13 Awesome Day Hikes in Florida

Anhinga at Everglades National Park

Convoy Point
Biscayne National Park
Visitors to Florida’s Biscayne National Park can enjoy a great oceanside hike along the lone mainland trail at Convoy Point. The sunrises over the ocean are gorgeous at the point.

Best hikes to see Biscayne N.P.’s wonders
Though most of Biscayne National Park’s top sights – shipwrecks and coral reefs – are underwater, landlubbers still can discover much about the region via a day hike. Just five short trails will allow you to enjoy several of the park’s highlights – the Atlantic coastline, romantic sunsets, the Florida Keys, a maritime forest, and historical Florida.

Anhinga Trail
Everglades National Park
Day hikers can walk over a slow moving river populated by alligators and Burmese pythons on a perfectly safe trail in Everglades National Park. The 0.75-mile Anhinga Trail, part of which is a boardwalk, heads through a freshwater sawgrass marsh. It’s located at the Royal Palm Visitor Center.

Best Sights to See at Everglades National Park
Among the best ways to see Everglades National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just four short trails will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – mangroves, exotic subtropical wildlife, marine estuaries, and peaceful pinelands.

Civil War-era fort hike
Dry Tortugas National Park
Day hikers can explore a 19th century fort in the Gulf of Mexico at Dry Tortugas National Park. Located about 70 miles from Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, the fort can be reached only via seaplane or boat.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

Video of Everglades National Park heron

Day hikers can spot a variety of exotic animals at Everglades National Park.

Located in the only section of the United States mainland that is considered subtropical, the national park is home to panthers, crocodiles, manatees, alligators, great blue herons, egrets and a variety of migratory birds. Two great hikes to safely see such wildlife are the Bobcat Boardwalk and the Anhinga Trail.

For the Bobcat Boardwalk. Park at the visitor center on Shark Valley, walk north on West Road, taking the boardwalk left/west, then circle back on East Road to your parking lot for a 0.8-mile loop.

The 0.75-mile Anhinga Trail, part of which is a boardwalk, heads through a freshwater sawgrass marsh. It’s located at the Royal Palm Visitor Center.

Here’s a video of great blue heron at the national park:

Winter marks the best time to hike either trail, as the subtropical climate means summers will be unbearably hot and buggy.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Best trails to see Dry Tortugas’ wonders

Camping on the beach at Dry Tortugas National
Park. Photo courtesy of Dry Tortugas NPS.

Among the best ways to see Dry Tortugas National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just three short walks allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – a historic fort, a tropical key, and a Gulf of Mexico beach.

Historic fort
Built with more than 16 million bricks during the mid-1800s, Fort Jefferson is the Western Hemisphere’s largest masonry structure. Six walls and towers with a moat make up the fort’s outer area on Garden Key.

Tropical key
Intrepid explorers can cross an intermittent sand bar from Garden Key to Bush Key. A sand beach rings the latter, which offers more privacy than the former. Bush Key is closed February through mid-September for bird nesting.

Gulf of Mexico beach
Park visitors can stroll along a Gulf of Mexico beach some 70 miles west of Key West. Located south of the boat pier, Garden Key’s dinghy beach area includes picnic tables, swimming area, and campground.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Best trails for seeing Everglade’s wonders

Path through coastal prairie at Everglades National Park.
Photo courtesy of Everglades NPS.

Mangroves,
exotic wildlife
await day hikers

Among the best ways to see Everglades National Park’s top sights is via a day hike. Just four short trails will allow you to enjoy each of the park’s highlights – mangroves, exotic subtropical wildlife, marine estuaries, and peaceful pinelands.

Mangrove ecosystem
Mangroves with their stilt-like roots thrive in tidal waters where freshwater and the ocean’s saltwater mingle. On Flamingo Island, take Christian Point Trail for a 3.2-miles round trip first through a thick mangrove forest then to a coastal bay.

