Guides
Escape the crowds and theme parks for a day and enjoy Florida's premier rail trail for over 45 miles of pure pleasure.
When most people think of Florida, they think of theme parks, beaches, and citrus groves. But to get to know the real Sunshine State, there's nothing like exploring a 46 mile rail-trail that cuts through the heart of the real Florida. The Withlacoochee State Trail runs through abandoned orange groves and through communities that have seen booms and...
Trips
My wife and I took an afternoon stroll in the Little Big Econ State Forest, which is close to our home.
Bull Creek - Florida Trail (northern section), Crabgrass Cemetery Road, and hunting road
Deer Park, Florida, United States
Hiking | 8.8 miles
Hiking | 8.8 miles
My good friend Bonker was in town so I thought I would show him some Florida hiking. I had heard of Bull Creek Wildlife Management Area and wanted to go. We weren't quite ready to do the entire loop trail, so we decided to the northern section of the trail and loop around on some of the roads, making sure to visit the Crabgrass Cemetery. There is a nice...
Little Manatee River State Park, Hiking Trail
Sun City Center, Florida, United States
Hiking | 15.3 miles
Hiking | 15.3 miles
Little
Manatee River
State Park is very diverse and
wild. When you hike the trail the type of scenery is constantly changing. There are parts that are like a jungle, some
are like airy pine cover clearings, patches of palmetto and scrub oak, and
hilly oak hammocks on the banks of the river and its flood plain. The park does
not allow swimming in the river because of alligators. The park also has facilities for horse
riding, full...
This is a huge wilderness preserve and camping site in western Pasco county. It has a vast amount of nature trails, camping areas and shelters. Very scenic!
Hillsborough River
State Park is very beautiful and
wild. It is very jungle like once you get onto the trails on the north side of
the river. Visibility is quite limited because of the vegetation, which is very
diverse including palmetto, pine, oak, sable palms and a variety of shrubbery
and vines. The park does not allow swimming in the river because of alligators,
but a public swimming pool is provided (an additional admission fee is charged
for...
Indian River Chapter of the Florida Trail Association
Three parks make up the Wilderness Park Bicycle Trail System. Ridden
together, these three parks support a 20 mile contiguous single-track
loop.
Caladesi Island Nature Trail and Beach Part 1 of 2
Dunedin, Florida, United States
Hiking | 2.3 miles
Hiking | 2.3 miles
We entered Honeymoon Island State park via the causeway in our vehicle, and then boarded the Ferry from Honeymoon to Caladesi Island. We arrived and hiked south to the head of the Hammock Loop Trail and started tracking from there. The trip was broken into two parts due to gps lockup. This is part 1 of 2. The goal was to locate the historic homestead site and photograph that area, as...
Wekiwa Springs State Park is a 6,400 acre preserve. Much of it still is
as it was when the Timucuan Indians lived there. The primary feature is
Wekiwa Springs, a crystal clear spring which is the source of the
Wekiva River, part of which is designated a "Wild and Scenic River". The
Wekiwa Trail passes through open scrubby flatwoods of pine and
palmetto, open prairies, hardwood hammocks, cypress swamp, and
vine-tangled wetlands. The trail makes several picturesque crossings...
After being cooped up by rainy weather for three days, I was ready for a hike in the woods. The East side of the river along here is particularly enchanting, with old growth Oaks and Cypress, lush ferns and Spanish Moss. After so much rain, the trails were very wet with large puddles, but I didn't mind.
This is a nice county park with a few short trails that parallel the Econ River. Good for a short walk in the woods.
This is a great 8.7 mile hike along the Florida Trail. This section takes you through the Juniper Wilderness where the signs warn of:
Falling Trees
Lack of vehicle access
Animal Encounters
Bad Weather
We saw evidence of all those things on our walk, with bear scat every 1/4 mile, deer frolicking, tornado damaged forest, and a lot of downed trees.
Split Oak Forest - North Loop, Lake Loop, and Swamp Trail
Lake Hart, Florida, United States
Hiking | 6.4 miles
Hiking | 6.4 miles
The trails are really fire roads in loose sand with tire ruts. Therefore, you don't really feel like you are on a trail. In addition, the trails are only adequately marked. If you are not paying attention you might take a fire road that is not the main trail and get sidetracked. You don't follow blazes, but rather signs with numbers. The one nice thing about this...
This is an area I hike quite a bit - the Seminole Ranch in Christmas Florida. I parked next to the RV park on RT50 in Christmas. On this day I took the orange blazed Florida Trail up to the game checkin station on Wheeler Road. I normally stop there and have lunch - there is a screened in area with a picnic table. I take a lot of photos around here...
The
Wekiwa Trail passes through open scrubby flatwoods of pine and
palmetto, open prairies, hardwood hammocks, cypress swamp, and
vine-tangled wetlands. The trail makes several picturesque crossings of
spring-fed streams and follows the edge of scenic Rock Springs Run,
where Camp Cozy is a popular destination for backpackers.Animal life is abundant, including bear, deer, fox squirrels, wading birds, raccoons and alligators.The main loop is 8.4 miles long and starts and ends at Sand Pond.
Scenic connector trails lead...
Walk the landscape and discover the history that inspired Marjorie
Kinnan Rawlings Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Yearling in 1938, on
Pat’s Island in the Ocala National Forest.
In the fall of 1876, Reuben and Sara Jane Long established a
homestead on Pat’s Island, a high spot in the Big Scrub. Shaded by
longleaf pine and turkey oak, they grew sugar cane and corn, peas,
beans, and watermelon, a frontier existence for a hardy family. Their
son Melvin found and...
