Bring your best friend along on these dog-friendly Florida hikes! These selections include hikes that are explicitly open to pets and exclude places that might be open to pets (such as the Big Cypress Swamp) where your pet would be in danger due to the native wildlife.
See a BIG map of all dog-friendly trails
Alderman’s Ford Preserve - Part of an extensive corridor of natural lands – more than 10,000 acres worth east of Tampa – protecting the flow of the Alafia River, Alderman’s Ford Nature Preserve offers a surprising treat for a [...]
Alderman’s Ford Park - An easy loop at this popular county park, the Lithia Nature Trail slips behind the nature center for a walk in deeply shaded woods. Along the river’s floodplain corridor, you are in hammocks where massive [...]
Alfred A. Ring Park - 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 [...]
Anastasia State Park – Ancient Dunes Trail - 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 [...]
Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve - A sweeping view of the Apalachicola River estuary waits like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on this don’t-miss nature trail in Apalachicola, which coaxes you through a succession of coastal [...]
Apalachicola National Forest – Camel Lake Loop - 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 [...]
Apalachicola National Forest – Fort Gadsden - On an early morning in the fog off the river, you can almost feel the ghosts slipping between the trees, sunlight dappling through the moist needles of longleaf pine and the air thick with the [...]
Arlington Lions Club Park - 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 [...]
Bear Creek Nature Trail - A patch of wild in a sea of Winter Springs suburbia, Bear Creek provides nearly a mile’s worth of exploration atop sandy bluffs in a deeply shaded creekside hammock. Walking among the ancient cypress, oaks, [...]
Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve - Nestled in an unexpected corner of Flagler Beach, Betty Steflik Memorial Preserve protects more than 200 acres of mangrove marsh, mud flats, and coastal uplands right on the edge of this downtown beach community. Established [...]
Big Lagoon State Park - Between Pensacola and Perdido Key, Big Lagoon is best known for its (really big) lagoon, high observation tower, and campground, but the trail system is a delight for hardy hikers. It’s easy to make short [...]
Big Oak Trail - The Big Oak Trail is one of the most scenic hikes in North Florida and is part of the statewide Florida Trail. Much of the hiking parallels the Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers, which meet here [...]
Big Shoals State Park – Big Shoals Trail - When you think about Florida’s rivers and streams, the image of raging, foaming water never springs to mind. Yet up on the Suwannee River, just a few miles outside the historic town of White Springs, [...]
Big Shoals State Park – Long Branch Trail - Starting at the canoe launch opposite the Big Shoals Trail, the Long Branch Trail heads upriver to follow a mellow Suwannee River—broad and shaded by overhanging tupelo trees. It’s a relaxed hike through scrubby flatwoods [...]
Big Talbot Island State Park – Big Pine Trail - 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 [...]
Big Talbot Island State Park – Blackrock Beach - A barrier island on the Atlantic Coast between Amelia Island and Little Talbot Island, Big Talbot Island is best known for its unusual rocky shoreline called Blackrock Beach. One step on this beach, overlooking a [...]
Big Talbot Island State Park – Jones Cut Trail - Jones Cut provides a meander into the heart of the maritime forest that carpets Big Talbot Island, but it’s not the easiest trail to find. It lets you explore the heart of a dense maritime [...]
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park - At the tip of Key Biscayne, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park is one of the busiest parks in South Florida. Large crowds flock here for the excellent beaches, more scenic than those in neighboring [...]
Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake - Long known as Turkey Lake Park, the City of Orlando’s largest park covers 178 acres of rolling hills on the western shore of the lake. It’s an urban complex for outdoor recreation of all sorts, [...]
Blackwater River State Forest – Bear Lake Trail - At Blackwater River State Forest, each of the recreation areas offers access to hiking, and popular Bear Lake is no exception. A 4-mile trail loops around this impounded reservoir, which flows into Sweetwater Creek. The [...]
Blackwater River State Forest – Jackson Red Ground Trail - Connecting Karick Lake Recreation Area with the Red Rocks area of Blackwater River State Forest, the Jackson Red Ground Trail follows the path taken by General Andrew Jackson and his 1,200 troops in 1818 as [...]
Blackwater River State Park – Chain of Lakes - Many people hike a short distance on this interpretive trail and never do the entire loop. Why? The Chain of Lakes Trail leads to one of the more beautiful sandbar beaches on the entire Blackwater [...]
Blountstown Greenway - 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 [...]
Blue Spring State Park - 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 [...]
Blue Spring State Park – Pine Island Trail - Starting near the exit of the lower parking area, the Pine Island Trail at Blue Spring State Park is lesser-known and lesser-used than its popular counterpart, the Blue Spring Trail(and boardwalk) along Blue Spring Run. [...]
