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.
At Ralph E. Simmons State Forest, the Yellow and Red Trails provide a 3.6 mile figure-eight hike with a picturesque view of the St. Marys River and the state of Georgia beyond.
With more than 3600 acres along the St. Marys River, Simmons State Forest offers nearly 12 miles of hiking in a botanically significant basin on Florida’s border with Georgia.
At Ralph E. Simmons State Forest, the White Trail is a 7 mile loop through the rugged and diverse northernmost extent of the forest, with side trails to campsites along the St. Marys River.
Winding 1.4 miles through the slough, the broad wheelchair-accessible boardwalk at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers leads you into a dark cypress strand
Named for a feature on old navigational maps, Sleeping Turtles Preserve North lets you see the Myakka River from its bluffs
At Smyrna Dunes Park, this 2.4-mile hike scenic coastal hike is largely along an accessible boardwalk, with side trips off to the sea and inlet via more rugged approaches.
The Snake Bight Trail in Everglades National Park leads you a wild place where tropical forests meet the mangrove shorelines of Florida Bay, where crocodiles cruise the saline shallows and mosquitoes thicken the air.
The interpretive Soldier’s Hole Trail at Fort De Soto State Park offers a close look at the three varieties of mangroves that grow in Florida plus some gorgeous views of Bunce’s Pass.
Within sight of the Atlantic Ocean, Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park is a rare patch of green space in the city of Key West, with native trees and a natural freshwater pond.
The South Creek and Lester Finley Trails are part of the South Trail System at Oscar Scherer State Park, focusing on the flow of South Creek towards Little Sarasota Bay.
Place your hands in Neil Armstrong’s handprints and look up to the moon at this unique waterfront park in downtown Titusville that recounts the history of the American space program.
A live oak tree more than 200 years old is the centerpiece of Split Oak Forest, a 2,000-acre prairie and scrub preserve near Orlando, home to families of sandhill cranes
