Genuine Florida

It’s a blue moon tonight. I couldn’t help but pull off the Tamiami Trail at Kirby Storter and bask in the glow. I wanted my parents to be here, to savor the mystery of the swamps brushed by moonlight, the cypress domes aglow, the night air filled with chirps and squawks and the occasi...

What better way to start off your new year than a hike by the light of the blue moon? It’s New Years Eve and the night will be aglow. Gather good friends around the campfire and ring in the new year with a walk in the moonlight. Whether you spend the night in a Florida [...]

Since 1983, veteran Florida Trail volunteers Lou and Rachael Augspurg have hosted an annual campout for New Year’s Eve in the Ocala National Forest. This year, this major outdoor event is at Camp Kiwanis off SR 40 at Mill Dam. There is no need for reservations - just show up if you feel lik...

Open 365 days a year, your nearest Florida State Park is a perfect place to take the family out for a Christmas hike after the presents are open … and you can buy a family pass at the ranger station, too, as a last-minute surprise gift! All state parks are open today so remember those [...]

I’ve had quite a few inquiries lately regards The Florida Trail: The Official Guide, since online booksellers are asking some (in my opinion) outrageous amounts of money for my now out-of-print book. $150? C’mon, guys!I have a handful of copies left that are new but bookstore returns,...

If you live near Lake Okeechobee or love it as much as I do, you’ll appreciate this great effort to pull together folks in South Central Florida into their own Florida Trail chapter. I found this on the VISIT GLADES Facebook page this morning:Here’s your opportunity to explore beautiful lan...

On December 8, the Florida Legislature approved and  Governor Crist  signed a resolution naming 2010 as the “Year of Florida State Parks.”  What a contrast from a year ago when we were fighting to keep them open.  In signing the resolution, the Governor stated:“Florida State Parks not...

Bear activity is making the news these days - the numbers of still-threatened Florida black bears increasing - so to head off the potential of negative encounters with bears as you hike through the Ocala, Osceola, and Apalachicola National Forests, it’s now necessary to bear bag your food. ...

Christmas is in the air, so why not take a holly hike? Florida has several species of holly you’ll catch with red berries this time of year, and they grow in a variety of habitats. Dahoon holly is found in the floodplain forests and marshes of the Florida peninsula; scrub holly in the high,...

Every winter, hundreds of manatees converge at Blue Spring Run near Deland, as do the folks who want to see them up close in the wild. Here’s a clip from a visit I made last weekend while working on the new edition of “50 Hikes.” I loved the commentary from the two ladies next t...

Here’s an envelope mailed from Tampa with a neat logo on it. Interesting how various sports were intertwined in the name. The Platt Street Bridge shown in the illustration is amongst a number of historic bridges around Downtown Tampa. ...

Today, December 1st, in 1902 the First National Bank opened. Above is a bank bag of the bank from around 1970. The symbol above was kept afer the bank became Southeast Bank, as the jingle went”"…makes ...

Archaeological treasures unburied:  over the past two months, I’ve had the good fortune to be working on a project that’s kept me busy moving about Glades County, learning about the unique archaeological finds near Lake Okeechobee. I was aware of the significance of Nicodemus Slough s...

Saturday marks the kickoff of the 18th Annual Big O Hike, a tradition of walking around Lake Okeechobee for 9 days during Thanksgiving Week to complete the full 109-mile circuit in a series of day hikes.  The group camps as a group and does cooperative shuttling to work their way around the lake....

Swampy stops in Salt Springs in Marion County at the Salt Springs Grocery. Stepping directly across State Road 19 Swampy finds a healthy pond that holds the springs and connects to Little Lake Kerr.

Break out the blaze orange: deer hunting season is here! If you’re headed out on a hike in any National Forest or Wildlife Management Area, it’s essential that you wear a bright orange vest or otherwise make sure the upper part of your body isn’t mistaken for a deer. This weeke...

Today at 1 PM, the successful Environmentally Endangered Lands Program (EEL) will be under discussion at the Brevard County Commission Meeting at the Viera County Commission Chambers in Bldg C  (Google Map for directions to meeting).According to the meeting agenda, the line item is *1:00 p.m. 3. ...

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To honor Veterans Day and our soldiers in uniform, all Florida State Parks (except the Skyway Fishing Pier) are free to all visitors on Wednesday, November 11.  If you have the day off … or if you can fit the time in your busy schedule … bundle up the family and enjoy exploring these ...

Today’s the kickoff of the Florida Trail Association South Regional Conference at Fisheating Creek, with workshops, guided paddling trips and hikes, and just plain hanging out with a bunch of hikers from all over South Florida.I’m headed there to reconnect with friends and talk about ...

On Nov 2, Loop Road in Big Cypress National Preserve will close between Gator Hook Strand and the Education Center for road improvements. It will not reopen until next summer, effectively shutting off all access for thru-hikers to start their journeys north from the southern terminus of the Flori...

I was digging through my chest of childhood memories the other night and this little piece of Americana surfaced. It’s taken directly from a Stuckey’s Location Guide, circa 1974 or so, which ...

In an effort to help hikers with planning their treks along the Florida Trail in the Ocala National Forest, I’m pulling together & transcribing information to create a full picture of the hike. I’ve added several segments this week to the overall journey, plus have updated the ove...

For immersion into the world’s largest sand pine scrub forest, take a journey along the Florida Trail through the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. It’s perennially a getaway for backpackers thanks to Hidden Pond, a beauty spot of a campsite set between a spring and an open prairie. This se...

With the cooler temperatures, it’s a great time to get out and hike … and this weekend you can meet a lot of friends in the process. The Florida Trail Association North Regional Conference is being held along Choctawhatchee Bay this weekend at Camp Timpoochee, with plenty of hiking, p...

Now that it’s hiking season again, I’m getting a flurry of inquiries about logistics for backpacking the Ocala National Forest. It’s the top destination for backpackers in Florida due to 70 unbroken miles of the Florida Trail leading from Clearwater Lake to Buckman Lock, well-ma...

It’s officially hiking season in Florida with the kickoff of Greenways and Trails Month, a celebration of outdoor recreation throughout the state of Florida.  We’re “America’s Best Trails State,” according to American Trails, so it’s time to get out and enjoy o...

When I think of libraries, I think of the Dewey Decimal System – that clever categorization (which I’ve yet to puzzle out) of books set up in such a way so you can keep adding books to a section of the library without ever having to renumber them.  Well, Melvil Dewey, creator of the s...

Last week, I revisited the Disney Wilderness Preserve to update “50 Hikes in Central Florida.” Imagine my surprise to find the trail system had shrunk! I was with my friends Joan, Jon, and a new friend, Mehmet, all of whom hiked the evening before at Joan’s TGIF hike at Lake Pro...

September 26 is shaping up to be one BIG celebration of the outdoors around the entire United States. Here in Florida, I’d say it’s safe to call it the kickoff to hiking season, albeit a few days earlier than usual. Our weather has been just fabulous for getting outdoors this summer, ...