Lake City sits just west and south of the Osceola National Forest, the smallest of Florida’s national forests. There are conservation lands all along the Suwannee River in this region, and the Florida Trail follows a route that circles around to the north of Lake City.
Alligator Lake - In the city once called Alligator, first home of the University of Florida and named for a great chief of the Seminoles, Alligator Lake has long been a gathering place. South of downtown, restored from [...]
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 [...]
Falling Creek Falls - See one of Florida’s fabulous but little known waterfalls on a short walk just north of Lake City. Take a quick detour from I-10 to see a spectacular root-beer-colored cascade, which plummets more than 10 [...]
Fanny Bay Trail - If you’re driving along I-10 from Jacksonville to Lake City and want to take a break by taking a hike, this interpretive trail in the Osceola National Forest provides an interesting spot to stretch your [...]
Florida Nature and Heritage Tourism Center - The hub of the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail in downtown White Springs, a stop for hikers along the Florida Trail, and an important draw for this community’s outdoor recreation enthusiasts, the State of Florida’s Nature [...]
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, CR25A to Stephen Foster - This roly-poly section of the Florida Trail is pretty rugged despite its short distance, since it involves a lot of scrambling in and out of ravines and eroded bluffs created when the Suwannee River seasonally [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Osceola National Forest – Mount Carrie Wayside - This short and easily accessible loop in the Osceola National Forest showcases an old growth longleaf pine forest with a population of red-cockaded woodpeckers best viewed in the early morning. Some of the pines sport [...]
Osceola National Forest – Trampled Track Trail - 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 [...]
