South Florida

A tiny slice of native pine rocklands survives in a corner of this Miami city park, where paved nature trails provide access for all into a glimpse of what landscaped yards would look like if left to nature’s way. Resources Overview Location: Miami Length: 0.6 miles Lat-Long: 25.738433, -80.308917 Type: paved interconnecting trails Fees / [...]

For a taste of the palmetto prairie that attracted ranchers to South Florida, head off the beaten path to explore Babcock Ranch on foot. At Babcock Wilderness Adventures – a popular ecotourism attraction east of Punta Gorda – the Ecotour Trail is a no-cost option to getting your feet wet on an exploration of wet [...]

In addition to having one of the best beaches in Florida, Bahia Honda State Park is blessed with a profusion of rare and unique tropical vegetation. Along the park’s Silver Palm Trail, you’ll meander through the largest grove of silver palms (Coccothrinax argentata) in the United States, just yards away from the strumming waves. Resources [...]

To the east of Naples, the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk at Fakahatchee Preserve State Park offers a peek into one tiny corner of the Fakahatchee Strand, but it’s significant in two ways – it’s the most accessible and therefore most highly visited corner of the preserve, and it’s a notable natural landmark, a stand of [...]

Remnants of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, ancient dunes that once marked the oceanfront in Southeastern Florida, pop up now and again in the most unexpected places. Blazing Star Preserve is one of those spots. It’s in the thick of an older residential community in Boca Raton, so it’s downright puzzling that it survived decades of [...]

To the northeast of Fort Myers, the 768-acre Caloosahatchee Regional Park – which was intended to become a state park – provides an outdoor escape along the Caloosahatchee River. The trail system, while a little tricky to follow in places, includes four short interconnecting trails that make up 3.4 miles of hiking. Bicycles are permitted [...]

At Castellow Hammock, you’re stepping into Florida’s past as you follow the nature trail into a remnant of tropical forest. Part of the Dade Archipelago, a series of rocky islands that once protruded from the River of Grass of the Everglades, Castellow Hammock is a tropical forest now surrounded by the farming community of the [...]

Showcasing the interface of freshwater and saltwater habitats along Charlotte Harbor, Alligator Creek Preserve in Punta Gorda is an outreach center and living laboratory of the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center at Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park. Here, the stir of a salt breeze riffles across cypress domes close to the sea. Resources Overview Location: Punta [...]

Created by the Florida Trail Association, the Collier-Seminole Hiking Trail is one of South Florida’s most beautiful trails, but it’s not for the inexperienced hiker. Wilderness savvy is in order, as you’ll be wading the better part of 6 miles to experience a watery forest like none other – the Big Cypress Swamp. This loop [...]

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 Longboat Key. Although the entire trail system is less than a mile, it’s fun to explore. The trails offer great [...]

Explore a patch of wilderness in a very urban setting. Winding through a diminutive scrub forest of sand live oak, tallow-wood, gopher apple, and sand pines, the brief hike offers a respite from the surrounding urban mass. Resources Overview Location: Pompano Beach Length: 0.4 mile Lat-Long: 26.271200, -80.119697 Type: paved loop Fees / Permits: none [...]

Hidden behind a screen of mangroves along the Indian River Lagoon, D.J. Wilcox Natural Area is an offbeat place to find a hike. You wouldn’t expect it as you drive down the entrance road, which is lined with canals edged with mangroves on both sides. You still wouldn’t expect it as you walk along the [...]

At the northernmost end of Naples, the breezy shores of Delnor-Wiggins State Park entice thousands of beachgoers on summer days – especially on weekends. On weekdays and early mornings and evenings, people who like a stroll on the beach have it all to themselves. One of the best places along this coast to find massive [...]

Connecting Wildlife Drive and the Indigo Trail, the Cross Dike Trail at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is an easy paved walk along a dike between two impoundments. An observation deck provides a spot for birding along the mangrove-lined waters. Resources Overview Location: Sanibel Island Length: 0.3 mile Lat-Long: 26.461382,-82.1332 Type: round-trip Fees: National Wildlife [...]

