Sandra Friend

Featuring over 1,000 hikes from across Florida, this comprehensive guide to experiencing the state’s outdoor landscapes is fully updated in a new edition Hiker’s Guide to the Sunshine State is the definitive guide to experiencing the Florida outdoors through hiking. Featuring trails in environments as varied as jungle-like forests with aquamarine springs, longleaf pine savannas, grassy prairies, and coastal sand dunes, this book includes over 1,000 hikes from across the state—including portions of the 1,500-mile Florida National Scenic Trail, the state’s premier hiking destination—tried and tested by the authors, avid hikers Sandra Friend and Chris Stevens. This fully updated second edition contains almost double the number of hikes as the first. Organized by cities within regions of the state, it includes detailed featured hikes the authors find particularly outstanding for each city along with many other recommended hikes, including accessible hikes friendly to wheelchairs and slow walkers. From short interpretive nature trails to day hikes of every length to multi-day backpacking trips, this book details opportunities for discovering the more than 80 natural communities that make up Florida’s incredible habitat diversity. Complete with overview maps, logistical information, and hike descriptions, this guide is a user-friendly trail companion for beginners and experienced hikers alike. A volume in the series Wild Florida, edited by M. Timothy O’Keefe

Explore natural Florida with an adventure on the state’s most notable hiking trailStretching 1,500 miles between Pensacola and the Everglades, the Florida National Scenic Trail has over 100 trailheads, most located within an easy drive from nearby urban areas. A guide to the best scenic day hikes and overnight trips along this state-spanning footpath, Florida Trail Hikes leads readers to showy overlooks, wildflower-dotted prairies, river rapids, steep bluffs, tall sand dunes, and many other compelling destinations. Updated in this third edition with the most current route details, this book provides full-color maps, options for lengthening and shortening hikes, and information on nearby towns for use as base camps. Selected from the personal experiences of the authors, the hikes in this book include many loop trails convenient for solo hikers as well as several accessible trail sections. Sandra Friend and John Keatley also offer the backstory of the Florida Trail, first blazed in 1966, and the hidden history of Florida that hikers will encounter on their journeys. Florida Trail Hikes helps readers of all backgrounds and experience levels plan an outdoor getaway amid Florida’s natural beauty.

Florida’s landscape is a marvel of diversity, and Central Florida is its pinnacle. Footpaths range through salt marshes, river floodplains, and along coastal dunes and beaches. Trails pass through desert- like scrub islands, jungle- like hydric hammocks, and deep, dark bayous. There’s no better way to take in this natural world than by walking it. Ranging from 1 to 43 miles in length, each hike includes directions, a detailed map, and information on hike duration, difficulty, and trail conditions. Explore a new side of Florida, from hidden urban gems like the Circle Bar B Ranch in Lakeland and Ponce Preserve in Daytona Beach, to the quiet rural landscapes of Catfish Creek State Park and Chinsegut Hill.

From the Prairie Creek Preserve to Rainbow Springs State Park, Gainesville and Ocala are polar opposites in many ways, but both offer much for those that share a love of the outdoors. With several hundred miles of trails throughout the region to choose from, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala helps you find the best. Authored by Florida hiking expert and long-time Ocala resident Sandra Friend along with 40-year Eagle Scout and Florida Trail Association life member John Keatley, this handy guide provides a fresh perspective on the region’s ever-expanding array of hiking trails. Covering more than 35 hikes across a three-county region, all within an hour’s drive of either city, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala gives you a reason to get outdoors now. Hikes are rated and highlighted according to their strengths from five perspectives: scenery, trail conditions, good for children, difficulty, and solitude. This handy guide makes planning your trip easy and enjoyable!

Five-Star Trails: Orlando is a handy guide for area residents, vacationers seeking outdoor fun, and for business travelers with a free afternoon. With a diverse collection of hiking routes, the book offers choices for everyone from solo trekkers to companions to families with either youngsters or oldsters to consider. Researched, experienced, and written by a local author, the guide provides in-depth trail descriptions, directions, and commentary on what to expect along the way. Each hike features an individual trail map, elevation profile, and at-a-glance key info, helping readers quickly determine the perfect trip for them when they are ready to head out the door. Sized to fit in a pocket, the book is convenient to keep in the car or toss into a backpack. Driving directions direct hikers to the nearest trailhead parking areas, and GPS trailhead coordinates get them to the start of the trail.

