In addition to being Florida’s capital, Tallahassee is an outdoor town, with thousands of acres of natural lands surrounding the city, just waiting for exploration. The Apalachicola National Forest, Florida’s largest national forest, is here, as well as protected wilderness lands along rivers and streams and the vast coastline of Wakulla County to the south.
Bald Point State Park
Beaches in the Big Bend are rare, since this stretch of shoreline is defined by coastal estuaries and there is a lack of barrier islands. Still, in the sweep of the shallows of the Gulf of Mexico between Apalachicola and Cedar Key, you’ll find slim ribbons and tiny patches of beach. Where Ochlockonee Bay meets… [Continue Reading]
Blountstown Greenway
A ribbon of asphalt that connects communities and parks within the historic Apalachicola River town of Blountstown, the Blountstown Greenway is ideal for walking or biking and, in part, serves as a path for the Florida Trail through the center of town. Heavily shaded by deep upland forest for much of the journey, it connects… [Continue Reading]
Camel Lake Loop
Circle a cypress lined pond in the Apalachicola National Forest on the Camel Lake Loop. It’s a short hike on high ground in a place where most habitats are downright swampy. Despite the name of the Camel Lake Recreation Area, this body of water is Camel Pond, one of many large ponds in this part… [Continue Reading]
Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park
Ancient magnolias, massive tulip poplars, and sinuous alluvial streams are all part of the delights of Phipps Park, the city of Tallahassee’s most expansive and wild urban park. With 670 acres along the shores of Lake Jackson, Phipps Park provides recreation for all, with separate hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian trail systems. Part of the… [Continue Reading]
Falling Waters State Park
Iconic as the home of Florida’s tallest waterfall, Falling Waters State Park is a showcase for Florida geology. The park sits atop a high ridge, offering steep slopes on its short but delightful trail system and scenic views, when the leaves are few, from the picnic area and campground to lower elevations. The highlight of… [Continue Reading]
Florida Caverns State Park – Caverns Trail System
Most people come to see the stalactites and stalagmites at Florida’s only show cave. But the hiking’s even weirder at Florida Caverns State Park. One of the best parts of Florida Caverns State Park is its Caverns Trail System, an interconnected group of nature trails that surround the big show cave. Most folks don’t step… [Continue Reading]
Florida Trail, Bradwell Bay
You’re guaranteed to get wet on Florida’s roughest, wildest swamp walk on the Florida Trail in Bradwell Bay, a wild place where hiking with friends is a smart idea. Situated south of Tallahassee, the Bradwell Bay Wilderness is one of the most majestic and wild places in Northwest Florida, a roadless area encompassing more than… [Continue Reading]
Fort Gadsden
On an early morning in the fog off the river, you can almost feel the ghosts slipping between the trees, sunlight dappling through the moist needles of longleaf pine and the air thick with the fresh scent of river bottom and fungus. Pale lily-like blooms of wiregrass gentian peep from between the grasses carpeting the… [Continue Reading]
Garden of Eden Trail
Try one of Florida’s toughest day hikes on for size: local legend has it this was the Garden of Eden, and from the lush forests and rare flora along this trek, they might be on to something. This is one hike that’s no walk in the park. In fact, I’d rate it the second most… [Continue Reading]
High Bluff Coastal Trail
In Tate’s Hell State Forest, the High Bluff Coastal Trail along US 98 near Carrabelle leads you over relict dunes covered with scrub plants like Florida rosemary and scrub mint, partially shaded by a canopy of sand pines. Since this is a scrub habitat, expect some sand in your shoes. You’ll walk a linear trail… [Continue Reading]
Ladell Brothers Outdoor Environmental Center
The nature trail at Ladell Brothers Outdoor Environmental Center, North Florida Community College in Madison is a place for students and visitors to get away from it all in the midst of the college campus. Starting off on a boardwalk across a cypress swamp, the trail enters the deep shade of a thick hardwood hammock.… [Continue Reading]
Lake Jackson Mounds State Park – Butler Mill Trail
Lake Jackson Mounds is best known for being one of the largest ceremonial temple mound complexes in the Southeast, but it offers a cool, shady nature trail, too. There are six earthen temple mounds, the tallest 36 feet; a burial mound; and a village site from the early Fort Walton period, 1200-1500 A.D. In more… [Continue Reading]
Lake Talquin State Forest – Fort Braden Trails
Showcasing bluff forests and deep ravines above Lake Talquin – a dammed reservoir in the Ocklochnee River west of Tallahassee – the Fort Braden Trails offer enough hiking for a weekend in the woods. Built and maintained by Florida Trail Association volunteers, the trail system includes the Central, East, and West Loops, all of which… [Continue Reading]
Lake Talquin State Forest – Ravine Trail
If you think Florida doesn’t have steep trails, this one will dispel the myth. To the west of Tallahassee, The Ravine Trail at Lake Talquin State Forest is part of the Terry Rhodes Trail System at the Bear Creek Educational Center south of Quincy, and is notable for clinging to the edges of a rather… [Continue Reading]
Lake Talquin State Park
