Natural Travels

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Archive for the ‘Florida’

Walking around Lake Okeechobee

September 24, 2008 By: Sandra Friend Category: Florida, National Scenic Trail No Comments →

Grassy Waters near Taylor Creek

Grassy Waters near Taylor Creek

One of my favorite annual pastimes is walking around Lake Okeechobee, Florida’s largest lake and the second largest lake entirely within the United States. It’s 110 miles or so around the perimeter of the “Big Water,” a rural slice of Florida where sugar cane fields and cattle ranches dominate the landscape. For nine days, we walk the “Big O” Hike, 35 feet above this ocean-like lake on the man-made Herbert Hoover Dike, which was built in the 1930s after hurricanes devastated several of the lakeshore towns. It’s a long walk on the Florida Trail with a great group of friends, and you can join us, too, this upcoming Thanksgiving week! Read about the experience...

Keeping cool along the Blackwater River

July 03, 2008 By: Sandra Friend Category: Florida, State Forest No Comments →

Sandy beaches on the Blackwater RiverSummer in Florida can be pretty oppressive, with the heat and humidity making outdoor recreation less than optimal. But there’s a quiet corner of Florida where cool water and cool breezes are the norm, a place that feels a lot like Appalachia, with high clay bluffs overlooking swift rivers and shallow water dancing across limestone rapids, with sandy beaches where you can beach your kayak and take a swim. You’ll find this summer getaway in the northwest corner of our state within Blackwater River State Forest, more than 190,000 acres of protected land between Alabama and Pensacola.  Learn more about what to see and do there this summer from my travel column at OurGenerationFlorida.com

Canoeing Juniper Run

May 02, 2008 By: Sandra Friend Category: Florida, National Forest No Comments →

Canoeing Juniper RunTis the season to get out to the Ocala National Forest, which is enjoying its centennial later this year (the oldest National Forest east of the Mississippi River, no less!), and take a canoe trip down the wild and winding Juniper Run. The water is (mostly) shallow and clear, the setting almost tropical. Make it easy on yourself and rent a canoe at the Juniper Springs Recreation Area: arrive early or call ahead!

Read about one of my adventures down this classic waterway…