Buck Lake Conservation Area – East Loop - A sprawling wildlife management area encompassing more than 9,600 acres along SR 46 between Mims and the St. Johns River, Buck Lake includes a diverse array of uplands and wetlands habitats. The East Loop isn’t [...]
Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park – Bulow Creek Loop - With a trailhead just outside the park gate of Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park, the yellow-blazed Bulow Creek Loop is part of a larger trail system that includes the Bulow Creek Trail – stretching 6.8 [...]
Bulow Woods Trail - The essence of primordial Florida still echoes through Bulow Hammock, a dark and mysterious place running like a ribbon of the “Land of the Lost” trapped between the flow of traffic on Interstate 95 and [...]
Cary State Forest – Cary Nature Trail - 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 [...]
Cellon Oak Park - In our North Florida explorations, one goal of mine was to visit the Cellon Oak, Florida’s largest live oak (in terms of crown spread) and the current cover photo of Big Trees: The Florida Register, [...]
Chapman Botanical Garden - Adjoining the historic Orman House in downtown Apalachicola, Chapman Botanical Garden honors the memory of Dr. Alvan Wentworth Chapman, a noted botanist who lived and worked as a medical doctor in Apalachicola. In 1860, Chapman [...]
Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park – Old Datsun Trail - Providing a different take on the uplands around Charlotte Harbor, the Old Datsun Trail at Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park meanders through an area once covered in vegetable farms – the historic Miles School of [...]
Cofrin Nature Park - A 30-acre tract within the city of Gainesville, this patch of preserve is the legacy of Mrs. Gladys Cofrin, an active environmentalist who had a horse farm and family homestead on this site. Thankfully, she [...]
Conservation Park - It’s not easy to find Conservation Park, hidden in plain sight behind a commercial district along US 98 in Panama City Beach. There are no signs on this major highway – yet – to point [...]
Coquina Baywalk - 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 [...]
Crews Lake Park - 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. The trail loses its natural feel as it [...]
Crooked Lake Prairie - In a region where development has started to spread, Crooked Lake Prairie is a refreshing excursion into habitats found on the high hills of the Lake Wales Ridge. The network of interlinking loop trails includes [...]
Crooked River Preserve - At the northernmost end of the Lake Wales Ridge, a significant landform that stretches from Minneola down towards Lake Okeechobee, creating the “spine” of the Florida peninsula, Crooked River Preserve showcases a wide variety of [...]
Dade Battlefield Historic State Park – Pine Flatwoods Trail - 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 [...]
Davenport Landing Trail - The most obscure interpretive trail in the Ocala National Forest is well off the beaten path along the Ocklawaha River, accessed via a narrow dirt road. Why here? Location, location, location—in the 1800s, Florida’s rivers [...]
Dunns Creek State Park - Dunns Creek State Park protects sandhills and scrub along a sharp bend in the St. Johns River. It is home to at least eight healthy populations of rare Etonia rosemary (Conradina etonia), the only other [...]
Eagle Lake Park - 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. [...]
Econ River Wilderness - In the suburbs of Orlando, the Econ River Wilderness is in one of those places where you’d never suspect wilderness still existed, 240 acres tucked one road back from strip malls and squeezed between subdivisions [...]
Econlockhatchee Sandhills Conservation Area - 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 [...]
Eden Gardens State Park – Tucker Bayou Trail - Best known for its antebellum mansion with one of the most extensive Louis XVI furniture collections in America, Eden Gardens State Park has its wild side, too. The Tucker Bayou Trail, recently relocated, starts and [...]
Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park - Ancient magnolias, massive tulip poplars, and sinuous alluvial streams are all part of the delights of Phipps Park, the city of Tallahassee’s most expansive and wild urban park. With 670 acres along the shores of [...]
Eureka Springs - In 1938, amateur botanist and world traveler Albert Greenburg established a botanical garden with tropical plants around springs that fed a lush floodplain forest along Six Mile Creek. Years later, he started the first tropical [...]
Everglades National Park – Guy Bradley Trail - In the early 1900s, naturalists were well aware of the vast bird life in the Everglades, and so were plume hunters, looking to cash in on the use of heron plumage as a New York [...]
Faver-Dykes State Park - Near the mouth of the Matanzas River, Faver-Dykes State Park is a popular launch point for paddlers eager to explore the estuaries between the barrier islands and the coast. Nestled in oak hammocks along Pellicer [...]
