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

by Friend, Sandra

• ISBN13: 9780881505238
• ISBN10: 0881505234
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	13	(1)
Introduction	14	(15)
I. CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
Johnson Pond Trail	29	(5)
Potts Preserve	34	(6)
Citrus Trail	40	(11)
Fort Cooper State Park	51	(4)
Panasoffkee Outlet	55	(4)
Flat Island Preserve	59	(4)
Perry Oldenburg Mitigation Park	63	(5)
Withlacoochee River Park	68	(5)
Gator Creek Reserve	73	(5)
Tenoroc Fish Management Area	78	(5)
Lake Kissimmee State Park	83	(8)
Tiger Creek Preserve	91	(7)
II. Ocala National Forest
Silver River State Park	98	(7)
Ocklawaha Prairie Restoration Area	105	(6)
Emeralda Marsh Conservation Area	111	(6)
Hidden Waters Preserve	117	(4)
St. Francis Hiking Trail	121	(7)
Wild Persimmon Trail	128	(5)
Hontoon Island State Park	133	(5)
Blue Spring State Park	138	(6)
Rock Springs Run State Reserve	144	(8)
III. Orlando Metro
Lyonia Preserve	152	(4)
Sabal Point Sanctuary	156	(5)
Geneva Wilderness Area	161	(4)
Split Oak Forest Mitigation Park	165	(6)
Hal Scott Regional Preserve	171	(5)
Tibet-Butler Preserve	176	(5)
Reedy Creek Swamp	181	(6)
Disney Wilderness Preserve	187	(7)
IV. Suncoast
Weekiwachee Preserve	194	(7)
Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park	201	(6)
Hillsborough River State Park	207	(6)
Lettuce Lake Park	213	(4)
John Chesnut Sr. County Park	217	(4)
Honeymoon Island State Park	221	(4)
Caladesi Island State Park	225	(5)
Sawgrass Lake Park	230	(5)
Boyd Hill Nature Park	235	(5)
Fort De Soto Park	240	(6)
Little Manatee State Park	246	(8)
V. Atlantic Coast
Buncombe Hill Interpretive Trail	254	(4)
Smyrna Dunes Park	258	(5)
Puzzle Lake	263	(5)
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge	268	(6)
Enchanted Forest Nature Sanctuary	274	(3)
Pine Island Conservation Area	277	(5)
Turkey Creek Sanctuary	282	(5)
Malabar Scrub Sanctuary	287	(5)
Fort Drum Marsh Conservation Area	292	(5)
Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area	297	(5)
Index	302