Family-friendly hikes

A tiny slice of native pine rocklands survives in a corner of this Miami city park, where paved nature trails provide access for all into a glimpse of what landscaped yards would look like if left to nature’s way. Resources Overview Location: Miami Length: 0.6 miles Lat-Long: 25.738433, -80.308917 Type: paved interconnecting trails Fees / [...]

I came here in search of a garden, and found a park. Having read that a small wildflower garden was tucked within this 22 acre park in northern Gainesville, I figured it was worth visiting for the sake of my botanical research. And the park I found surprised me. For such a small swath of [...]

Many footsteps have pressed into the sands of Anastasia Island, from the most ancient peoples who thrived on its bountiful shores to the Timucua who explored the coastline in their canoes, and the Spanish explorers who claimed this coast for Spain in 1565, establishing what is now the oldest continually occupied European settlement in America, [...]

A breezy walk along the St. Johns River is an easy way to start your day in Jacksonville at the Arlington Lions Club Park. With a 3/4-mile unpaved trail, 1/4-mile accessible trail, and connecting boardwalks along the river, all with plenty of park benches for resting, this trail system is a comfortable excursion for visitors [...]

Beaches in the Big Bend are rare, since this stretch of shoreline is defined by coastal estuaries and there is a lack of barrier islands. Still, in the sweep of the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico between Apalachicola and Cedar Key, you’ll find slim ribbons and tiny patches of beach. Where Ochlockonee Bay meets [...]

On the shores of Biscayne Bay at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, Bear Cut Nature Preserve is a precious sliver of natural bayfront in Miami. The preserve provides hiking along the waterfront and in the shade of tropical trees on a trail system of footpaths that intertwine with paved trails, ending up at an overlook [...]

Little known except to those who frequent this beautiful campground in the Salt Springs Recreation Area in the Ocala National Forest, the Bear Swamp Trail provides a glimpse into the ancient forest that undoubtedly crowded the shores of Salt Springs when botanist and explorer William Bartram visited the “amazing crystal fountain” in 1774. The easy [...]

The southernmost trail on Big Talbot Island is the 0.8-mile Big Pine Trail, a short walk out to a bluff above the estuary. A maritime hammock surrounds a slash pine forest which the trail meanders through, always riffled by a stiff salt breeze. A spur trail leads to the scenic view, and you can clamber [...]

I’m saddened to report the loss of the Big Tree, the Senator, to a fire that scorched its insides and brought it down. A second Big Tree, Lady Liberty, is still standing at Big Tree Park, and a hike into Spring Hammock Preserve will wow you with the wonders of numerous cypresses more than a [...]

A ribbon of asphalt that connects communities and parks within the historic Apalachicola River town of Blountstown, the Blountstown Greenway is ideal for walking or biking and, in part, serves as a path for the Florida Trail through the center of town. Heavily shaded by deep upland forest for much of the journey, it connects [...]

If you’ve never seen manatees by the dozens, let alone a hundred or more, there’s no better place in Florida to watch these gentle giants drift past than near Deland along the boardwalk at Blue Spring State Park, paralleling the length of Blue Spring Run to the St. Johns River. This short, easy trail offers [...]

Boyd Hill Park originally began its life as a zoo and botanical garden for the city of St. Petersburg. It has since evolved over the decades into a mosaic of natural habitats and wild tropical landscapes along the shores of Lake Maggiore. From the outer Main Trail, there are five side trails (mostly loops) showcasing [...]

Circle a cypress lined pond in the Apalachicola National Forest on the Camel Lake Loop. It’s a short hike on high ground in a place where most habitats are downright swampy. Despite the name of the Camel Lake Recreation Area, this body of water is Camel Pond, one of many large ponds in this part [...]

At Cary State Forest, you have the opportunity for a highly accessible, close-up look at carnivorous pitcher plants in the wild. While the 3,413-acre forest has dozens of miles of multi-use trails and is popular with local equestrians, the 1.4-mile Cary Nature Trail is hiking only, a great short walk for kids and persons of [...]

Protecting more than 300 acres of coastal habitats along the meandering, estuarine San Pablo River, Castaway Island Preserve is a breezy spot to get away from the city neighborhoods and enjoy a breath of fresh air outdoors. A peninsula on the edge of suburbia, it’s its own world once you pass through the gates. Ibis [...]