Ferndale Preserve - Along Lake Apopka’s western shore, Ferndale Preserve offers some of the finest panorama views of the largest lake in Central Florida. A restoration area that was, in the not too recent past, a working orange [...]
Florida Trail, Alexander Springs to Farles Lake - Get acquainted with Big Scrub on this 8.4-mile stretch of the Florida Trail in the Ocala National Forest as it rises through longleaf pine forests to meet the world’s largest sand pine scrub, punctuated by [...]
Florida Trail, Baseline to Marshall Swamp - Along this woodland in Ocala, enjoy a swath of true urban wilderness, a mile-wide corridor edged on both sides by subdivisions and strip malls. Both remain gratefully out of sight and sound as you walk [...]
Florida Trail, Bell Springs to Big Shoals - With Florida’s only Class III whitewater and the beauty of a Florida waterfall along a stretch of trail that is rugged but extremely scenic, this 2.8 mile section of the Florida Trail is a real [...]
Florida Trail, Buckman Lock to Rodman Dam - Paralleling a segment of the failed Cross Florida Barge Canal, this mostly linear section of the Florida Trail sticks to a high berm created when the canal was dug. Nicely shaded for much of its [...]
Florida Trail, Bull Creek WMA - Immerse in the pine savannas of Central Florida along the Florida Trail at Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area. With a 20.5 mile loop traversing these wide open spaces as well as the tributaries of Crabgrass [...]
Florida Trail, Chuluota Wilderness to Joshua Creek - With a surprising amount of habitat diversity, the northerly stretch of the Florida Trail newly built through Bronson State Forest and into adjacent Chuluota Wilderness Area is quite the delight. Hiking this section southbound gives [...]
Florida Trail, Clearwater Lake to Alexander Springs - The oldest section of the Florida Trail is one of the prettiest, as well. First blazed in the Ocala National Forest in 1966 by a hardy crew of trail maintainers led by Jim Kern, the [...]
Florida Trail, Clewiston to South Bay - As of May 1, 2013, the Army Corps of Engineers has closed this section and it will not reopen until sometime in 2014. Backpackers / thru-hikers / section hikers: please use the Okeechobee West route. [...]
Florida Trail, Etoniah West - Protecting nearly 9,000 acres of between Palatka and Keystone Heights, Etoniah Creek State Forest is home to a segment of the Florida Trail where backpackers and day hikers alike can get out and explore. This [...]
Florida Trail, Henry Creek to Okeechobee - 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 [...]
Florida Trail, Hopkins Prairie to Juniper Springs - Long referred to as the “jewel of the Florida Trail,” Juniper Prairie Wilderness in the Ocala National Forest is a complex mosaic of ancient scrub forests, pine islands, and broad, open prairies where wildlife thrives. [...]
Florida Trail, Hopkins Prairie to Salt Springs - While the Ocala National Forest is best known for having the largest expanse of scrub forest in the world, a lesser known facet of the forest – unless you hike the Florida Trail – are [...]
Florida Trail, Juniper Creek - The Florida Trail along Juniper Creek (also known as the Juniper Creek Trail, Blackwater River State Forest) is a gorgeous place to explore in springtime, when mountain laurel blooms in both pink and white and [...]
Florida Trail, Juniper Springs to Farles Lake - For a real blast, hike south on the Florida Trail from Juniper Springs in the Ocala National Forest. Back in the 1940s, Jimmy Doolittle and his squadron trained here for their bombing runs on Japan; [...]
Florida Trail, Lake Delancy to The 88 Store - An immersion in both sandhills and scrub awaits on a walk along the Florida Trail between Lake Delancy and Lake Kerr. Amid the tall longleaf pines of Riverside Island and the diminutive oaks of the [...]
Florida Trail, Lakeport to Moore Haven - Along the western marshes of Lake Okeechobee, the segment of Florida Trail between Lakeport and Moore Haven offers something that no other portion of the trail around the lake does: several miles where the dike [...]
Florida Trail, Land Bridge Trailhead to Santos - As the Cross Florida Greenway sweeps through Ocala and along the edge of Belleview, it provides access to a series of forests broken by unobtrusive road crossings in the heart of horse country, canopied roads [...]
Florida Trail, Little Big Econ State Forest - Flanking the banks of the Econlockhatchee River, a ribbon of wilderness protects a swath of forests edged on one side by suburbia, on the other by ranchland. It is the Little-Big Econ State Forest, more [...]
Florida Trail, Marshall Swamp - 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 [...]
Florida Trail, Mills Creek - As the Florida Trail follows the curve of the basin in which Mills Creek drains from Lake Mills into a bowl of marshlands to the east of Chuluota, it leads you through a colorful array [...]
