Sebring is in the heart of the state, more than an hour north of Lake Okeechobee and an hour south of Lake Wales, surrounded by ranches and citrus groves as well as some significant natural areas along the Kissimmee River.
Florida Trail, Chandler Slough West
Chandler Slough is a significant natural feature in the middle of the Okeechobee prairies. It’s especially noticeable as you’re hiking the Florida Trail, since from a distance it looks like a mountain ridge. In fact, it’s just the opposite—it’s a low gash in the landscape where water pools and flows towards the Kissimmee River. But… [Continue Reading]
Florida Trail, Hickory Hammock to Bluff Hammock
With its spreading moss-draped oaks and tall hickory trees, dark floodplain forests of cabbage palms and beautiful riverside campsite, the Hickory Hammock section is one of the jewels of the Florida Trail System. This is one of South Florida’s most spectacular hikes, thanks to the old growth forest along the Kissimmee River floodplain, including dense… [Continue Reading]
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 Center site is documented as possibly the first place in the eastern part of our continent where people crew corn.… [Continue Reading]
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 miss. Nine nature trails ramble through a variety of habitats, but the core of the park – massive oaks and… [Continue Reading]
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 Conservation Corps-era park boasts quite a few nature trails, but it’s the Ancient Hammock Trail that best shows off the… [Continue Reading]
Highlands Hammock State Park – Cypress Boardwalk
Teeter-tottering above a swamp isn’t an ideal situation for some people, but adventuresome hikers who want to have a little fun on a nature trail need to experience this stretch of old-time catwalk through the cypress swamp at Highlands Hammock State Park. The approach boardwalk is broad and wheelchair-accessible, leading back to an observation platform… [Continue Reading]
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 miles off the nearest major highway on a dead-end road. It’s why this is one of the best places in… [Continue Reading]
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 see the colorful blooms of meadow beauty, blazing star, and wild bachelor’s button. Walk the nature trails, ride the forest… [Continue Reading]
Lake June-in-Winter Scrub State Park – Bobcat Trail
Protecting 845 acres of the whitest, brightest sand on the Lake Wales Ridge, this passive preserve has one of the highest concentrations of rare and endemic plants in North America. A pristine snapshot of Florida’s scrub, the land is an ancient sand dune. A short nature trail follows Tomoka Run, a fern lined waterway {crosslink},… [Continue Reading]
Lake June-in-Winter Scrub State Park – Tomoka Trail
Protecting 845 acres of the whitest, brightest sand on the Lake Wales Ridge, Lake June-in-Winter Scrub State Park is a passive preserve with one of the highest concentrations of rare and endemic plants in North America. A pristine snapshot of Florida’s scrub, the land is an ancient sand dune. This short nature trail follows Tomoka… [Continue Reading]
