New Port Richey is one of a string of cities – and certainly a deeply-rooted one – along the Suncoast between Homosassa Springs and Tarpon Springs along US 19. This busy urban/suburban interface in Pasco County has a surprising number of natural lands tucked away in watershed areas.
Caladesi Island State Park
Protecting a windswept shoreline and a variety of habitats on a barrier island off the historic coastal community of Dunedin, Caladesi Island State Park is undoubtedly one of the gems of the Florida State Parks system. It’s been named the top beach in the United States, thanks to its quiet and remote location, the view [...]
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.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 [...]
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 osprey and pelicans along the Osprey and Pelican Trails, and sweeping views across the sound and the Gulf of Mexico. [...]
James E Grey Preserve
James E. Grey Preserve is a hidden treasure on the outskirts of New Port Richey, a quiet rural breather along the Pithlachascotee River. It’s in a most unexpected place: surrounded by modern-day subdivisions, a tiny patch of rural Florida exists down a bumpy one-lane limerock road, a handful of residences deep in the woods and [...]
The Friends Trail
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, [...]