Florida Trail, Moore Haven to Clewiston - One of my favorite sections of the Florida Trail around Lake Okeechobee, the walk from Alvin Ward Park in Moore Haven to Clewiston Park offers up the best sunrises to be found anywhere along the [...]
Florida Trail, Nice Wander Loop - In the Osceola National Forest, this short loop adjacent to Olustee Battlefield is one of the easiest places in the state to see red-cockaded woodpeckers. It’s part of the statewide Florida Trail, and provides a [...]
Florida Trail, Pahokee to Port Mayaca - *** Hiking south of Port Mayaca to Pahokee is currently prohibited due to reconstruction work on the dike. Thru-hikers should use the western route around Lake Okeechobee. *** The sweep of Lake Okeechobee curves away [...]
Florida Trail, Pat’s Island to Hidden Pond - One of the most popular hikes on the Florida Trail is also one of the most interesting. Hidden Pond is an oasis in the middle of the Juniper Prairie Wilderness, a designated wilderness area in [...]
Florida Trail, Port Mayaca to Henry Creek - One of the segments of the Florida Trail that are paved around Lake Okeechobee, the 13.7-mile walk between Port Mayaca and Henry Creek offers unparalleled vistas of both open water and the marshes of Chauncey [...]
Florida Trail, Pruitt - It’s not just the ancient live oaks, but the switchbacks and scrambles, the habitat diversity, the stories that the landscape tells—and “Stonehenge.” These are some of the reasons that the Pruitt section of the Florida [...]
Florida Trail, Pruitt to Ross Prairie - As a protected corridor south of Ocala, this section of the Florida Trail is the westernmost segment on the Cross Florida Greenway, showing off the unusual terrain created during construction of the Cross Florida Ship [...]
Florida Trail, Rodman to Lake Delancy - One of the most awe-inspiring sections of the Florida Trail, the segment between the Rodman Dam (more properly known as the George Kirkpatrick Dam) and Lake Delancy immerses you into longleaf pine forests that seem [...]
Florida Trail, Ross Prairie to SW 49th Ave - As a protected corridor south of Ocala, this section of the Florida Trail on the Cross Florida Greenway offers delights you just can’t imagine from the roads that bisect it—CR 484 and SW 49th Avenue. [...]
Florida Trail, Salt Springs to The 88 Store - Amid a patchwork of scrub ridges and longleaf pine islands, the Florida Trail makes its way northwest around the vastness of Lake Kerr on this 10.1 mile section. It’s accessible to day hikers via two [...]
Florida Trail, Santos to Baseline - In its mile-wide sweep across a swath of Central Florida, the Cross Florida Greenway hits an interruption just a few miles to the north of Belleview. The community of Santos was “in the way” during [...]
Florida Trail, Seminole State Forest - One of the older sections of the Florida Trail near Orlando is also one of its finest. A hike through Seminole State Forest leads you through the kind of vast, open spaces that you’d never [...]
Florida Trail, SW 49th Ave to Land Bridge Trailhead - 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 [...]
Florida Trail, Three Lakes WMA - One of the largest expanses of open prairie remaining in the Southeast, the Kissimmee Prairie straddles the Kissimmee River between the southern fridge of suburbia in Kissimmee-St. Cloud and the north shore of Lake Okeechobee. [...]
Florida Trail, Tosohatchee - Bridging an immense expanse of pine flatwoods bisected by floodplain forests, the orange-blazed Florida Trail crosses Tosohatchee Reserve, a 28,000 acre tract of lands protecting the western edge of the St. Johns River floodplain. Walk [...]
Florida Trail, Wheeler Road to Joshua Creek - Dancing along the rim of the St. Johns River floodplain, the Florida Trail through Seminole Ranch and the southern section of Bronson State Forest provides an unexpected array of botanical delights. Ancient oaks knit their [...]
Fort Center - Explore a pre-Colombian village lost in Florida’s past – and uncovered again in modern times, thanks to the efforts of curious archaeologists – by following this trail in Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area. The Fort [...]
Fort Cooper State Park - Fort Cooper is a quiet place, a woodland on the shores of Lake Holathlikaha just south of Inverness, a place where families come to play and picnic and walk gentle trails where wildlife sightings are [...]
Fort Drum Marsh - Zipping along SR 60 between Florida’s Turnpike and Vero Beach, you just don’t think about hiking. Orange groves, perhaps, or prairies or swamps. Cypresses, maybe. But hikes? It wasn’t until I was “on assignment” for [...]
Fort Matanzas Nature Trail - 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 [...]
Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park - Hugging the shoreline of Rocky Bayou, an important aquatic preserve, Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park near Niceville has one of the prettiest campgrounds in the Florida State Park system – well air-conditioned by a [...]
Gemini Springs Park - More than 150 years ago, this forest along the marshes of the St. Johns River was cleared for farming, becoming the Padgett homestead on outskirts of busy Enterprise. It later operated as a cattle ranch [...]
Gold Head Branch State Park – Ridge and Ravine Trails - The steephead ravine that forms Gold Head Branch is a riot of green: deep green needle palms, ferns of every shape and size, water trickling, merging, and flowing downstream, and the canopy of native trees [...]
GTM Reserve - 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 [...]
Hickory Bluff Preserve - 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 [...]
Highlands Hammock State Park - Encompassing a virtual jungle of ancient oak hammocks and floodplain forests to the west of Lake Jackson, Highlands Hammock State Park is Sebring’s crown jewel and a Florida State Park that you won’t want to [...]
Highlands Hammock State Park – Ancient Hammock Trail - 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 [...]
Hillsborough River State Park - One of the Tampa Bay area’s most beloved state parks, Hillsborough River State Park has always been a family favorite because of its rapids. Yes, rapids. Until I spent years researching Florida’s history and discovered [...]
Hogtown Creek Greenway - 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 [...]
Honeymoon Island State Park - 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 [...]
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park – Beach Hammock Trail - 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 [...]
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park – Exotic Trail - Running down the middle of this popular urban park, the Exotic Trail traces a path through the exotic gardens of the former estate of Hugh Taylor Birch, Terramar. These tropical plants aren’t invasive, and they’re [...]
Indrio Savannahs - Call it arrested development. Sitting between Fort Pierce and Vero Beach, Indrio Savannas was a gleam in a developer’s eye more than a decade ago, but thankfully this particular subdivision never came to fruition. Only [...]
John Mahon Nature Park - Ten acres isn’t a lot of land for a nature park, but in this urban setting along one of the busiest thoroughfares in Gainesville, it’s plenty for a quick, refreshing walk in the woods. Established [...]
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park - With cool ocean breezes and a plunge in the surf after your hike, the 2.7-mile trail at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park in Jacksonville is a great choice for a summer outing. Hanna Park, as it [...]
Kilpatrick Hammock Trail - 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 [...]
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park - 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 [...]
LaBelle Nature Park - 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 [...]
Lake Eaton Sinkhole Trail - 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 [...]
Lake Eaton Trail - Two trails, one trailhead. The Lake Eaton Trail is in the heart of the Big Scrub, part of the “Lake Eaton Trails” on the northeast side of Lake Eaton in the Ocala National Forest, halfway [...]
Lake George State Forest – Bluffton Nature Trail - South of Astor along the St. Johns River, the Bluffton Recreation Area in Lake George State Forest paints a picture of Florida’s prehistoric past. As botanist William Bartram canoed the St. Johns River in 1773, [...]
Lake Harney Wilderness Area - A 300-acre preserve at the outflow of Lake Harney, one of the many Central Florida lakes formed by the St. Johns River as it flows north, Lake Harney Wilderness Area encompasses diverse landscapes. Deer browse [...]
Lake Jackson Mounds State Park – Butler Mill Trail - 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 [...]
Lake Jesup Conservation Area – Cameron Tract - With panoramic views of the Lake Jesup floodplain, the Cameron Tract of Lake Jesup Conservation Area is a surprisingly beautiful location for a short hike. In late summer and early fall, swamp sunflowers paint the [...]
Lake Jesup Conservation Area – East Tract - One of the few places where you can take in a panorama of vast Lake Jesup, the East Tract of Lake Jesup Conservation Area in Oviedo offers a 2.1-mile hike out to an observation tower [...]
Lake Jesup Conservation Area – Marl Bed Flats - Featuring one of the prettiest hammocks of ancient live oaks that you’ll find along Lake Jesup, the Marl Bed Flats Tract of Lake Jesup Conservation Area along the lake’s north shore is a delightful place [...]
Lake Louisa State Park - 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, [...]
Lake Marion Creek WMA – Huckleberry Island - Providing an easy walk into 8,000 acres of uplands draining into Lake Marion Creek, the trail system at Huckleberry Island follows old roads through the preserve, avoiding getting your feet wet by offering a little [...]
Lake Mills Park - One of Seminole County’s prettiest county parks, Lake Mills Park perches along the southwest shore of Lake Mills, where a hardwood swamp dominated by tall cypresses provides a focal point for a series of boardwalks [...]
