The terminus of the Florida Trail is at Pensacola Beach, affording a lengthy beach walk, but the wonders of this region extend far inland to the vast Blackwater River State Forest, a playground for backpackers and day hikers alike. Bayou hikes are particularly interesting here, especially in spring when vast fields of pitcher plants are in bloom in the low marshes.
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 [...]
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 Forest – Wiregrass Trail - An excellent overnight backpacking trip which is also a segment of the Florida Trail, the Wiregrass Trail gets you into the heart of an ecosystem that has vanished across most of the Southeast—the longleaf pine [...]
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 [...]
Clear Creek Nature Trail - When I arrived at the peak of pitcher plant blooming season at the Clear Creek Nature Trail (early April) and walked the boardwalk across the bog, I’d felt like I’d stepped into an 18th century [...]
Florida Trail, Eglin East - This segment of the Florida Trail near Destin is on a swath of public land with a long and storied history. Established concurrently with the Ocala National Forest in 1908, the Choctawhatchee National Forest protected [...]
Florida Trail, Eglin West - Bordered by the tangled floodplain forests of the Yellow River to the north, this 14.2-mile segment of the Florida Trail traverses high, dry sandhills topped with longleaf pine forest and planted pine, dropping in elevation [...]
Florida Trail, Fort Pickens - At the westernmost point of Santa Rosa Island, along the shimmering sands of the Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Trail comes to an end at one of the most important historic sites in Florida’s Panhandle—Fort [...]
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 [...]
Garcon Point Trail - On a peninsula separating Blackwater Bay and East Bay, Garcon Point Preserve presents an open landscape of wind-swept prairies punctuated by oak hammocks and tall longleaf pines.The Western Gate Chapter of the Florida Trail Association [...]
Gulf Islands National Seashore – Naval Live Oaks Preserve - Naval Live Oaks Preserve outside Pensacola was our nation’s first tree farm, established in 1828 by President John Quincy Adams to protect a significant coastal stand of live oaks for military use. In those days, [...]
Tarkiln Bayou State Park - In 2003, The Nature Conservancy assisted the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with the purchase of this critical wetland along Tarkiln Bayou, known as the Perdido Pitcher Plant Prairie. Adjoining wetlands had already been [...]
UWF Dunes Preserve - If you’ve ever wanted to scramble up and down Florida dunes, here’s your chance! This part of Santa Rosa Island is a coastal desert that the Florida Trail weaves up and over. The Florida Trail [...]
Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park - Where wet pine flatwoods slope towards Blackwater Bay, a sweeping panorama of wet prairies is host to the largest concentration of pitcher plants in all of Florida. Even from the side of the road – [...]
