Miss the change of seasons? Here’s fall in South Florida: Fields of wild sunflower bloom in Florida every fall, and a preserve near Immokalee is the best place to view them. The preserve opens for this occasion on Friday Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. You must reserve ahead.
The Mount Dora Bicycle Festival attracts thousands for competitive rides over hill and dale. This is your guide to the festival with schedules, a list of nearby campgrounds and links to hotel and vacation home reservations.
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.
Florida bike trails offer great scenery and local flavor. Here are a few great bike trails we’ve tried and recommend statewide.
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, wild horses and, sometimes, thousands of sandhill cranes.
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.
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.
Jupiter Island offers a scenic two-lane beachfront road with well-kept landscaping, very little traffic and excellent biking. It goes on for mile after mile past the estates of the rich and famous. And you can build in a stop at a hidden beach.
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.)
Myakka is one of the oldest and biggest state parks, a great place for seeing wildlife, from huge gators to flocks of birds in winter. Go here for its log cabins, appealing camp sites, excellent kayaking, extensive hiking and good bike trails. It’s also a good spot for nature neophytes, who enjoy the airboat ride and canopy walk.
The Hollywood Beach Broadwalk bike trail is a delightful bike ride. A trip to Old Florida, it has vintage buildings, casual beachfront eateries & great views.
This large state park in a rural, out-of-the-way part of Central Florida, preserves Old Florida cracker history. It offers great hiking trails and camping plus lakes to explore by kayak or canoe. Wildlife, from deer to alligators to sandhill cranes to eagles, is abundant.