The shortest walk in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge is one you shouldn’t miss on your drive along Wildlife Drive. Pull off a mile into the refuge to head down to the Red Mangrove Overlook, where the boardwalk tunnels though the roots of the mangroves to emerge at a sweeping view of a shallow salt [...]

Located along Wildlife Drive in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the Wulfert Keys Trail is a short walk along a canal to the edge of Hardworking Bay, named for the difficult work of the fisherman there who set their traps by hand in this bay off San Carlos Bay for crabbing. One of the northernmost [...]

Where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico, Emerson Point Preserve protects a significant archeological site: the Portavent Mound. More than 150’ long and 80’ wide, this artificial flat-topped hill shaded by ancient live oaks is one of the oldest temple mounds in Florida, more than 1,000 years old, built by the ancestors of [...]

For most visitors, the Anhinga Trail is their first and perhaps only glimpse into Everglades National Park. Its proximity to the park entrance guarantees its popularity, and wildlife here is so common and complacent you’ll hear the tourists asking “is that alligator real?” Rest assured they are. Resources Overview Location: Everglades National Park Length: 0.8 [...]

Paralleling the former Homestead Canal, an attempt by early developers to drain the coastal prairies around Cape Sable, the Bear Lake Trail takes you on a journey down an old road built of limestone fill scooped from the canal diggings. Starting at the trailhead, the trail leads you down a corridor surrounded by tropical forest, [...]

The Christian Point Trail is one of the more challenging trails in Everglades National Park, This is one of the more challenging trails in Flamingo, especially after the storm surge damage of Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. After traversing a mangrove forest and entering a small prairie, it winds around in a hammock of buttonwood covered [...]

One of the perrenial destinations for birding in Everglades National Park, Eco Pond sits near the end of the Main Park Road in Flamingo. During the 2005 hurricanes, a wave of salt water washed across the landscape, changing the pond’s salinity, affecting the wildlife living there. This loop still provides excellent birdwatching and wildlife sightings, [...]

Tree islands are tropical oases in the Everglades “river of grass,” punctuating the sawgrass prairie where there is a slight bit of elevation, enough to make an enormous difference in the flora. I’ve always loved Mahogany Hammock, probably because it’s one of the first trails I ever remember walking on in Florida, back in the [...]

Complementing Shark Valley’s popular bike and tram trail and Bobcat Boardwalk, the Otter Cave Trail gets you out into the Everglades at a walking pace, where you’ll see much more wildlife. Although the park considers the Otter Cave Trail to include the paved access to it, the natural trail is very short but very beautiful. [...]

One of my favorite Everglades nature trails, Pine Land is a showcase for South Florida’s weird and wonderful karst, a limestone bedrock that’s full of Swiss-cheese like holes, crevices, pits, and tiny caves. Pine rocklands are one of the rarest remaining habitats in Florida, and this is an excellent example atop a high point on [...]

It’s a wild corner of Florida, where tropical forests meet the mangrove shorelines of Florida Bay, where crocodiles cruise the saline shallows and mosquitoes thicken the air. It’s getting even wilder these days, with the unfortunate proliferation of exotic species like pythons and anacondas. But Snake Bight has always been an outpost on the edge, [...]

In addition to the very gentle 0.4-mile Leslie Duncan Memorial Trail that starts at this trailhead, a longer 1.3 mile loop appeals to hikers willing to get their feet wet while they feel a real part of this predator’s habitat. Depending on the time of year, the trail may be mostly inundated with tannic water [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

It took more than a decade of planning to get the project on the ground, but the Ocean-to-Lake Trail, a spur of the 1,400-mile Florida Trail leading from Lake Okeechobee to the Atlantic Ocean at Hobe Sound, is now a reality. The easternmost segments provide some ongoing access challenges, but the western section – accessed [...]

*** 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 from your perch on the Herbert Hoover Dike as you walk this section of the Florida Trail along the eastern [...]

