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While hiking at Cypress Creek Preserve I heard these cranes in the distance and as you listen you'll notice the sound gets closer as they fly overhead.

While hiking at Manatee Springs State Park we came across this Seminole Chickee Hut. Great for shelter and taking a break. Not sure if you can camp here, there is a fire pit but it's best to check with the state park here: http://www.floridastateparks.org/mana...

You can hike the trails in the forest here and swim at Manatee Springs at the front of the park.

While hiking at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park I recorded this video clip on the nature trails within the park. They take you through some amazing habitats.

The walkway is suspended 25 feet above the ground and extends 100 feet through the hammock canopy. A tower soars 74 feet in the air to present a spectacular view of treetops, wetlands and the prairie/hammock interface. Here is the website for more information: http://www.myakkariver.org/index.php/...

The Benton Falls Trail is an easy 1.5 mile (each way) hike to the 65 foot high waterfall.

In Myakka River State Park is this amazing Canopy walkway and observation tower!

Take a relaxing canoe ride down crystal clear Weeki Wachee River.

While hiking at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park I came across this really big tree. It must be really old!

The Citrus Hiking Trail is the state's longest backpacking loop trail in a single contiguous forest and is Central Florida's most rugged hiking trail, with aggressively rolling sandhills, steep descents into sinkholes, and rock-strewn footpaths. Hikers enjoy a stunning array of contrasting habitats and numerous opportunities for wildlife encounters. It is also a well-groomed trail, easily followed, with a clearly defined footpath and signposts at trail junctions. Orange blazes designate the outer loop, while blue blazes mark the cross trails and side trails.

Lizzie Hart Sink (Sandra Friend)Backpacking the perimeter Citrus Hiking Trail can take up to 4 days and requires some logistical planning. There are no surface streams, so you must consider this a dry trail. Karst features -- sinkholes and solution holes -- seasonally retain some rainfall, as do flatwoods ponds. The designated primitive campsites have no water sources.

In The Smoky Mountains while hiking this trail it lead to a beautiful waterfall called Rainbow Falls. The trails are steep and rugged but also provide scenic views. I climbed the rocks up to bottom of this waterfall took in the nature. The sound of the water and fresh mountain air put you in another place. Here is the website for more information:
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit...

Richloam WMA is one of seven large tracts of land that make up the Withlacoochee State Forest. The Richloam Tract, consisting of more than 58,000 acres, is located in Hernando, Pasco, Sumter, and Lake counties. Pine flatwoods with scattered oak hammocks, bottomland hardwoods, and cypress swamp are the main natural communities on this area. Hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, camping, horseback riding, hiking, and bicycling are popular recreational activities on Richloam. There are eight miles of shared trails for horseback riding, bicycling, and hiking, as well as three loop hiking trails ranging in length from 9.4 to 13.6 miles.

More than 20 distinct biological communities provide a rich array of habitats for wildlife and livestock, including alligators, bison, horses and more than 270 species of birds.

On the trail we came across this amazing deer in the brush.

Hiking into the "Big Scrub" prairie areas.
Dry Prairies are large native grass and shrublands occurring on very flat terrain interspersed with scattered cypress domes and strands, bayheads, isolated freshwater marshes, and hardwood hammocks. This community is characterized by many species of grasses, sedges, herbs, and shrubs, including saw palmetto, fetterbush, staggerbush, tar flower, gallberry, blueberry, wiregrass, carpet grasses, and various bluestems. The largest areas of these treeless plains historically occurred just north of Lake Okeechobee. In central and south Florida, palmetto prairies, which consist of former pine flatwoods where the overstory trees have been thinned or removed, are also included in this category. These sites contain highly scattered pines that cover less than 10 to 15 percent of an area.

http://www.myakkariver.org

See the entire trip at http://www.everytrail.com.

One of the oldest and largest state parks, Myakka protects one of the state´s most diverse natural areas. The Myakka River, designated as a Florida Wild and Scenic River, flows through 58 square miles of wetlands, prairies, hammocks, and pinelands. Visitors can enjoy wildlife viewing from a boardwalk that stretches out over the Upper Myakka Lake, then take to the treetops with a stroll along the canopy walkway.

Rock Springs bubbles up from a cleft in a rock outcropping and, instead of spreading out into a pool, becomes a swiftly running stream that quickly slows to a meander. It is really neat to jump in and float down stream.

This wasn't far from where I was hiking and decided to stop off here and take in the amazing views of the ocean. There are more than two miles of beautiful, unspoiled Atlantic beaches are here at North Peninsula State Park.

North Peninsula State Park is a Florida State Park, located north of Ormond-By-The-Sea and east of the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park, off A1A.

You must find this beach, here is the link: http://www.floridastateparks.org/nort...

I had a great time camping here at this site in Ocala National Forest. Here is the link for more information - http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ocala/...

At the north end of the preserve near the observation deck we came upon this bison. They are common in the preserve, we kept our distance!