50 Hikes in Central Florida: Hikes, Walks, and Backpacks in the Heart of the Peninsula

A hiking guide to one of the most beautiful and diverse ecosystems in the country. What Florida's landscape lacks in topography, it makes up for in diversity, ranging from temperate Appalachian-style forests to tangled tropical jungles. Here hikers enjoy a broad range of habitats and wildlife that only Hawaii and California surpass. Trails pass through desert-like scrub islands, jungle-like hydric hammocks, and deep, dark bayous where giant cypress trees rise out of inky water. Footpaths range through salt marshes, river floodplains, and along coastal dunes and beaches with sparkling white sand. Florida has the world's only Everglades, and the delightful landforms of karstdisappearing lakes and streams, yawning sinkholes lush with ferns, and the world's largest concentration of first-magnitude springs. More than 1,500 contiguous miles of the Florida National Scenic Trail stretch from the beaches of Pensacola, at the western edge of the Panhandle, to the Big Cypress Swamp in the Everglades. The hikes in this new guide to the heart of the peninsula range in length from 1.2 to 100 miles. Each hike description includes a topographic map, mile-by-mile directions, and information on distance, difficulty, time, and terrain. 40 black & white photographs, 51 maps, index.