Bike & Hike Trails

Few South Florida hiking or biking trails rival this 12-mile-long trail near Naples for scenery and wildlife. It deserves to be known outside the Naples area.

The Old Seven Mile Bridge, newly reopened, is again a sensation. Its history and scenic beauty make it a great place to walk or bike. The bridge ends at Pigeon Key, which you can tour to learn its fascinating story. We answer many questions about visiting the bridge.

The bike trail down the Florida Keys — the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail — is not complete, but here are four sections that offer scenic and safe rides.

Mount Dora has a lively downtown and a well-preserved historic district on a pretty lake. It’s a walkable small town with good dining and shopping. What we like just as much: There is great kayaking and biking nearby.

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.

Milton has grown from the “canoe capitol” in Florida’s Panhandle into an outdoors center with eco-resorts and multiple activities. The area’s white-sand rivers are terrific to kayak or tube and there are good hiking and biking trails. Milton has an interesting historic district too.

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.

The Van Fleet Trail into the Green Swamp is one of the most rural, isolated rides you’ll find in Florida. It’s flat. It’s straight. But if you want to truly get away from it all and encounter a little wildlife along the way, here’s the place.

This is one of the best sections of the Florida Keys bike trail because the path and the half-dozen scenic bridges are separate from traffic.

Twenty minutes off I-4 between Orlando and Tampa, there is a little-known wildlife preserve that one visitor calls “a free safari.” It attracts thousands of migrating birds in winter, but it has more to offer than just excellent birding.

This Miami state park is a remarkable island of green where you can kayak, mountain bike, picnic and enjoy a sandy beach. There are even rustic cabins to rent. Now, the historic Blue Marlin Fish House, located on park property on 163rd Street, has re-opened and rents SUPs and kayaks on the Oleta River as well as offering sandwiches, salads and beer.

The Pinellas Trail is a long, well-marked paved bicycle trail that connects St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs along Florida’s Gulf coast.

Sanibel is more famous for its beaches and seashells, but it’s a great place to explore by bike. With more than 25 miles of bicycle trails, Sanibel’s hidden beaches, pioneer cemetery and quiet shady neighborhoods open up to you.

This Gainesville area state park is a vast playground for hikers and bikers, but also for bison and wild horses. There are miles of trails, great campsites and wildlife galore.

DAYTONA BEACH — Tiger Bay State Forest is a vast wilderness quite close to Daytona Beach International Speedway, and it’s a great destination for camping, fishing, off-road bike riding, hiking and horseback riding.

Casey Key, a skinny 8-mile-long barrier island south of Sarasota, is a great destination for someone who wants to pedal a great bike trail in the morning, beachcomb amid natural beauty in the afternoon and then enjoy an authentic waterfront fish house for dinner.