Subtropical wildlife
As the United States’ largest subtropical wilderness, the Everglades is home to a variety of exotic animals, such as panthers, crocodiles, manatees, alligators, and egrets. You can safely see some of the Everglades’ wildlife on the Bobcat Boardwalk. Park at the visitor center on Shark Valley, walk north on West Road, taking the Bobcat Boardwalk left/west, then circle back on East Road to your parking lot for a 0.8-mile loop.

Marine estuary
Fish, crustaceans, and mollusks live amid seagrass, corals and sponges in the ocean just off the Florida coast. To enjoy a view of the seascape, from the Flamingo Island visitor center take the out-and-back Guy Bradley Trail for a 2-mile round trip along the shores of Florida Bay.

Pinelands
Dense stands of pines on higher ground can be found throughout the Everglades. The LPK Walking Trail near the Long Pine Key Campground and Picnic Area on Pine Island offers the opportunity to explore the pinelands as they butt against wetlands. To reach the trail, park on the road shoulder near Gate 4, then take the Long Pine Key Nature Trail to the first path heading left/southeast; this is the LPK. The 1.5-mile round trip heads through pinelands and past sawgrass prairie.

In the Everglades, insect repellent is an absolute must no matter what the season. Always don it before hitting the trail and then carry extra with you in case it sweats off.

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Spot alligators, subtropical birds on Anhinga

A male anhinga dries its wings at Everglades National Park.
Photo courtesy of Everglades NPS.

Topo map for Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park.

Short trail heads
through slough
in Everglades N.P.

Day hikers can walk over a slow moving river populated by alligators and Burmese pythons on a perfectly safe trail in Everglades National Park.

The 0.75-mile Anhinga Trail, part of which is a boardwalk, heads through a freshwater sawgrass marsh. It’s located at the Royal Palm Visitor Center.

Winter marks the best time to hike the trail, as the subtropical climate means summers will be unbearably hot and buggy.

To reach the trail, from the Miami metro area take the Florida Turnpike (Route 821) south, staying on it as it merges with U.S. Hwy. 1 in Florida City. Turn right onto Palm Drive (State Road 9336/SW 344th St.), and follow the signs into the national park. After passing the park entrance station, drive two miles to the Royal Palm turnoff; two miles after that, you’ll arrive to the Royal Palm Visitor Center. Park in the visitor center’s lot. The trail leaves from the visitor center’s backside; enter the center to pick up the trail.

An easy hike with a mere five feet of elevation gain, the walkway heads south then east past a pond. An observation platform edges over the waterbody.

Taylor Slough
Continuing east, the trail enters a marl prairie, a transition zone between ecosystems in which prairie meets wetlands. Saw grass – which technically isn’t a grass but a sedge – is the most common plant, but you’ll also spot beak rush, muhly grass, spike rush, and white-top sedge.

Once the tail reaches the boardwalk, it forms a loop. Go straight or east onto the boardwalk.

The loop meanders over Taylor Slough, a wide, slow moving, marshy river that drains fresh water into the Gulf of Mexico. When the boardwalk curves north, a spur trail leads to an observation platform over the slough.

Heading north on the boardwalk takes hikers over open, deeper water. Watch for alligators peeking out of the river, as well as turtles, herons and egrets. Wildlife viewing is best at dawn and dusk as animals tend to hide during the day’s heat.

Snow birds
Winter marks the best season to see the most wildlife. A number of birds spend their time in the Everglades after migrating from a northern clime. Among those you can spot are the double breasted cormorant, great egret, great blue heron, snowy egret, tricolored heron, white ibis and woodstork. Turkey vultures will congregate in the marsh during the early morning hours.

A couple of platforms lead off the boardwalk for hikers to get a better view of the waterbody. The wildlife are used to people, so you’ll be able to get fairly close to them.

As the trail curves west, a spur heads straight north into the slough. If you haven’t yet spotted the bird you’re looking for, take the spur to improve your odds.