Follow the signs out through the residential area to this large compound established in 1962 as the first museum to capture Cedar Key’s long history as presented by St. Clair Whitman, a colorful local man who started his own personal museum of artifacts and seashells. Whitman’s house is under restoration on the property; a short [...]

Showcasing the interface of freshwater and saltwater habitats along Charlotte Harbor, Alligator Creek Preserve in Punta Gorda is an outreach center and living laboratory of the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center at Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park. Here, the stir of a salt breeze riffles across cypress domes close to the sea. Resources Overview Location: Punta [...]

The Nature Center Tract is a birder’s delight. On a hike there with my parents, we saw at least two different pileated woodpeckers, and could hear sandhill cranes in the distance. The volunteer caretaking the nature center said that the sandhill cranes commonly gather in flocks here. The major loop trail on this tract circles [...]

Imagine a wonderland of bright red blossoms and lacy white-veined trumpets reflected against reflections of the sky, where everywhere you turn, beauty surrounds you. You’ll find it near Milton at the Clear Creek Nature Trail. When I arrived at the peak of pitcher plant blooming season at the Clear Creek Nature Trail (early April) and [...]

Call it the Ocean-to-Lagoon Hike: this loop trail through one of Brevard County’s most diverse natural lands connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon in Melbourne Beach. Showcasing an array of habitats that change as you step up and down from coastal dunes to the shores of Florida’s largest lagoon, Coconut Point Sanctuary [...]

Explore Leffis Key on a series of trails and boardwalks through mangrove tunnels on the Coquina Baywalk. A unspoiled sliver between the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay, Leffis Key sits between Bradenton Beach and Longboat Key. Although the entire trail system is less than a mile, it’s fun to explore. The trails offer great [...]

Crews Lake Park in northern Pasco County offers a hiking loop with a nice immersion into the sandhills, where you’ll see lots of spring and fall wildflowers.Although the trail loses its natural feel as it passes through the picnic areas along the former lakeshore – the lake now receded due to tapping of the aquifer [...]

Walk a gentle loop through the longleaf pine forest that saw one of the bloodiest moments in Florida history. On December 28, 1835, Seminole warriors who opposed the federal government’s attempt to remove them from Florida waited in ambush for U.S. Army soldiers marching down the Fort King Military Road. The Seminoles’ initial attack killed [...]

The coast of Walton County is home to rare coastal dune lakes, an ecosystem that only exists in Florida and in Australia and Africa, and you’ll find them at Deer Lake State Park. As the freshwater lakes become too full, they naturally spill over and flow into the Gulf of Mexico. At that time seawater [...]

Connecting Wildlife Drive and the Indigo Trail, the Cross Dike Trail at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is an easy paved walk along a dike between two impoundments. An observation deck provides a spot for birding along the mangrove-lined waters. Resources Overview Location: Sanibel Island Length: 0.3 mile Lat-Long: 26.461382,-82.1332 Type: round-trip Fees: National Wildlife [...]

The last of the nature trails you’ll find while following Wildlife Drive through Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the Shell Mound Trail provides a peek into the ancient history of Sanibel Island, with a boardwalk circling around mounds left behind by the Calusa who once populated these barrier islands. This 0.4-mile loop is entirely wheelchair [...]

In the heart of Pinellas County, Eagle Lake Park is the legacy of the Taylor family, who helped to found Largo – then known as Citrus City – with their groves and citrus packing plant. Surrounding their homestead was one of the last significant pine forests in the most densely urban county in Florida, as [...]

Nestled up against the floodplain of the Econlockhatchee River, the Econlockhatchee Sandhills Conservation Area is a 706-acre showcase of upland habitat diversity jointly managed by Orange County and the St. Johns Water Management District to the east of Orlando. The high and dry loop trail weaves through sand pine scrub, well-established oak hammocks, pine flatwoods, [...]

Where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico, Emerson Point Preserve protects a significant archeological site: the Portavent Mound. More than 150’ long and 80’ wide, this artificial flat-topped hill shaded by ancient live oaks is one of the oldest temple mounds in Florida, more than 1,000 years old, built by the ancestors of [...]

Although Erna Nixon Park is just down the street from one of the busiest shopping malls on the Space Coast – Melbourne Square – it transports you right out of suburbia and back into the wilds of Florida’s past. Primarily a boardwalk, the interpretive trail that is the main feature of this Brevard County Park [...]

