Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
Parks, natural lands, and trails notable for wildlife encounters, the whole range from armadillos to alligators, Florida black bears to gopher tortoises, and manatees to whales.
Explore coastal habitats on the Arrowhead Nature Trail at Fort De Soto Park, an interpretive walk where you’ll learn about salt-dependent plants along Mullet Key Bayou.
At the edge of Boynton Beach, where historic farmlands have given way to subdivisions, Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a 145,000 acre buffer between suburbia and the Everglades
Protecting what remains of the forested Atlantic Ridge between the Indian River and the St. Lucie River, this secluded state park is hidden behind subdivisions in Stuart.
The original Cedar Key isn’t where you think it is. It’s offshore, within sight of the current historic waterfront, an island called Atsena Otie Key, part of Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge.
At Babcock Wilderness Adventures – a popular ecotourism attraction east of Punta Gorda – the Ecotour Trail is a no-cost option to getting your feet wet on an exploration of wet flatwoods habitats along a well-maintained trail through the palmetto prairie.
One of the lesser-known trails at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is at the Bailey Tract, off Tarpon Bay Road. Loop around impoundments with great birding.
In a hidden corner of Collier County, Barefoot Beach Preserve provides immersion in nature at a beauty spot along two miles of natural shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico just north of Wiggins Pass.
Circling Levy Prairie at Barr Hammock Preserve provides a glimmer of understanding of the chain of prairies that William Bartram saw during his 1774 traverse of the region
At Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, the Barrier Island Nature Trail gets you away from the busy beach and into a patch of wilds along a slender barrier island
Home to a gentle 1-mile loop hike through coastal habitats, Barrier Island Sanctuary is a gateway to Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, with an informative oceanfront coastal biology center.
Along the St. Johns River at Lake Beresford, discover the river anew through William Bartram’s eyes as he recorded his observations of alligators, fish, and flora in 1774
Bayard Conservation Area preserves an untouched riverfront forest on the St. Johns River. Follow this route through the John P. Hall Nature Preserve to visit the river
