Florida Hikes

Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

Hiking Perdido Key beach

Perdido Key

Barrier island west of Pensacola. Florida’s westernmost barrier island, shared with Alabama.

Big Lagoon State Park

Pensacola   6.2 miles

Explore a sweep of coastal forest and wetlands along one of Florida's largest lagoons, with panoramas that stretch to Perdido Key and the Gulf of Mexico.

Big Lagoon’s Sandy Sweep

 

Big Lagoon State Park is notable for being a gateway to the Great Florida Birding Trail, with a large observation tower overlooking the vast sweep of the namesake lagoon

Garcon Bayou Nature Park

Perdido Key   0.3 miles

On 18 acres along Garcon Bayou, a boardwalk with freshwater wetland and brackish bayou views attracts birders to a small nature park with picnic pavilions and playgrounds.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Stretching across three Gulf Coast states, Gulf Islands National Seashore protects portions of the barrier islands between Navarre Beach, Florida and Gulfport, Mississippi.

Gulf State Park

  miles

Stretching west from the tip of Perdido Key, Gulf State Park encompasses more than 6,000 acres of natural habitats on barrier islands between Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Johnson Beach

As part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, the windswept tip of Perdido Key goes on for miles at Johnson Beach. Discover natural habitats and wild shores along its length.

Perdido Key Discovery Trail

Perdido Key   0.6 miles

Showcasing the habitat diversity of Perdido Key at Johnson Beach, the accessible Perdido Key Discovery Trail is a gentle boardwalk over wetlands, forests, and dunes.

Perdido Key State Park

With sand as white as fresh fallen snow, Perdido Key State Park offers Florida's westernmost public beach.

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park

Conserving a vast swath of wetland habitats in low-lying areas along the Perdido River floodplain, Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park is home to four species of Sarracenia - pitcher plants - unique to the Gulf Coast.

Towering over Big Lagoon

 

The tower at Big Lagoon State Park offers a sweeping view of the park, the lagoon, the Gulf of Mexico, parts of Gulf Islands National Seashore, Perdido Key, and the surrounding shorelines.