Welcome to the quieter side of Florida. The northwest has it all—prime Gulf Coast vacation spots, powdery quartz beaches, unexpected waterfalls, and historic downtown areas across the Panhandle. Florida's history runs deepest here, from prehistoric settlements at Cedar Key and along the Aucilla River to the Spanish colonies at Pensacola and St. Augustine. Sandra Friend and John Keatley show readers the best of their state's natural wonders and historic sights, the seafood restaurants most worth your time, the most unique lodgings, and a beach for everyone, whether you're seeking serenity or a busy social scene. As with every Explorer's Guide, you'll get the latest, most thoroughly researched recommendations for everything from eating, sleeping, exploring, local festivals, transportation options, and much more. Full color photographs bring the destination alive, while color maps and clear, concise directions guide you in your travels. Now in its third edition, this guide is indispensable for any vacationer hoping to enjoy the region to its fullest.

From the Prairie Creek Preserve to Rainbow Springs State Park, Gainesville and Ocala are polar opposites in many ways, but both offer much for those that share a love of the outdoors. With several hundred miles of trails throughout the region to choose from, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala helps you find the best. Authored by Florida hiking expert and long-time Ocala resident Sandra Friend along with 40-year Eagle Scout and Florida Trail Association life member John Keatley, this handy guide provides a fresh perspective on the region's ever-expanding array of hiking trails. Covering more than 35 hikes across a three-county region, all within an hour's drive of either city, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala gives you a reason to get outdoors now. Hikes are rated and highlighted according to their strengths from five perspectives: scenery, trail conditions, good for children, difficulty, and solitude. This handy guide makes planning your trip easy and enjoyable!

Five-Star Trails: Orlando is a handy guide for area residents, vacationers seeking outdoor fun, and for business travelers with a free afternoon. With a diverse collection of hiking routes, the book offers choices for everyone from solo trekkers to companions to families with either youngsters or oldsters to consider. Researched, experienced, and written by a local author, the guide provides in-depth trail descriptions, directions, and commentary on what to expect along the way. Each hike features an individual trail map, elevation profile, and at-a-glance key info, helping readers quickly determine the perfect trip for them when they are ready to head out the door. Sized to fit in a pocket, the book is convenient to keep in the car or toss into a backpack. Driving directions direct hikers to the nearest trailhead parking areas, and GPS trailhead coordinates get them to the start of the trail.

In diverse, exciting South Florida you might catch a glimpse of an endangered Florida panther in a nature preserve in the morning and visit a four-star restaurant and world-class nightclub that evening. This rich destination welcomes visitors from all over the world with its vibrant arts communities and multicultural historic sites, luxurious seaside resorts and lush forests, and some of the best fishing and diving in the United States. With cattle ranches and citrus groves all the way down to the mighty swamps of the Everglades and Big Cypress there are endless opportunities for exploration and discovery for singles, couples, and families. From eco-friendly establishments and environmental information about the region to its trendy nightlife, out-of-the-way attractions, and best beach hotels, Explorer’s Guide South Florida is a thorough introduction to an alluring place that tourists as well as locals simply shouldn’t miss. Detailed maps, an index, an alphabetical “What’s Where” subject guide, and helpful icons that highlight places that offer special value, are pet-, gay-, and family-friendly, and are wheelchair accessible round out this incredible resource, your perfect travel companion.

Includes tips on how to get the most for your dollar at Disney and other theme parks.

For Florida hikers, vacationers, outdoor enthusiasts, and wildlife watchers who want to plan and execute their own adventures, this second edition of the popular guide-book will be indispensable. Molloy and Friend explore the trails of Florida to provide readers with an easy-to-use, accurate, and thorough guide to hiking in more than 2 million acres of federally owned wilderness. These areas contain some of the Sunshine State's most spectacular scenery. Illustrated with photographs by the authors, this guide describes every marked and maintained trail in Florida's national forests, parks, and preserves. Each description contains a profile of the path, detailing and rating its condition, length, and difficulty and describing the highlights and hazards of the trail. Profiles also give trailhead directions, trail connections, and hiking season information, followed by a running narrative describing what hikers can expect to see and experience on the trails. This updated edition covers large and small changes in the trails since 2000, most notably the new western corridor of the Florida Trail through Ocala National Forest and the storm-driven changes to the same trail at Gulf Island National Seashore and in Everglades National Park.

Everything young readers 12 and up ever wanted to know about these unique formations. A sinkhole is a hole in the ground, but a very special one, appearing anywhere where rock dissolves allowing the ground above it to sink. Some sinkholes happen gradually, but others open up almost instantly. (These are the ones you hear about in the news when one swallows a house.) Sinkholes happen worldwide--from valleys in the high Himalayan Mountains to the depths of the Adriatic Sea, from the crystal-clear springs of Florida to the oases of the Arabian Desert. With 140 color photos, this book illustrates how sinkholes are an important part of our natural environment.