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. [...]

A forest of mangroves along the Caloosahatchee River, Four Mile Cove Eco Preserve is a rare find in Cape Coral, where most of the landscape has been developed (to the detriment of those little burrowing owls) over the past fifty years. Tucked right up against the Midpoint Memorial Bridge, this park provides a gateway for [...]

Boardwalks meander through a recreated wetlands that bring a touch of the Everglades back to its original home in Boynton Beach. One family can make a difference in the quality of life for their community. Nearly two decades ago, my friends Ted and Trudy Winsburg decided they wanted to leave a legacy with the land [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 nicely identified along the first half of the circuit. There are more than 200 species on display. The Exotic Trail [...]

All along Florida’s east coast, the Atlantic Coastal Ridge is a special place. Atop these limestone bluffs – which dramatically outcrop along the Atlantic Ocean in places like House of Refuge, Blowing Rocks, Coral Cove, and Coconut Grove – are ancient sands upon which you’ll find ancient scrub forests – in the places that haven’t [...]

With so many opportunities for different lengths of hikes, the trail system at Jelks Preserve provides everyone with somewhere to get outdoors. A marker system and maps at the trailhead make it easy to find your way. Most of the trails are a tad wide, built to accommodate vehicles—the narrow side trails to the river [...]

One of Florida’s most well-known state parks, John Pennekamp State Park is famed for its coral reefs, but not so well known for its trails. Two nature trails showcase the land-side habitats of the park, and of these, the Mangrove Trail is a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk that gets you right into the heart of a mangrove [...]

For backpackers headed to the urban southeastern part of the Florida, Jonathan Dickinson State Park provides more than 11,000 acres to roam on a series of three trails maintained by the Florida Trail Association. Although the East Loop took some severe battering during the hurricanes of 2005, losing the sand pine scrub canopy along the [...]

Brilliant pink orchids. The clatter of sandhill cranes. Ferns rising from depression marshes. Cabbage palms shading your campsite. These are reasons to head into the woods on the second of two stacked loops for long distance roaming within Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the Kitching Creek Loop. It’s connected to the East Loop via a short [...]

Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park is truly a botanical treasure, with the highest concentration of champion trees in one place in the United States—and none are over 45 feet tall. Current and prior national champions include crabwood (Ateramnus lucidus), Bahama strongback (Bourreria ovata), spicewood (Calyptranthes pallens), wild cinnamon (Canella winterana), milk-bark (Drypetes diversifolia), Guiana [...]

It took many years and a lot of local effort by the Friends of Big Cypress to get this gentle introduction to the wilds of the Big Cypress Swamp in place, but the Kirby Storter Boardwalk was worth the wait. Although it’s only a half mile long, it’s accessible at all times of year, and [...]

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 shade of the bromeliad-draped live oaks and tall cabbage palms, and there are benches to perch on to watch the [...]

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 [...]

Resources Overview Location: Wimauma Length: 2.9 miles or 6.5 miles Lat-Long: 27.675111, -82.349814 Type: loop Fees / Permits: state park entrance fee Difficulty: moderate Bug factor: moderate Restroom: No You must visit the Little Manatee River State Park entrance first and get the gate combination (and map) from the ranger before heading up here to [...]

The quiet, lesser-known side of Long Key State Park is the bay side of Long Key, a mostly-undisturbed and undeveloped fringe of mangroves and tropical hammocks along Florida Bay. The Layton Trail leads you on a quarter-mile exploration of these habitats, emerging at a showy spot on Florida Bay. Resources Overview Location: Long Key Length: [...]

Bordering and managed by the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge – the first wildlife refuge in America established to protect sea turtles – Maritime Hammock Sanctuary showcases maritime, or coastal hammock, marshlands, and mangroves along the Indian River Lagoon. It’s 150 acres preserved from the residental development that has otherwise spread up and down A1A [...]