For most visitors, the Anhinga Trail is their first and perhaps only glimpse into Everglades National Park. Its proximity to the park entrance guarantees its popularity, and wildlife here is so common and complacent you’ll hear the tourists asking “is that alligator real?” Rest assured they are. Resources Overview Location: Everglades National Park Length: 0.8 [...]

At Royal Palm Hammock, home of the Anhinga Trail, the Gumbo Limbo Trail is a paved path that gets you up close and personal with a tropical hammock. This was once called Paradise Key, owned by Henry Flagler, and became a state park in the 1940s prior to the creation of Everglades National Park. Although [...]

Tree islands are tropical oases in the Everglades “river of grass,” punctuating the sawgrass prairie where there is a slight bit of elevation, enough to make an enormous difference in the flora. I’ve always loved Mahogany Hammock, probably because it’s one of the first trails I ever remember walking on in Florida, back in the [...]

At West Lake, the Mangrove Trail loops through a forest that has seen its share of hurricane-related damage, from salty mud flats deposited by Hurricane Donna to the storm surges of 2005 from Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. Yet this walk still leads you through a shady tunnel, showcasing the protector of Florida’s coastline, the mighty [...]

Iconic as the home of Florida’s tallest waterfall, Falling Waters State Park is a showcase for Florida geology. The park sits atop a high ridge, offering steep slopes on its short but delightful trail system and scenic views, when the leaves are few, from the picnic area and campground to lower elevations. The highlight of [...]

Two separate loops make up the Leslie Duncan Memorial Trail, an exploration into the cypress sloughs and wet prairies of the Big Cypress Swamp. The accessible 0.4 mile loop allows those in wheelchairs and strollers (with assistance) to experience a small sample of the habitats preferred by the Florida panther. A longer 1.3 mile loop [...]

Arcing northward along the shoreline of Lake Okeechobee, this paved segment of the Florida Trail – known locally as the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail – offers spectacular sweeping views of the open water of one of America’s biggest lakes. It’s here you encounter an interesting array of bird life, from sandhill cranes to colonies of [...]

Tarzan’s signature cry once echoed along the crystalline Silver River less than a mile from this section of the Florida Trail, which leads you through a dense, dark floodplain forest beneath a canopy of deep green palm fronds and ancient live oaks. Between 1932 and 1942, Johnny Weissmuller swung from tree to tree for the [...]

This short segment of the Florida Trail on the Cross Florida Greenway offers easy access to one of its most popular destinations—the Land Bridge over Interstate 75. From the highway, it looks somewhat odd, topped with trees, and is certainly a notable landmark for visitors driving south through Ocala. But the nation’s first Land Bridge [...]

Three years before the Spanish colony at St. Augustine took root, French Huguenots landed on the St. Johns Bluff and claimed Florida for France, naming the river “The River of May,” as they landed on May 1, 1562. More than 200 colonists established a settlement near the bluff. They built Fort Caroline for their protection, [...]

Dangling like an anchor into the southern waters of Tampa Bay, Mullet Key is known to the world as Fort De Soto Park, home of a rare find: unspoiled, uninhabited Suncoast beaches. During the Spanish-American War, the pressure was on to protect Tampa, since troops shipped out of the port for Cuba, and thus Fort [...]

If there is a place in Florida where ghosts walk the dunes, this would be it. In the early 1560s, France established a foothold in Florida, with Jean Ribault claiming the land for France. The settlement of Fort Caroline took hold along the St. Johns River. A few years later, Pedro Menendez de Aviles established [...]

A forest of mangroves along the Caloosahatchee River, Four Mile Cove Eco Preserve is a rare find in Cape Coral, where most of the landscape has been developed (to the detriment of those little burrowing owls) over the past fifty years. Tucked right up against the Midpoint Memorial Bridge, this park provides a gateway for [...]

As the headwaters of four of Central Florida’s largest rivers, – the Hillsborough, the Withlacoochee, the Ocklawaha, and the Peace – the Green Swamp is one of Central Florida’s most crucial natural resources. Despite the name, however, most of it is not underwater. Instead, it’s a mosaic of cypress domes amid pine flatwoods, sandhills, and [...]

