Camping, kayaking, hiking, biking and a humongous swimming pool are the top features of this state park that straddles the Hillsborough River.
Historic Florida
Natural beauty makes Riverbend Park a delightful place to explore. Its 10 miles of bike trails are particularly suited to family bicycle outings. It’s also the site of a historic battleground and is where you launch for kayaking the Loxahatchee River.
They don’t make movies like “African Queen” any more — and they don’t make boats like the African Queen either. If your dream was to sit where Humphrey Bogart or Katherine Hepburn sat in the classic 1951 movie, then head to Key Largo. Here are the details you need to plan a visit.
Eden Gardens State Park is 20 minutes away from the bright white Panhandle beaches. It offers a rest for the eyes amid camellias, azaleas and a handsome 1897 mansion with an interesting history. Right now, the 100 varieties of camelias are in full bloom.
Folks have been fascinated with Stiltsville since the first shack went up in Biscayne Bay a mile from land in the 1930s. Biscayne National Park and a non-profit partner offer regular boat tours that tell the Stiltsville story and take you close to the houses.
It’s a long way from just about anywhere — and that’s part of its beauty. But it’s also a great place to bicycle, kayak, hike, watch sunsets and spot birds. An 1859 hotel, now a charming B&B, plus fresh seafood restaurants add to its appeal.
Jonathan Dickinson State park can keep a lover of the outdoors busy for days with hiking, biking, kayaking, camping, wildlife watching and soaking up the natural beauty.
Egmont Key is romantic, remote and historic. Located in the mouth of Tampa Bay, accessible only by boat, it is home to an intriguing fort, gopher tortoises, beautiful beaches and more.
Witness 5,000 years of history through a glass wall at this Indian midden at Spanish Point, and learn about the Palmer family’s profound impact on Sarasota County.
Many people miss it, sticking to Duval Street, but one of the most scenic strolls in Key West — and a top freebie — is the harbor walk along Key West Bight, also known as the Historic Key West Seaport.
Just five minutes off I-95, we discovered the perfect stop on a roadtrip or weekend getaway destination: a lovely and intriguing historic district in Jacksonville.
Part II of Visiting Jacksonville: A companion to our guide to visiting Jacksonville’s historic Riverside Avondale neighborhood. This is a walking tour of historic homes, with photos and a map to guide you.
A fascinating kayak destination: Mound Key Archaeological State Park, an uninhabited island accessible only by boat near Fort Myers Beach. The ceremonial center of the Calusa people, Mound Key is one of a kind and is surrounding by waters full of wildlife.
Tarpon Springs is best known for its Greek sponge docks. But a boat trip to Anclote Key, one of Florida’s most remote state parks, is even better. Anclote Key is a perfect island beach, perhaps more tantalizing because it’s not easy to visit.
One of the prettiest places is Key West is the Audubon House, also known as the Geiger House, and its gardens. Like the best spots in Key West, the Audubon House is full of fascinating stories with larger than life characters. It also features a great collection of Audubon’s work in Florida.
St. Augustine Pirate Museum offers rare, authentic artifacts; it’s a real museum. But it injects of dose of Disney and interactive exhibits to make it fun for kids.
With charm, history and the beauty of nearby natural areas, this special destination offers visitors a long list of adventures. St. Augustine’s appeal starts with two key assets: The historic district with its shady brick lanes and and the natural beauty of the region,
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is 46,000 acres of salt marshes, coastal dunes, and hardwood hammocks, but this national park also preserves fascinating Florida history.
Old Wooden Bridge got whacked by Hurricane Irma in 2017, but has bounced back. With most cabins destroyed, the owner added 13 houseboats. This waterfront outpost feels like a place from a bygone era.
No Name Pub has been around since the 1930s, and it looks like it. It offers tasty food in a historic building, but what makes this the king of Funky Florida is the decor: $90,000 (some say) stapled to the walls and ceiling.
This state park has superior cabins and is a great base for kayaking the Suwannee and hiking. It’s also home to an oddly dated museum on Stephen Foster. (We considered it a funky Florida find.)
Wakulla Springs State Park has a historic lodge, spectacular spring/swimming hole, scenic boat rides and many spots to hike, bike and kayak nearby. The Big Bend region of Florida is often overlooked by visitors, who are missing out on a rustic, rural area.
The island of Palm Beach is the exclusive winter home of billionaires. For the rest of us, it’s a fun place to gawk at mansions and their ficus hedges sculpted into works of art. The town is full of history, too, from Henry Flagler to JFK to Donald Trump.
One of Florida’s least accessible historic sites, Fort Gadsden, also known as “The Negro Fort”, is a tale of war — and the deadliest cannonball in American history.
This original Florida roadside attraction still thrills, especially in the spring and early summer when its rookery fills with hundreds of nesting birds. The gators and crocs are well-presented with lots of information as well as entertainment.
Delray Beach makes a great weekend getaway: It’s a charming, walkable urban area with outstanding gardens, historic buildings, a great downtown main street and an open, natural beach.
A Virginia Key kayak outing offers an amazing combo – views of the Miami skyline rising out of Biscayne Bay in one direction, mangrove lagoons with shore birds in the other. An extra treat: It’s the best way to see the old Miami Marine Stadium.
The Gamble Mansion has white columns to rival Tara and was the site of a dramatic Civil War event. It’s the only antebellum mansion left in South Florida.
The Kennedy Bunker, a Cold War fallout shelter build for JFK in 1961, is closed to the public. Palm Beach County has not determined the future of the facility.
Mount Dora is a historic town that has figured out how to keep people visiting: Maximize the natural beauty and develop big arts, crafts and antique festivals.