Florida Trail

A footpath through subtropical Florida, this National Scenic Trail runs about 1,500 miles from Big Cypress in the Everglades to the Gulf Islands near Pensacola, a flat but demanding walk across swamp, prairie, and pine flatwoods.

Thru-hikers cover the length in two to three months, wading through cypress strands and open water in the south before drier sand pine and river bluffs in the panhandle. There is almost no elevation, but heat, humidity, and long wet sections define the difficulty.

Practical detail: no single permit governs the route, though the Big Cypress section and certain water-management lands require registration, and hikers plan around seasonal flooding. Water is filtered from tannic streams, and reptiles and insects are ever-present.

Winter is the season here: December through March brings cool, dry weather, lower water, and fewer mosquitoes, reversing the usual pattern of northern trails. Established in the 1960s by a Florida hiking pioneer and added to the national system in 1983, it reveals a side of the state far from its beaches.