Hidden in the depths of a floodplain forest in the heart of Goethe State Forest, the Big Cypress Trail is a short hike that leads to one of Florida’s most amazing botanical wonders. At the end of this ramble past large and larger trees, you follow a boardwalk to the base of a towering cypress [...]

Protecting a sheet flow of rainfall moving steadily southward and parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, Grassy Waters Preserve bears a striking resemblance to the Florida Everglades. It’s hard to imagine now, with the crush of humanity along this coast, but this shimmering sheet of sawgrass once was part of the River of Grass, feeding directly [...]

Boardwalks meander through a recreated wetlands that bring a touch of the Everglades back to its original home in Boynton Beach. One family can make a difference in the quality of life for their community. Nearly two decades ago, my friends Ted and Trudy Winsburg decided they wanted to leave a legacy with the land [...]

Circling a peninsula of land between the Guana River and the Tolomato River, the extenstive trail system at GTM Reserve is open to biking and hiking. Enjoy a walk through maritime forests riffled by a salt breeze. The trail traverses a broad variety of habitats, including open freshwater savannas, scrub, live oak hammocks, salt marshes, [...]

As the St. Johns River snakes its way north from the Canaveral Marshes, it passes through a series of vast marshes and lakes well-known to Central Florida residents – Lake Harney, Lake Jesup, and Lake Monroe. What you rarely see, however – unless you’re a boater – are the connections between the lakes and marshes. [...]

From an aerial view, it’s obvious the region around Eustis and Mount Dora is pockmarked with sinkholes. Hidden Waters Preserve is managed by the Lake County Water Authority to protect and utilize a massive sinkhole— the Eichelberger Sink. When you’re descending into it along the Lake Alfred Trail, the slope is especially steep. The Ravine [...]

For a stroll through one of the most primordial but accessible virgin forests in Florida, take a ride to Sebring to explore Highlands Hammock State Park. A grande dame of the park system, this Civilian Conservation Corps-era park boasts quite a few nature trails, but it’s the Ancient Hammock Trail that best shows off the [...]

Resources Overview Location: Tampa Length: Up to 5.8 miles in a round-trip and two loops Lat-Lon: 28.1491, -82.2273 Type: Balloon Fees: Florida State Parks entrance fee Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Bug Factor: Moderate Restroom: Yes, near suspension bridge Watch for poison ivy along the trail. Directions Take I-75 to Tampa exit 265 (Fowler Avenue). Head [...]

Get lost in the woods in the heart of old Gainesville while getting in touch with the past. Ever since I went to the Hogtown Medieval Faire for the first time, I’ve wondered about old Hogtown. I’ve seen the signs for Hogtown Creek—poor thing, encased in concrete culverts and shunted beneath lanes and lanes of [...]

On this barrier island just north of Clearwater Beach, the Osprey Trail at Honeymoon Island State Park offers a close-up look at a rookery of “sea eagles,” the noble osprey. There are nesting colonies of osprey and pelicans along the Osprey and Pelican Trails, and sweeping views across the sound and the Gulf of Mexico. [...]

Tucked away at the southern corner of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, the Beach Hammock Trail traverses a maritime hammock dense with sea grapes, myrsine, gumbo limbo, and stopper. Hurricane Wilma peeled the canopy off like a can opener, so sunlight streams in amid branches trimmed back by nature’s fury. Still, the hammock showcases what’s [...]

All along Florida’s east coast, the Atlantic Coastal Ridge is a special place. Atop these limestone bluffs – which dramatically outcrop along the Atlantic Ocean in places like House of Refuge, Blowing Rocks, Coral Cove, and Coconut Grove – are ancient sands upon which you’ll find ancient scrub forests – in the places that haven’t [...]

With so many opportunities for different lengths of hikes, the trail system at Jelks Preserve provides everyone with somewhere to get outdoors. A marker system and maps at the trailhead make it easy to find your way. Most of the trails are a tad wide, built to accommodate vehicles—the narrow side trails to the river [...]

Before you ever head out to the beach at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, a quick stroll down the Satinleaf Trail will get you oriented to the tropical habitats that this park protects on Singer Island. This easy interpretive nature trail starts near the playground in the first parking area for beach parking, not [...]

While John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is known for its offshore delights, its onshore amenities are not as well known. Two nature trails provide places to explore as you wait for a guided trip or relax after setting up your tent at the campground. The Wild Tamarind Trail starts and ends nearest the campground, [...]

