Getaways to the authentic Florida
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, near Everglades City, is the biggest state park in Florida. After three years, the preserve’s Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk has fully reopened after hurricane destruction. Now you have take a 2.3 mile boardwalk hike and pass through a rare original slice of ancient cypress forest.
The first festival of the season is in Tampa this weekend and despite two hurricanes, it is ON, including a free nature expo. Florida birding festivals bring together experts, pros and beginners at winter events.
Crossing the state on Alligator Alley? Here are tips on a how to spend 15 minutes, a half hour or a half day exploring the Everglades from I-75. This mile marker guide helps you decide where to stop and what to do along the way.
Lovers Key State Park is a treasure in Fort Myers Beach. You can kayak a mangrove-lined trail and stroll an unspoiled 2.5 mile beach. The park has recovered from Hurricane Milton and its devastating storm surge a year ago.
The Naples Stone Crab Festival marks the opening of stone crab season in Florida’s prime stone-crab harvest region.
The kayak trail through old Bonita Springs on the Imperial River is worth discovering for its scenery. If you’re lucky, you may see manatees.
Clam Pass Park in Naples is a beach hidden behind a posh resort. There’s a pretty kayaking trail plus the beach is special: Tides in the little pass float you in and out of a lagoon like a lazy river ride.
The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, an Audubon Society preserve, takes you on a hike via boardwalk with good wildlife viewing and exquisite scenery. In summer, you might get a peak at the rare ghost orchid blooming.
The Naples Botanical Garden is ever-changing and stunning. Here are 11 surprises during our visit; go explore and see what you discover.
The Estero River upstream from Koreshan State Park is a beautiful two-hour round trip with magnificent arching oak trees and wildlife in the Naples/Fort Myers area.