Lake Wales Ridge State Forest is for explorers – folks who like to find places that aren’t in the guidebooks. Here you can hike for miles in the woods, hear only nature and have a chance to spot wildlife, including bear, bald eagles and endangered scrub jays.
Once the site of a luxury resort for the rich and famous, Long Key State Park is a terrific place to spend a few hours hiking, beachcombing, swimming, snorkeling and kayaking in the Florida Keys. While most of its highly prized beachfront campsites are closed, a few tent sites are open.
Hidden among the tidal marshes, Tomoka State Park offers a shady campground, miles of paddle trails, biking and hiking, and a productive fishery.
Tucked into a corner of Hillsborough County is a quiet, well-shaded campground that packs a lot of nature into a small 160-acre preserve along the Alafia River.
Crossing the Florida state line is something to cheer about, but there’s a lot more road ahead. Here are a few suggestions for overnight stays at these RV campgrounds.
Nature hikes, free camping, off-road bicycling, fishing and paddling are fabulous in this pair of magical wildlife areas in the far reaches of Palm Beach County
This state park is so worth a drive to explore. It would take days to experience it all – a beautiful beach, an extra-long fishing pier, a well-preserved Civil War fort, hiking, wildlife, great camping.
If you haven’t experienced Florida’s most famous spring, you’re missing one of the most beautiful spots in Florida. This weekend, Ocali Country Days, a special living-history festival, will re-create the Ocala of the 1800s. Year-round, this park has it all: kayaking, hiking, glass-bottom boat rides, horseback riding and terrific cabins.
This wild island on the Gulf coast is never crowded — it’s too hard to get there. For those who drive to Pineland on Pine Island and then take the hour-long ferry to the state park, the rewards are many: Nine miles of perfect beaches, shaded jungle-like trails and wildlife that includes osprey nests, dolphins, stringrays and all sorts of bird and sea life.
Jetty Park, with a terrific beach, fishing jetty and a view of passing ships, has a campground and small cabins. It’s an appealing getaway, with a few catches.
