Discover Welaka State Forest on a 5 mile footpath that winds along ecotones and hugs the bluffs of the St. Johns River to showcase the natural wonders that botanist William Bartram documented in 1774.| Florida Hikes
Learning how botanists William and John Bartram traveled along the St. Johns, I followed a guide along part of the Bartram National Recreation Trail.| Florida Hikes
A gentle 1.7-mile hike leads to Mud Spring, a natural basin in Welaka State Forest pumping out up to 1.4 million gallons of water daily into the St. Johns River.| Florida Hikes
A delight to hike, the 1.9 mile Friends Trail at Brooker Creek Preserve is the oldest loop in the preserve and the only one outside the gated Environmental Education Center complex.| Florida Hikes
On Black Creek in Middleburg, Msgt John E Hayes Memorial Park honors a hometown hero. Walk this half mile circuit to see old-growth cypress and views from its observation pier and boardwalk loop.| Florida Hikes
Author of over 40 books, Sandra Friend established FloridaHikes.com in 2016 to expand on the field research she'd completed for her first six hiking guides. She has been honored with lifetime achievement awards from the Florida Trail Association and the Florida Outdoor Writers Association.| floridahikes.com
A stop along the Bartram Trail, the Beecher Run Nature Trail at Welaka National Fish Hatchery provides a walk beneath ancient pines along the edge of the hatchery ponds, which are fed by historic Beecher Spring.| Florida Hikes
