Bike & Hike Trails

Florida bike trails offer great scenery and local flavor. Here are a few great bike trails we’ve tried and recommend statewide.

Honeymoon Island has a big, natural beach where you can get away from people, but also offers a cafe, bikes and kayaks to rent and a playground. Recently, the beautiful sandspit beach that extends miles north split in two! Erosion has connected the Gulf to the Intracoastal, and it’s still shifting. Don’t worry: There are still miles of beach to walk.

Boardwalks allow everyone to explore Florida’s natural beauty, including people in wheelchairs and families with strollers. Here are 16 of our favorite boardwalks in South Florida.

We know what the big draw is in Orlando, and it’s not nature. But it should be! Even if your destination is a theme park, here are 9 natural experiences and places that are memorable additions to a visit to Central Florida

The Old Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon is a must-stop on the Overseas Highway. Its history and scenic beauty make it a great place to walk or bike. The bridge ends at Pigeon Key, which you can tour to learn its fascinating story.

However you choose to explore Cumberland Island, the island spreads its magic and its history out like the long limbs of its great live oaks, inviting you to come for an unforgettable experience.

There’s a good reason Boca Grande is a favorite among the rich and famous: It’s beautiful, unspoiled and preserves the charm of Old Florida. It makes a satisfying daytrip, especially on a bike. Another plus: The historic lighthouse at the southern tip just reopened 16 months after being slammed by Hurricane Ian.

One of the best ways to see Florida’s Everglades is via the Tamiami Trail to the Shark Valley entrance, home to a terrific bike trail and abundant wildlife. Visitors have been reporting outstanding wildlife viewing during holiday visits.

The Van Fleet Trail into the Green Swamp is one of the most rural, isolated rides you’ll find in Florida. It’s flat. It’s straight. But if you want to truly get away from it all and encounter a little wildlife along the way, here’s the place.

It’s spring in Florida: Azaleas are blazing in white, lavender, pink and red at this Florida state park with a rich history. About half the park’s flowers are in bloom, so this is the ideal time to visit because as more open, others lose their blossoms.

This large state park offers great hiking and one the best campgrounds in a Florida State Park. It’s in a rural, out-of-the-way part of Central Florida where history comes alive in its 1876 cow camp.

Mount Dora has a lively downtown and a well-preserved historic district on a pretty lake. It’s a walkable small town with good dining and shopping. This weekend is its big Arts Festival

What we like just as much: There is great kayaking and biking nearby.

Emerson Point Preserve is an exceptional county park, off the beaten path on the southern end of Tampa Bay. There is excellent hiking and kayaking, and the real gem is the Portavant temple mound.

Load your bikes on your carrier and head north to Old Florida. Along this bike trail, you can stop and hike a bit and maybe even see gators, wild horses or even bison in Paynes Prairie. This pretty paved trail also lets you use your gears on a hill or two.

Here’s a great weekend getaway for bicyclists. The appealing West Orange Trail, a 22-mile rail-trail, goes right down the middle of the lively main street in Downtown Winter Garden. Stay in the Historic Edgewater Hotel for a great base with Old Florida charm.

Lake Louisa State Park is a half hour from theme parks, but is a natural world with 20 miles of hiking trails and great cabins. Located on the east end of the vast Green Swamp, you’ll find wildlife, old citrus groves, hills, cypress swamps and forests.

In Dunedin, we love bicycling the Pinellas Trail, but this charming Tampa Bay area town has more to offer, with eight breweries plus great restaurants and coffee shops in its walkable historic downtown. Twenty minutes away are two excellent state parks with award-winning beaches.

The paved, traffic-free Lake Trail along the water on this exclusive island provides gorgeous harbor views and sneak peeks into backyards of the rich and famous.

Updated for 2024: If you have one day or its your first visit to the Everglades, this guide will help you see wildlife and experience the essence of Everglades National Park. We offer tips, too, for more in-depth Everglades experiences.

This Gainesville area state park is a vast playground for hikers and bikers, but also for bison and wild horses. There are miles of trails, great campsites and wildlife galore.

A few of our favorites for the trail rider in your family. Best gifts for owners of bicycles and e-bikes.

Encompassing more than 600 square miles in North Central Florida, Ocala National Forest is your playground for adventure.

Next time you travel Florida’s Gulf Coast on I-75, take a five minutes detour in Fort Myers to discover a magnificent slice of old Florida – a 1.2 mile boardwalk through an unspoiled cypress swamp called Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. It’s free!

This Miami state park is a remarkable island of green where you can kayak, mountain bike, picnic and enjoy a sandy beach. There are even rustic cabins to rent. It’s the largest urban park in Florida.

Sanibel is more famous for its beaches and seashells, but it’s a great place to explore by bike. With more than 25 miles of bicycle trails, Sanibel’s hidden beaches, pioneer cemetery and quiet neighborhoods open up to you.

J. B. Starkey Wilderness Park flies under the radar for most people planning Florida trips. It’s not a state park and it’s not near a population center. But this vast water-management preserve offers tent sites in the woods and rustic cabins you can rent quite cheaply. There are miles of trails, including an excellent paved bike trail.

This northeast Florida state park is on the map but far enough away to be ignored. It’s also far enough away to provide a tranquil camping experience. It’s quiet here.

A prime campground on the north rim of Ocala National Forest, Rodman Campground is a well-groomed state park adjacent to the bass-filled Rodman Reservoir and gateway to the Cross-Florida Greenway.

The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, an Audubon Society preserve, takes you on a hike via boardwalk with good wildlife viewing and exquisite scenery. In summer, you might get a peak at the rare ghost orchid blooming.

Old-growth live oaks draped in air plants and Spanish moss dominate 9,000-acre Highlands Hammock State Park, one of Florida’s original state parks.