Discover Florida: Nature, Water, and History

Florida offers many ways to plan a trip around your personal interests: hiking and wildlife watching, water activities along the coasts and at springs, or visits to historic sites. The state parks, protected areas, and cultural sites each offer a different focus. If you’re looking for a hotel, you can start by deciding which experiences you want your trip to center on.

Hiking, Nature, and Wildlife Watching

Florida’s state parks offer year-round swimming, diving, birdwatching, fishing, hiking, and horseback riding on scenic trails through natural areas. The Florida National Scenic Trail, also called the Florida Trail, offers a special point of reference for hiking enthusiasts: this state-designated, nonmotorized long-distance trail is about 1,500 miles long. For wildlife watching, the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail connects more than 500 sites across the state.

Florida’s springs support one of North America’s most diverse freshwater ecosystems. At Ichetucknee Springs State Park, the Ichetucknee River is more than seven miles long, with three launch points for canoes and inner tubes. At Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, visitors can see manatees and a wide variety of saltwater fish from one of the world’s largest submerged freshwater viewing stations. These examples offer a glimpse of the variety of nature experiences Florida has to offer.

The coasts also offer a range of possibilities. Florida has 825 miles of beaches across a wide variety of landscapes. Beach-related amenities include state and national parks, camping options, accessibility services, and opportunities to observe marine life. Cayo Costa State Park is accessible only by boat or kayak. Its nine miles of undeveloped coastline offer opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, shelling, fishing, and birdwatching.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is Florida’s only underwater state park. It offers glass-bottom boat tours as well as opportunities to dive and snorkel over coral reefs and among diverse marine life. The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects shipwrecks and other maritime cultural resources. Activities there also include diving, fishing, stand-up paddleboarding, and boating. The coral reefs, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and other habitats of the Florida Keys are home to nearly 6,000 marine species.

The Everglades and Inland Landscapes

Everglades National Park covers 1.5 million acres in southern Florida. Its ecosystems include freshwater marshes, marl prairies, tropical hardwood hammocks, pine forests, cypress swamps, mangroves, coastal lowlands, and marine and estuarine habitats. The northern part is accessible via Miami or Everglades City, and the southern part via Homestead.

For wildlife watching and views, Shark Valley offers trails, an observation tower, tram tours, and wildlife viewing opportunities. The Royal Palm / Anhinga Trail is known for its distinctive boardwalks and excellent wildlife-watching opportunities. A backcountry hiking permit is required for hikes in the backcountry area of Klondike Beach in Canaveral National Seashore; factor this requirement into your plans.

Other natural destinations offer different highlights: The Myakka River is Florida’s first state-designated Wild and Scenic River and flows through Myakka River State Park. Activities there include boating, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, and cycling. Trails in the Timucuan Preserve pass through shady hammocks and along unspoiled beaches. At Florida Caverns State Park, visitors can take a guided tour through a large cave system—the only state park in Florida where this is possible.

Experience History and Culture

A Calusa village stood at the Pineland site for more than 1,500 years. Today, the archaeological site serves as an open-air museum and educational center, is open to the public daily, and includes the Calusa Heritage Trail. The site brings together archaeological heritage and a tangible route through Calusa history.

Fort Matanzas and Castillo de San Marcos offer different points of connection to history. Fort Matanzas was completed in 1742 and built from coquina. Visitors reach the fort by ferry from the visitor center and can explore the fort and nature trails; it’s a good idea to check the current ferry schedule before traveling. Castillo de San Marcos preserves the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States.

At Dry Tortugas National Park, visitors can learn about the history of Fort Jefferson. With no road access, the park can be reached only by boat or seaplane. Check the current availability of these transportation options before your trip. For another perspective on technological history, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex presents the history of Florida’s contributions to the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions, as well as the shuttle program. The collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History focus on Florida, the southeastern United States, and the Caribbean, and provide the basis for exhibitions and public programs.

Planning Your Trip

Florida’s official transportation map includes highways and other roads, airports, cities, and other visitor information. Florida also has 27 designated scenic highways. Start by deciding which specific destinations and experiences you want to include in your plans, then use the transportation map for guidance. Florida also offers brewery tours featuring local craft beer; individual providers and availability vary.

Discover more destinations: Bay, Duval, Walton, Leon, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Alachua, Okeechobee, Nassau, Columbia County, Highlands County, Lake City, Washington County, Jackson County, Wakulla County, Hendry County, Putnam County, Madison County, Levy County, Bradford County, De Soto County, Suwannee County, Glades County, Jefferson County, Gadsden County, Holmes, Franklin County, Gulf County, Baker County, Hamilton County, Okaloosa, Martin, St. Lucie, Liberty, Hillsborough, Brevard, Hernando, Seminole, Sumter, Marion, St. Johns, Taylor, Osceola, Orange, Lake, Citrus, Clay, Monroe, Miami-Dade, Collier, Broward, Lee, Palm Beach, Charlotte, Sarasota, Manatee, Indian River, Pinellas, Polk, Volusia, Flagler, Pasco

For the main travel overview: USA.