A vast reservoir along the Ochlockonee River behind the Jackson Bluff Dam, which feeds a hydroelectric plant helping to power Tallahassee, Lake Talquin is a rarity in Florida due to its sheer size and character. From the picnic pavilion atop the park’s main ridge, the water shimmers in the distance, and a clamber down to… [Continue Reading]
Leon Sinks Geological Area
In the Apalachicola National Forest just south of Tallahassee, Leon Sinks Geological Area offers a delightful introduction to the wonders of karst topography. Karst is a landscape that happens through deep erosion of a soft rock such as limestone, and it leads to the most unusual visual treats as water flows into, out of, and… [Continue Reading]
Letchworth-Love Mounds Archaeological State Park
At Letchworth Mounds you can walk around the base of the tallest and most complex ceremonial mound in Florida. There are four mounds in the complex, with the tallest 46 feet high. The mounds are from the Woodland Period circa A.D. 500. The site was first mentioned in 1939 in the article “Spanish Mission Sites… [Continue Reading]
Mission San Luis – Julia Munroe Woodward Nature Trail
Although this rugged little nature trail at Mission San Luis doesn’t top a half mile, it gives you a good excuse to go play in the woods in suburban Tallahassee—and to learn about the depth of Florida’s history in the process. Dating back to 1656, Mission San Luis is truly one of Florida’s great archeological… [Continue Reading]
Myron B Hodge City Park
Hidden on a back street within walking distance of downtown Sopchoppy, Myron B. Hodge City Park offers quiet campsites along the dark placid waters of the Sopchoppy River, and a nature trail where you can linger along the Sopchoppy River amid the sweet spring scent of Florida azalea. With porch swings and picnic tables, the… [Continue Reading]
Ochlockonee River State Park
At the confluence of the Ochlockonee River and the marshes fed by the Sopchoppy River, Ochlockonee River State Park is tucked behind a corner of St. Marks Wildlife Refuge just south of Sopchoppy as you head towards Lanark Village. A popular camping spot thanks to easy access to the water for anglers and paddlers, it’s… [Continue Reading]
Ralph G. Kendrick Dwarf Cypress Boardwalk
Why build a boardwalk in the middle of one of the most impassible swamps in Florida? Along the Gulf Coast near Carrabelle, Tate’s Hell is well-known for being a wild place. Its name is derived from the legend of a lost farmer who vanished for a week in the wilderness only to find his way… [Continue Reading]
San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park
Significant as the site of the first coastal fortress in Northwest Florida, San Marcos de Apalache protects several generations of battlements at the confluence of the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers. There are faint tracings of the original wooden stockade fort completed by the Spanish in 1679 at the confluence of the St. Marks and… [Continue Reading]
St. Marks NWR – Mounds Pool Trail
Hugging the “Forgotten Coast” of the Big Bend, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a broad sweep of salt marshes and tidal flats, brackish impoundments, cabbage palm hammocks, and pinelands. The Mounds Pool Interpretive Trail offers an excellent spot for birding along the man-made impoundments, melding a shady walk along one pool to a breezy… [Continue Reading]
St. Marks River State Park
Explore river bottom forest around the St. Marks River at one of the most recent acquisitions by Florida State Parks. St. Marks River State Park protects 2,589 acres southeast of Tallahassee, straddling the Jefferson and Leon county line. It encompasses old trade routes that were used in the first exploration and settlement of the region… [Continue Reading]
Three Rivers State Park
Defined by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers creating the Apalachicola River, Three Rivers State Park includes Lake Seminole, a top-notch bass fishing destination, as well as a large lakeside campground with a wheelchair-accessible rental cabin, picnic pavilions, two hiking trails, and canoe rentals. Resources Overview Location: Sneads Length: Up to 2.5… [Continue Reading]
Torreya State Park – Torreya Hiking Trail
One of the most rugged hikes in Florida, the Torreya Hiking Trail treats you to an billowing landscape of bluffs and ravines, rising to 300 feet above the Apalachicola River at Logan’s Bluff. The unusual landscape means unusual plant communities as well, including some of the rarest species in the state in the ravines. You’ll… [Continue Reading]
Trail of Lakes
By itself, the Trail of Lakes is a 3.9-mile blue blazed connector between two portions of the Florida Trail around Camel Lake, a soggy, boggy walk in the Apalachicola National Forest. To enjoy it as a day hike with no shuttling, you can use the Florida Trail to create a 9.5-mile loop (starting and ending… [Continue Reading]
Wakulla Springs State Park
Created by volunteers from the Friends of Wakulla Springs, the new Wakulla Springs Trail provides up to 10 miles of hiking in a round-trip and loop that showcases the variety of habitats along the river’s floodplain. A new bridge over Sally Ward Spring Run provides access to the uplands along the far side of the… [Continue Reading]
Wright Lake Trail
At Wright Lake near Sumatra, a day hiking loop along the western edge of the Apalachicola National Forest features an unusual bridge and numerous pitcher plant bogs This well-kept loop along the western edge of the Apalachicola National Forest was a real surprise to me. I expected pine plantations (and there were many), but did… [Continue Reading]
