Walks, Hikes, and Backpacking Trips in the Southern Florida Peninsula

This new hiking guide to the region of Florida south of FL 60 includes hikes along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Coast, and in Big Cypress the Everglades, and the Florida Keys.

In the entire continental United States, only South Florida can lay claim to truly tropical habitats with native tropical plants. Rare ghost orchids grow in the humid depths of the Big Cypress, a region of vast prairies, haunting cypress strands, and deep sloughs filled with alligator flag. From its traditional start at Lake Okeechobee, the world's only Everglades sweep southward. Punctuated by small tree islands, its sawgrass and cattail prairies lie under a slowly moving sheet of water only a few inches deep but more than a hundred miles wide. North of Lake Okeechobee lie the remnants of ancient sand dunes forming high and dry scrub habitats, while along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coastlines the freshwater marshes of the interior meet the mangrove swamps of the barrier islands. In the Florida Keys, jungles of Caribbean plants top fossilized coral reefs surrounded by still aquamarine waters.

This new guide to this fascinating region—the final entry in Sandra Friend's comprehensive trio of hiking guides to Florida—contains a mix of easy nature trails, beach walks, and short interpretive boardwalks, but also presents the adventuresome hiker with some challenging day hikes and backpacking trips. The hikes range in length from 1 to 20 miles, and an overview chart makes it easy to choose a hike for people of every ability. Each hike description includes mile-by-mile directions, a topographic map, information on hiking time, mileage, and trail conditions, and eloquent, knowledgeable commentary on the human and natural history you'll encounter along the way

$17.95 (Can. $27.00)
0-88150-531-5
September 2003
6 x 9, 320 pages, Paperback, 50 black & white photographs, 51 maps