Next, the trail circles south through sawgrass. This is a great place to look for nesting anhingas, the trail’s namesake. The dark-plumaged bird – also known as snakebirds because of their long, curved neck – actually stalks slow-moving fish underwater then spears them. It always eats the fish’s head first. Younger anhingas are fluffy and white.

Burmese pythons
Another animal you may see (but hopefully won’t) is the invasive Burmese python. Though native to southeast Asia, people over the years have released their pet pythons into the Everglades. Though some 2000 pythons have been removed from the Everglades, wildlife officials estimate that’s a small fraction of the actual population.

Upon completing the loop, turn right/west and head back to the visitor center.

Regardless of the time of year, bring insect repellent; though bug numbers are down during winter, they will reappear following rain or during heat waves.

One other note: Dogs are allowed on the trail.

Learn about other great America national park sights in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Park guidebook.

Civil War-era fort hike awaits at Dry Tortugas

Lighthouse of Fort Jefferson on Garden Key.
Photo courtesy of Dry Tortugas NPS.

Map of Dry Tortugas, courtesy of  Dry Tortugas NPS.

No formal trail
runs through
island ruins

Day hikers can explore a 19th century fort in the Gulf of Mexico at Dry Tortugas National Park.

Located about 70 miles from Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, the fort can be reached only via seaplane or boat. Despite that, 60,000 visitors a year make their way to the tropical island that also offers snorkeling, great beaches, and fantastic sunsets.

No formal hiking path exists in the national park. Still, a general walking route allows visitors to best see each of the Dry Tortugas’ highlights.

All boats dock and seaplanes land on Garden Key’s southeast side. From there, follow the pier into Fort Jefferson and the visitor center.

Inside the fort
Built with more than 16 million bricks, Fort Jefferson is the Western Hemisphere’s largest masonry structure. Six walls and towers with a moat make up the fort’s outer area.

The American Colonies used Garden Key as a naval base during the 1700s. In 1847, work on Fort Jefferson began but was only half completed when the Civil War broke out in 1861. During the war, it became a military prison. In 1874, with the introduction of coal-fueled ships, the fort was turned into a U.S. Navy coaling station and played an important role in the Spanish-American War.

From the visitor center, go left/southwest. This heads past the magazine, where munitions for the fort’s guns were kept, and the cistern, or water storage tank.

Turning right/north along the wall brings visitors to the ruins of the officers’ quarters. Continuing around is another magazine and then the ruins of the soldiers’ barracks. Next is the harbor light. That brings visitors full circle to the visitor center.

Beaches
Heading back onto the pier, go down to the beach. On the left/southern side of the key is a picnic area, the south coaling dock ruins, and a swimming beach with a designated snorkeling area.

Going northeast and then north from the pier is more beach leading to the north coaling dock ruins. Along the way, Bush Key is visible to the east.

The moat walls make an excellent place to watch the gold sunset over the turquoise sea. You’ll also be able to revel in the stories of snorkelers who earlier in the day visited reefs or even nearby shipwrecks.

Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León partially named the collection of keys and islands that make up the Dry Tortugas. During his first visit in 1513, his crew caught 160 sea turtles there. “Tortugas” is Spanish for turtles. The appellation of “Dry” later was added because there is no surface fresh water on the keys or islands.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Best hikes to see Biscayne N.P.’s wonders

Sunset on Adams Key.

Though most of Biscayne National Park’s top sights – shipwrecks and coral reefs – are underwater, landlubbers still can discover much about the region via day hikes.

Just five short trails will allow you to enjoy several of the park’s highlights – the Atlantic coastline, romantic sunsets, the Florida Keys, a maritime forest, and historical Florida.

A boat is required to reach each of the keys. Convoy Point is the only trail on the mainland.

Atlantic coastline
A great way to explore the Atlantic coastline is the 0.65-mile round trip boardwalk and sandy path on the Convoy Point Trail. The trail follows the blue-green waters of Biscayne Bay and then heads out onto a jetty.