Catch a sweeping view from an observation tower atop the highest natural hill south of Lake Okeechobee, a vantage point that lets you survey a broad swath of landscape from the Atlantic Ocean to the wet flatwoods that march off to the west of the Loxahatchee River. This short boardwalk trail is one of the [...]

Diversity is the name of the game along the trail at Juno Dunes, where you’ll find not just coastal scrub atop the Atlantic Coastal Ridge but an interesting mosaic of wetlands among the swale between ancient dunes. Juno Beach is a small seaside community north of West Palm Beach, and this preserve encompasses a nice [...]

Florida’s most impressive prairie vistas are well-buffered from civilization by massive cattle ranches to the north of Lake Okeechobee. Just to get to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park means a drive of 10 to 17 miles off the nearest major highway on a dead-end road. It’s why this is one of the best places in [...]

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park protects a remnant of what was once the great Indian Prairie stretching to Lake Okeechobee, a mosaic of wet and dry grasslands where wildflowers flourish Look into the grasses to see the colorful blooms of meadow beauty, blazing star, and wild bachelor’s button. Walk the nature trails, ride the forest [...]

Explore a lush hammock along the Caloosahatchee River at the LaBelle Nature Park, a quiet passive park in the city of LaBelle. Interpretive signs present information about the trees and plants that grow beneath the shade of the bromeliad-draped live oaks and tall cabbage palms, and there are benches to perch on to watch the [...]

In the heart of the Big Scrub of the Ocala National Forest, the Lake Eaton Sinkhole is a relatively young phenomenon compared to the other large sinkhole in the region, Devil’s Millhopper. It punctured the ancient dunes with a massive collapse, which, when stabilized, formed a cool bowl in which a hardwood forest took root. [...]

Lake Jackson Mounds is best known for being one of the largest ceremonial temple mound complexes in the Southeast, but it offers a cool, shady nature trail, too. There are six earthen temple mounds, the tallest 36 feet; a burial mound; and a village site from the early Fort Walton period, 1200-1500 A.D. In more [...]

In the rolling hills of the Lake Wales Ridge south of Clermont, Lake Louisa is the southernmost lake in the Palatlakaha River chain of lakes, its waters flowing northward to feed Lake Susan, Lake Minehaha, and Lake Minneola. Extending between the park entrance and the recreation area along Lake Louisa, the hiking trails showcase the [...]

It’s an unexpected find, this quiet preserve down a dirt road not far from the waves of suburban sprawl pushing south from the Polk Parkway, letting Lakeland flow towards Bartow. One of the first acquisitions for Polk County’s Environmental Lands Program and undoubtedly one of the more heavily used, the Lakeland Highlands Scrub protects 160 [...]

At the north edge of Tampa, Lettuce Lake Park protects 240 acres along the Hillsborough River, providing a getaway for hikers, bicyclists, and picnickers. Trapped between tall cypress trees in ponds dense with water lettuce, Lettuce Lake is a bend in the river creating a haunting swamp. Boardwalks lead you through this wild place. Best [...]

Most people come to Little Talbot Island for the beach; after all, it’s not far from downtown Jacksonville, and the shoreline is wild and pristine. While the 3.5-mile Island Hiking Trail is relatively well-known, the 0.8-mile Campground Nature Trail offers a side of Little Talbot that the whole family can enjoy—along the estuary. The trail [...]

As one of several “Sandhills Trails” throughout Florida, the Sandhills Nature Trail at Lower Wekiva Preserve State Park lives up to its name. It’s a 2.2-mile loop through longleaf pine and wiregrass, an ecosystem that once covered the uplands of Central Florida. While the scrub along the Wekiva River basin attempts to seep into the [...]

Sitting at the base of busy US 19 in Clearwater, Moccasin Lake Nature Park preserves a lush patch of native forest and a stream for the public to enjoy. Centered on a popular nature center, it’s an ideal place to take the kids for a gentle nature adventure. Resources Overview Location: Clearwater Length: 1 mile [...]

Hidden on a back street within walking distance of downtown Sopchoppy, Myron B. Hodge City Park offers quiet campsites along the dark placid waters of the Sopchoppy River, and a nature trail where you can linger along the Sopchoppy River amid the sweet spring scent of Florida azalea. With porch swings and picnic tables, the [...]