Lake Monroe Conservation Area – Kratzert Tract - For a quick dip into the beauty of the St. Johns River floodplain, the Kratzert White Loop offers a family-friendly walk beneath ancient oaks and cabbage palms of enormous size. This 1.5-mile loop was originally [...]
Lake Proctor Wilderness Area - Protecting 475 acres of marshlands, prairie, and scrub forest near the community of Geneva, Lake Proctor Wilderness Area is one of the best places in the region to see sandhill cranes. They gather in the [...]
Lake Runnymede Conservation Area - Managed by Osceola County, Lake Runnymede Conservation Area is only 43 acres, but what a preserve! Sandwiched between the massive East Lake Tohopekaliga – which, despite being on the other side of Rummel Road, can [...]
Lake Talquin State Park - A vast reservoir along the Ochlockonee River behind the Jackson Bluff Dam, which feeds a hydroelectric plant helping to power Tallahassee, Lake Talquin is a rarity in Florida due to its sheer size and character. [...]
Lakeland Highlands Scrub - 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 [...]
Leon Sinks Geological Area - In the Apalachicola National Forest just south of Tallahassee, Leon Sinks Geological Area offers a delightful introduction to the wonders of karst topography. Karst is a landscape that happens through deep erosion of a soft [...]
Lettuce Lake Park - 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, [...]
Little-Big Econ State Forest – Kolokee Loop - One of the most scenic places to hike in the Orlando metro, Little-Big Econ State Forest offers a loop hike that starts less than a mile from the Barr Street trailhead. Named the Kolokee Loop [...]
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park - 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 [...]
Mead Garden - Established in 1937 as a memorial to world-renowned horticulturalist Theodore L. Mead, Winter Garden’s original showcase of camellias was reborn in the 1960s with community volunteers enhancing the property with nature trails, boardwalks, and formal [...]
Mill Creek Preserve - North of Gainesville, the northern forests make their southern stand. Mill Creek Preserve, north of Alachua and part of the Alachua County Forever registry, encompasses nearly 1,200 acres of unexpected delights in an area well-known [...]
Myakka River State Park – Canopy Walk and Boylston Nature Trail - Other than the Bird Trail, a boardwalk out into the Myakka River, the Myakka Canopy Walk is the most popular short trail in Myakka River State Park in Sarasota, one of Southwest Florida’s largest state [...]
Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park - Sunlight glimmers off the tannic waters of Myakkahatchee Creek, a floodplain creek that flows naturally between tall sand banks through the northernmost reaches of North Port. An excellent spot for birding, this off-the-beaten-path linear park [...]
Ocala National Forest – Bear Swamp Trail - 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 [...]
Ocala National Forest – Clearwater Lake Loop - Most hikers headed for Clearwater Lake in the Ocala National Forest are looking for the Florida Trail, which starts its northbound journey of 70 unbroken miles just north of SR 42 in Paisley. But the [...]
Ocala National Forest – Salt Springs Loop - For a hint of fall color in the Ocala National Forest, the Salt Springs Loop trail just south of the town of Salt Springs showcases a variety of habitats, among them a floodplain forest along [...]
Ochlockonee River State Park - 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 [...]
Olustee Battlefield - 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 [...]
Ortona Mounds - While less than a mile long, this walk in the woods in the ranchlands of Glades County takes you back to a time more than 3,000 years, well before the Calusa paddled the Caloosahatchee in [...]
PEAR Environmental Park - At the Palatlakaha Environmental and Agricultural Reserve Park south of Leesburg, work is underway to transform what was once an University of Florida agricultural research center for watermelon and grapes to a working farm, restored [...]
Pine Log State Forest - Mist rising off Sand Pond in morning—a must-see, making the cypress-lined lake ever so ghostly in the middle of Florida’s first state forest, Pine Log. From the Sand Pond trailhead, which starts near the campground, [...]
Ponce De Leon Springs State Park - What a delight to find a cool pool of bright blue water beneath tall cypresses—and a trailhead at the same time! Just off I-10 in the eponymous town of Ponce De Leon, this first-magnitude spring [...]
Rainbow Springs State Park – Sandhill Trail - 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 [...]
Ravine Gardens State Park - Built in 1934 by CCC workers with 250,000 ornamental plants and 95,000 azaleas, Ravine Gardens was named the “Nation’s Outstanding Citizen Works Administration Project” when it opened. In 1970, it became a state park. A [...]
Robinson Preserve - 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 [...]
Rock Springs Run State Reserve - Protecting more than 14,000 acres along the Wekiva River basin, Rock Springs Run State Reserve is well known for its Florida black bear population. While the trail system here was established more than a decade [...]