Romantic sunsets
Nothing quite says romance like a sunset over a tropical ocean. Adams Key offers a quarter-mile trail (0.5-miles round trip) from the dock through the hardwood hammock on the island’s west side; most of the route skirts the beach, where a sunset can be enjoyed with your significant other.

Florida Keys
Several low-lying, sandy islands known as keys line the Florida coast. On Elliot Key, the mile-long Point Adelle Trail loops from the harbor into the isle’s wooded interior then up the eastern beach to Point Adelle.

Maritime forest
A tropical hardwood hammock covers the keys in this section of Florida. On Elliot Key, the Spite Highway Trail heads through the woodlands, running the island’s full 7 miles (14-miles round trip).

Historical Florida 
On Boca Chita Key, a 65-foot ornamental lighthouse, a cannon from olden days, and several historical buildings can be seen via an unnamed half-mile (1-mile round trip) trail that starts east of the restrooms. The unnamed trail circles the harbor but offers great views of the ocean.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Photo/map album: Biscayne’s Convoy Point

Visitors to Florida’s Biscayne National Park can enjoy a great oceanside hike along the lone main land trail at Convoy Point.

The park can be reached by heading south from Miami down U.S. Hwy. 1. In Homestead, turn onto SW 328th Street – also known as North Canal Drive – and continue approximately nine miles to the road’s end. Park at the new Dante Fascell Visitor Center. The trailhead is on the lot’s northeast side.

The sunrises over the ocean are gorgeous at the point; here a double-crested cormorant enjoys the new morning:

The trail runs 0.65-miles round trip:

The Dante Fascell Visitor Center at dawn:

Biscayne is most popular as a snorkeling destination:

The Florida spiny lobster is one of the many denizens of the park and point (courtesy ufl):

Here's a full description of the trail.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.

Hike Convoy Point at Biscayne National Park

Red mangroves at Biscayne National
Park. Photo courtesy NPS.

Walk along, into bay offers tropical walk

A full 95 percent of Florida's Biscayne National Park sits underwater, a turquoise blue paradise laced with vividly colored coral reefs. So what do landlubbers with the kids do when the spouse wants to snorkel or canoe the shoreline?

The answer is simple: They hike and picnic the main land trail, Convoy Point.

Picture-perfect picnic
Reasonably close to Miami, Convoy Point also makes a great hike for local residents wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. The park can be reached by heading down U.S. Hwy. 1. In Homestead, turn onto SW 328th Street – also known as North Canal Drive – and continue approximately nine miles to the road’s end. Park at the new Dante Fascell Visitor Center. The trailhead is on the lot’s northeast side.

The boardwalk trail is flat and easy, running along the mangrove shore that is Convoy Point. You’ll follow the blue-green waters of Biscayne Bay and be able to spot some small, mangrove-covered islands. Bring a lunch; there’s a picnic area below palms overlooking the bay.

The trail turns south as heading out onto the jetty. Part of the boardwalk takes you out over the water. As the bay is shallow, ranging from about 4-10 feet deep, and is quite clear, you’ll have no trouble spotting the bottom. Lush seagrass beds throughout Biscayne Bay help ensure the water’s clarity. Dip your hand in the water, and you’ll also find it’s nicely warm. Thank the Gulf Stream for that one.

Onto the jetty
During the walk, you’re likely to see fishermen. Florida spiny lobster, shrimp, fish, sea turtles, and manatees all inhabit the bay. About 175 species of waterbirds call the park home, and you’re certain to spot cormorant, anhinga, and the ever ubiquitous gulls.

The boardwalk eventually gives way to an unpaved path as the jetty turns east, stopping as the land dissolves into the bay.

Overall, the trial runs about 0.65 miles round trip. It also is uncovered, so you will need sunscreen. Mid-December to mid-April is the dry season and the best time to visit.

Upon returning to the parking lot, stop at the free visitor center. Kids can pick up bones, feathers, sponges, corals and more at the Touch Table. The park also hosts Family Fun Fest on select Sundays of the year, and the park service’s Junior Ranger program is offered as well.

Learn about other great national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks guidebook.