Buried in a sea of development, Oak Hammock Park is one of those little gems that shouldn’t be missed. The canopy of centuries-old live oaks is a strong counterpoint to the surrounding manicured lawns and water management canals. In addition to the lush, fern-laden hammock, the park encompasses a patch of pine forest and an [...]

At the confluence of the Ochlockonee River and the marshes fed by the Sopchoppy River, Ochlockonee River State Park is tucked behind a corner of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge just south of Sopchoppy as you head towards Lanark Village. A popular camping spot thanks to easy access to the water for anglers and paddlers, it’s [...]

Wind through the pines and step back in time to trace the unfolding of the Battle of Olustee near Lake City. The hike through Olustee Battlefield is short, but its historical significance is great. More than 2,000 men died in this forest on February 20, 1864, when Confederate and Union forces met and fought the [...]

Circling one of Oscar Scherer State Park’s notable water features, Lake Osprey, the wheelchair-accessible Lake Osprey Trail – the park’s newest trail, opened in 2010 – offers a natural surface exploration of the uplands surrounding the artesian-spring-fed waters. Birding is excellent, especially in the early morning hours. The many benches along this path make it [...]

Pelican Island isn’t just a National Wildlife Refuge, it’s the National Wildlife Refuge that started the whole concept going, back in 1903. Even further back, in 1858, the small island in the Indian River Lagoon – offshore from where the refuge access is today – was documented as a brown pelican breeding ground. On March [...]

Protecting the tip of a peninsula where Little Alligator Creek meets Charlotte Harbor, Ponce De Leon Park is a city park where residents of Punta Gorda can enjoy dramatic sunsets over the harbor from a sweeping stretch of beach created to showcase the waterfront. Most of the park is an untrammeled mangrove forest, which you [...]

Just south of Daytona Beach, Ponce Preserve protects a cross-section of barrier island habitats in a 40-acre ribbon between the Atlantic Ocean and the Halifax River at Ponce Inlet. Home of the Green Mound, a particularly significant archeological site, it’s also nature’s last stand on the barrier island where auto racing was born. Thanks to [...]

More than a century ago, the forests surrounding first-magnitude Rainbow Springs were a beehive of activity as miners dug pits in the limestone to find nuggets that made Dunnellon a boomtown—phosphate. This area was the first place where phosphate was commercially mined in Florida. The deep pits and spoil piles left behind were recovered by [...]

Although the Osceola District Schools Environmental Study Center is only open to the public on weekends, its trails provide an up-close look at more than a dozen old growth cypresses and wildlife along Reedy Creek. With its headwaters in what is now Walt Disney World, Reedy Creek flows sluggishly southward through cypress swamps into pristine [...]

A 487-acre mosaic of mud flats, mangrove swamps, and beaches, Robinson Preserve is a testament to the spirit of Aldo Leopold. Formerly farmland in a district of Bradenton known for its tropical plant nurseries, this expanse of waterfront habitats has undergone extensive restoration, from removal of invasive species to re-creating tidal creeks and basins nourished [...]

Where I-95 and I-595 meet, you’d hardly believe there’s a place for green space. Port Everglades looms to the east, and jets take off and land at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport. But Secret Woods is very special. It’s hidden under such a dense canopy of mangroves that most people buzzing past have no idea [...]

Back in the 1980s, when I first heard that land had been acquired near Silver Springs for a state park, I was thrilled. Having grown up nearby, it bothered me that the Silver Springs attraction no longer let you roam the gardens for free, and I knew there would now be a way to walk [...]

Humidity crept into the still morning air, coloring the swamp with a mild haze. Standing behind his medium-format camera, the photographer watched and waited, waited and watched. A green heron appeared, fluttering down to the edge of the flag pond. Quick! The photographer takes several frames, and moves on. There are plenty of subjects to [...]

Protecting what was once the headwaters of Snake Creek and was the oldest eastern Glades settlement of the Seminoles, Snake Warrior Island Natural Area is a small urban oasis not far from I-95 in Miramar. A paved trail loops around the recreated wetlands, where the waters are busy with moorhens, wood ducks, and herons. Interpretive [...]

Fed by a trickle of hidden springs through lush hammocks of cabbage palms, Spring Hammock Preserve in Winter Springs is one of the most delightful places to take a hike in the Orlando area. In this 1,500 acre preserve, the trails are easy to explore. You have options ranging from paved to splashy muddy adventuresome, [...]

