Florida National Scenic Trail

Miami resident Jim Kern came home from a backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail in the early 1960s inspired to create a long-distance trail in Florida. He founded the Florida Trail Association with the vision to build a 500-mile hiking trail. The first trail blaze was painted in Ocala National Forest in 1966, and since then the trail has outgrown the vision, into a 1,500-mile trail system across the state.

Even though Florida is fairly flat, there is enough variation in elevation from south to north to allow for very different habitats along the Florida Trail, with 81 different plant communities. Some of the habitats the trail traverses are coastal dunes, hammocks, cypress domes, pine flatwoods, prairie, swamp, sandhills, and sawgrass prairie. Some of the trail is often under water, and hikers must wade through.

Areas along the Florida Trail are home to black bears, Florida panthers, alligators, and four types of poisonous snakes. For the most part, these animals are shy, but if you see them, don't approach them or feed them.

Because much of the Florida Trail is on private lands, permits are often required. Check before you go to determine permits required for short hikes. The Big Oak Loop is one of the few sections of the Florida National Scenic Trail that can be hiked without being a member of the Florida Trail Association.

Alligators are not usually a threat to humans, but avoid crouching at the water's edge at dawn or dusk or an alligator may think you are small enough to eat. Dogs are at risk of being eaten.

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Fort Pickens
Apalachicola National Forest
Stephen Foster State Folk Cultural Center
Ocala National Forest
Big Cypress National Preserve
Orlando

Florida Trail Association
USDA Forest Service
Wildernet