Take a Hike, Florida!
Explore Florida’s own National Scenic Trail during Florida Hiking Trails Month
With more than a hundred trailheads within an hour’s drive of most Floridians, the Florida Trail offers a place for you to connect with natural Florida on a walk in the woods. Join us this February as Governor Crist proclaims Florida Hiking Trails Month. Participate in local guided hikes, attend workshops and presentations on hiking, or just head for the woods and enjoy what’s great about Florida’s outdoors—its extreme diversity, with more than eighty distinct plant communities found from the tropical forests of the Keys to creeks draped with mountain laurel blossoms in the Western Panhandle.
Hiking provides excellent cardiovascular exercise and is an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Discover value of a walk in the woods for your mental and physical health. Think you’re too old to hike? This past November four senior hikers logged 139 miles in a 13-day hike from Flagler Beach to Withlacoochee Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. How old is “senior”? All four were over 80!
This year we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Florida Trail’s designation as a National Scenic Trail and the 40th Anniversary of the Congressional National Trails Act of 1968, creating what now totals 17 National Historic Trails and eight National Scenic Trails. To extend the fun of Florida’s prime hiking season, sign up now for the Florida Hiking Festival, held March 28-30, 2008 at Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park in White Springs. It’s a weekend of outdoor adventure, demonstrations, educational seminars, knowledgeable and engaging speakers, exhibitors and vendors, and children’s activities….and, of course, hikes!
Take a Hike, Florida! For more information on the Florida Trail and the many outdoor activities celebrating Florida Hiking Trails Month throughout the state, visit www.floridatrail.org to see our calendar of events or call 1-877-HIKE-FLA.
FTA Staff @ January 29, 2008