Tampa Bay, Egmont Key, an island that was once a Civil War refugee camp, is now a bird rookery and historic site, with trails accessible only by boat.

Emerson Point Beach Walk Trail

Palmetto   0.8 miles

Pick a path through a tangle of mangrove roots on this wild shoreline where Terra Ceia Bay and the Manatee River mingle their waters at Tampa Bay.

Emerson Point Preserve

Palmetto   6.8 miles

Where the Manatee River meets Tampa Bay, Emerson Point Preserve has a network of trails around a complex centered on one of Florida's most ancient temple mounds, the Portavant Mound, near Bradenton.

Florida’s Waters

In Florida, water is an ever-present part of our lives. A visit to the Rainbow River yesterday brought back memories of the past and concerns for the future of Florida's waters.