[set_id= 72157624781421114] With a replica of a turpentine distillery at the beginning of this Panama City Beach hike, this is a walk to get you acquainted with one of the more important historic uses of Florida’s barrier islands—naval stores. Products of the coastal pine forests were of paramount importance to early military efforts, when ships [...]

For a sampling of the fragile coastal habitats protected along St. Joseph Bay by St Joseph Peninsula State Park, take a short walk on this spectacularly scenic coastal trail. You’ll meander through a diminutive scrub forest where the delicate Florida rosemary, myrtle oak, and Chapman oak are gnarled and wizened like bonsai thanks to the [...]

Tucked away behind a suburban St. Augustine neighborhood, Stokes Landing Conservation Area is a hidden gem of the St. Johns Water Management District, providing an outdoor classroom for local schools and beautiful panoramic views of the salt marshes along the Tolomato River for hikers. Pick up a map and interpretive guide at the trailhead kiosk, [...]

A 4,405-acre swath of public land in the Ocklawaha River floodplain, Sunnyhill Conservation Area offers five different trailheads for hikers, bicyclists, and equestrians to roam its vast network of forest roads and levees. I’ve ducked into several of them over the years, but found the trail surface a bit too soft for my taste until [...]

Set aside as part of a ribbon of wild lands on the southeastern side of Sarasota County, T. Mabry Carlton Reserve is less than a dozen miles from downtown Venice but wild enough that the Florida panther roams these woodlands along the Myakka River floodplain. With over 24,000 acres of protected land, it contains more [...]

Looping through pine flatwoods in the middle of suburbia, the Friends Trail at Brooker Creek Preserve offers an escape from busy Pinellas County life. This was the first trail to open on the county’s largest nature preserve and remains a quiet getaway at the end of a dead-end road. While less than 2 miles long, [...]

With a big, beautiful nature center and trails that are perfectly groomed or swept, Tibet-Butler Preserve offers a spot of wilderness in the dense urban mass to the west of Orlando. The trail system loops through many of the major habitats found in this region, including longleaf pine forest and scrub, bayhead swamp and cypress-lined [...]

Around 1875, barely a decade after the Union defeat at the hands of the Confederate Army at Olustee, retired Union Soldier Tom Russell and his business partner Isaac Eppinger bought up the land around Ocean Pond. The forest boomed with the sounds of centuries-old longleaf pine and ancient bald cypress being felled from the dense [...]

At the end of a 71-acre peninsula – once an isthmus – between Lake Beauclair and Lake Carlton in the Harris chain of lakes, Trimble Park is an under-the-radar beauty spot of which Orange County should be quite proud. Ancient oaks line both shorelines and are the main feature in the primary part of the [...]

A broad boardwalk trail that showcases a clear, healthy tannic stream draining the sandhills of Eglin Air Force Base, the Turkey Creek Nature Trail is a community park and gathering place where children are almost always at play, thanks to platforms that enable visitors to jump into the cool water for a swim or a [...]

Located west of Tampa off Hillsborough Avenue, this 2,144 acre park protects a large swath of the sensitive mangrove-lined northern shores of Upper Tampa Bay, a massive estuary. Centered on a large Environmental Study Center, the park is very popular for family and group picnics, and for paddlers to launch into the shallows of the [...]

Wading birds everywhere: that’s the delight of a walk along the boardwalks of Wakodahatchee Wetlands. The first wetlands park in the region, it continues to draw a regular crowd for morning stolls, photography, and serious birdwatching. Resources Overview Location: Delray Beach Length: 0.75 mile boardwalk Lat-Long: 26.477817, -80.144900 Type: linear/loop Fees / Permits: none Difficulty: [...]

Preserving more than 30 acres of tropical hammock north of Islamorada – saved from condo development in the 1980s, with support from local residents – Windley Key Fossil Reef is a very unique place. In 1908, during the construction of the Overseas Railroad, Henry Flagler purchased this land and opened a quarry for crushed limestone. [...]

The last patch of woodlands in suburbia, the Woodmont Natural Area in Tamarac is one of the rare islands of nature left remaining after development throughout western Broward County into the Everglades. This 22-acre site is a birder’s delight. Birdsong is constant; listen for the hooting of barred owls and the rat-a-tat-tat of the pileated [...]