Ross Prairie Loop - Starting at the Ross Prairie Trailhead, the 3.5-mile Ross Prairie Loop offers an overview of Ross Prairie, a sprawling complex of grasslands and ponds nearly three miles long. Edged by sand pine scrub, longleaf pine [...]
Ross Prairie State Forest – Holly Hammock Hiking Trail - At the Ross Prairie Trailhead of the Cross Florida Greenway, there are two loop trails you can access – and this is the shorter of the two, taking you on a journey into the quiet [...]
Sabal Point Sanctuary - Following an old logging tramway into the heart of a protected 2,500-acre floodplain forest where the Wekiva River and Little Wekiva River meet, the trail through Sabal Point Sanctuary is a simple one but quite [...]
Saddle Creek Park Nature Trail - An urban park just on the fringe of the industrial area east of downtown Lakeland, Saddle Creek Park draws a lot of attention for its primary attraction—fishing. Like those at nearby Tenoroc Fish Management Area, [...]
Salt Lake WMA - Pockets of prehistoric salt water lie deep beneath the marshes of the St. Johns River near Mims, bubbling up as salt springs. As a result, the salinity of South Lake, Loughman Lake, and Salt Lake, [...]
San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park – Moonshine Creek Trails - Throughout Gainesville, creeks vanish into the ground, becoming part of the Floridan Aquifer. Along the two short but rugged trails that comprise this loop – the Moonshine Creek Trail and the Creek Sink Trail – [...]
Savannas Preserve State Park – Hawks Bluff Trail - One of the rare places in South Florida where you can experience five habitats in just one mile of hiking, Hawks Bluff Trail at Savannas Preserve State Park shows off the highlight of this 10-mile-long [...]
Seminole State Forest – Lower Wekiva Loop - A lesser-known but beautiful loop trail within Seminole State Forest, the Lower Wekiva Loop provides a long day hike or overnight backpacking trip on its 8.8-mile route. Tracing the edge of both the Wekiva River [...]
Shingle Creek Regional Park – Historic Babb Landing - Most notable as the northernmost waterway feeding the Everglades ecosystem – via the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee – Shingle Creek rises from wetlands in a part of Orlando buried by the bustle of International [...]
Shingle Creek Regional Park – Historic Steffee Homestead - On its southward flow towards Lake Tohopekaliga, Shingle Creek – the northernmost tributary feeding Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades – winds through what is now some of the densest urban mass in Central Florida. Shingle [...]
Silver River Connector - Gushing more than 550 million gallons of water out of a cluster of springs each day, Silver Springs is the birthplace of the Silver River, a wild and scenic waterway that my paddler friends like [...]
Silver River State Park – River Trails - Silver River State Park has plenty of hiking, and these two trails are probably the most popular of the bunch. Walk under the “River Trails” arch to start your adventure into the cypress swamps and [...]
Silver River State Park – Sandhill Nature Trail - 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 [...]
Silver River State Park – Sinkhole Trail - Take a hike around a giant sinkhole and explore the uplands above the Silver River at Silver River State Park. Near the environmental education center and Pioneer Village, start at the Sinkhole Trail archway for this [...]
Silver Springs Conservation Area - It’s been a long time coming – Marion County’s first conservation area is now open for hikers to enjoy. Tucked between residential and business areas in Silver Springs across from Silver River State Park, this [...]
Smyrna Dunes Park - As the wind whips across a broad, sweeping peninsula reaching out towards Ponce Inlet, you can hear the squawks of shorebirds and the rustle of gopher tortoises intermingle with engines gunning and dogs barking. At [...]
Spring Hammock Preserve - 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 [...]
St. Andrews State Park – Pine Flatwoods Trail - 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 [...]
St. Francis Trail - It’s hard to believe, as you walk under bowers of live oaks and cabbage palms, that a town once crowded the wharf where the St. Johns River turns away from the St. Francis Dead River, [...]
St. Joseph Peninsula State Park – Maritime Forest Nature Trail - Just before you get to the park gates of St Joseph Peninsula State Park, the Maritime Forest Nature Trail offers a quick sampling of the habitats that cling to the bluffs along St. Joseph’s Bay. [...]
St. Marks River State Park - Explore river bottom forest around the St. Marks River at one of the most recent acquisitions by Florida State Parks. St. Marks River State Park protects 2,589 acres southeast of Tallahassee, straddling the Jefferson and [...]
Sweetwater Preserve - Two different faces, two different spaces: the 125-acre Sweetwater Preserve, acquired in 2006, is a unique natural land in the city of Gainesville. It provides a buffer and wildlife corridor on the northern rim of [...]