The site of an open-pit phosphate mine until the early 1980s, this reclamation project borders the Peace River floodplain, where the boardwalk winds through the floodplain forest out to the river. Interpretive signs give background information on the 1,800-square-mile Peace River basin. Resources Overview Location: Fort Meade Length: 0.5-mile Lat-Long: 27.821817, -81.804433 Type: round-trip Fees [...]

Buried in a sea of development, Oak Hammock Park is one of those little gems that shouldn’t be missed. The canopy of centuries-old live oaks is a strong counterpoint to the surrounding manicured lawns and water management canals. In addition to the lush, fern-laden hammock, the park encompasses a patch of pine forest and an [...]

Circling one of Oscar Scherer State Park’s notable water features, Lake Osprey, the wheelchair-accessible Lake Osprey Trail – the park’s newest trail, opened in 2010 – offers a natural surface exploration of the uplands surrounding the artesian-spring-fed waters. Birding is excellent, especially in the early morning hours. The many benches along this path make it [...]

Resources Overview Location: Vero Beach Length: 3 miles or more Lat-Long: 27.587051, -80.375452 Type: balloons Fees / Permits: none Difficulty: moderate Bug factor: moderate to annoying Restroom: none Open sunrise to sunset. Mosquitoes can be fierce at times; use plenty of protection. There are now two trails at Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area – this hike [...]

Take a walk on the wet side—built by Boy Scouts, this slosh through swampland celebrates the preservation of a segment of the Big Cypress Swamp that was once a part of the biggest real estate scam in Florida. As befits a swamp, the trail is partially under water in all but the dry spring months, [...]

Riverbend Park has been more than a decade in the making. It’s been more than a decade since Riverbend Park was first established, and now that it’s open, the 680 acre preserve is an ideal destination for hikers who want a taste of the wilds of Southwest Florida without getting their feet wet. More than [...]

An oasis of tropical hammock in a sea of suburbia, Rocky Point Hammock is perched along the Atlantic Coastal Ridge in Port Salerno, south of Stuart. This unique location creates an appealing mix of scrub and tropical habitats, with diminutive plants atop the higher elevations and a dense ring of tropical forest and ancient trees [...]

Seabranch Preserve State Park encompasses nearly 1,000 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway south of Stuart, and protects several critical habitats in an area overrun with coastal development. In addition to supporting populations of Florida scrub-jays and gopher tortoises across its many acres of diminutive scrub forest, Seabranch Preserve contains one of South Florida’s rare bayhead [...]

Humidity crept into the still morning air, coloring the swamp with a mild haze. Standing behind his medium-format camera, the photographer watched and waited, waited and watched. A green heron appeared, fluttering down to the edge of the flag pond. Quick! The photographer takes several frames, and moves on. There are plenty of subjects to [...]

In the highly urbanized Interstate 95 corridor through Palm Beach County, Sugar Sand Park is a local getaway that hits the spot for families with young children. A portion of the park is given over to ballfields, but most of it remains forested. Two easy interpretive trails give you a place to walk in the [...]

Set aside as part of a ribbon of wild lands on the southeastern side of Sarasota County, T. Mabry Carlton Reserve is less than a dozen miles from downtown Venice but wild enough that the Florida panther roams these woodlands along the Myakka River floodplain. With over 24,000 acres of protected land, it contains more [...]

Starting at a small trailhead off a side road off Wakeford Rd, the Jenkins Trail leads you to a cool tannic stream slicing through the desert-like scrub of the Lake Wales Ridge: Tiger Creek, for which this preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy is named. This is the northernmost trail in the preserve. Resources Overview [...]

Wading birds everywhere: that’s the delight of a walk along the boardwalks of Wakodahatchee Wetlands. The first wetlands park in the region, it continues to draw a regular crowd for morning stolls, photography, and serious birdwatching. Resources Overview Location: Delray Beach Length: 0.75 mile boardwalk Lat-Long: 26.477817, -80.144900 Type: linear/loop Fees / Permits: none Difficulty: [...]

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 is a birder’s delight. Birdsong is constant; listen for the hooting of barred owls and the rat-a-tat-tat of the pileated [...]