Taylor Creek Loop, Tosohatchee WMA - An exploration into the wilderness fringe along the St. Johns River near Cocoa, the Taylor Creek Loop invites you to immerse in the shade of ancient palm trees in the river floodplain. Built by the [...]
Ten Thousand Islands Marsh Trail - One of the world’s most mysterious places, the Ten Thousand Islands is where the Florida peninsula breaks apart into thousands and thousands of tiny pieces – clusters of mangroves forming islands in a shallow estuary [...]
Three Rivers State Park - Defined by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers creating the Apalachicola River, Three Rivers State Park includes Lake Seminole, a top-notch bass fishing destination, as well as a large lakeside campground with a [...]
Tillie K Fowler Regional Park – Island Trail - Protecting 509 acres in an otherwise crowded urban area, a large swath of floodplain forest and pine flatwoods along the Ortega River – a tributary of the St. Johns River – Tillie K. Fowler Regional [...]
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park - A sweep of fragile dunes along a shore that’s vanished, over time, under the rush of development: Topsail Hill State Park is a very special place. Protecting more than 3 miles of oceanfront on the [...]
Tosohatchee WMA – White Loop - Protecting more than 30,000 acres of wild space along the St. Johns River between Orlando and Titusville, Tosohatchee WMA is a grand expanse for hikers to play in. The Florida Trail runs through the preserve, [...]
Trail of Lakes - By itself, the Trail of Lakes is a 3.9-mile blue blazed connector between two portions of the Florida Trail around Camel Lake, a soggy, boggy walk in the Apalachicola National Forest. To enjoy it as [...]
Trimble Park - 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 [...]
Troy Spring State Park - The place: the Suwannee River. The year was 1863, and those pesky Federals were snooping all over Florida, seizing goods and burning plantations. A steamboat builder in Bradford Springs wrote to Governor Milton to let [...]
Upper Tampa Bay County Park - 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, [...]
Wakulla Springs State Park - Created by volunteers from the Friends of Wakulla Springs, the new Wakulla Springs Trail provides up to 10 miles of hiking in a round-trip and loop that showcases the variety of habitats along the river’s [...]
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park – Bella Vista Trail - At lush Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, a treasure along the Atlantic coast, the Bella Vista Trail leads you along its white-blazed Timucuan Loop through a shady maritime hammock of red bay, southern magnolia, and [...]
Wekiwa Springs Hiking Trail - More than a million people live within twenty miles of Wekiwa Springs State Park, where Orlando’s suburban sprawl encroaches from several directions. It’s one of Florida’s most busy and popular state parks, with Wekiwa Springs [...]
Wekiwa Springs State Park – Wet to Dry Trail - While the Wet to Dry Nature Trail at Wekiwa Springs State Park is the shortest of all of the park’s hiking trails, it’s also the busiest. Starting near the outflow of Wekiwa Springs as it [...]
Wiregrass Prairie Preserve – Yellow Loop - Part of a 1,400-acre watershed encompassing wetlands that flow out of Lake Ashby towards the St. Johns River basin, Wiregrass Prairie Preserve is a wild and rugged place in a distinctly rural setting. This hike [...]
Withlacoochee River Park - Most folks who hear about the Green Swamp imagine a giant watery wilderness like the Okeefenokee or the Everglades, but this swamp is very different. It is the headwaters of four Florida rivers—the north-flowing Withlacoochee [...]
Withlacoochee State Forest – Citrus Hiking Trail - Four days, 43 miles: that’s just part of the challenge of the Citrus Hiking Trail, the second-longest backpacking loop on a single piece of land in the state of Florida. Add aggressively rolling sandhills, steep [...]
Withlacoochee State Forest – Hog Island Nature Trail - For a dip into the primordial wilderness that envelopes the Withlacoochee River on its northward flow to the Gulf of Mexico, take a short jaunt to Nobleton (Hernando County) for a nature trail that showcases [...]
Withlacoochee State Forest – Johnson Pond Trail - One of my favorites for many years, the Johnson Pond Trail is Hike #3 in 50 Hikes in Central Florida. Although it combines elements of hikes I’m not fond of – shared use in a [...]
Withlacoochee State Forest – Oxbow Trail - A lesser-known part of Withlacoochee State Forest, the Oxbow Trail is on the northernmost tract of the forest along the Withlacoochee River, the trails and campsites all Eagle Scout projects. While the easy-to-follow big loop [...]
Woodmont Natural Area - 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 [...]
Yearling Trail - In the fall of 1876, Reuben and Sara Jane Long established a homestead on Pat’s Island, a high spot in the Big Scrub. Shaded by longleaf pine and turkey oak, they grew sugar cane and [...]
