Five Star Trails Gainesville Ocala

From the Prairie Creek Preserve to Rainbow Springs State Park, Gainesville and Ocala are polar opposites in many ways, but both offer much for those that share a love of the outdoors. With several hundred miles of trails throughout the region to choose from, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala helps you find the best. Authored by Florida hiking expert and long-time Ocala resident Sandra Friend along with 40-year Eagle Scout and Florida Trail Association life member John Keatley, this handy guide provides a fresh perspective on the region’s ever-expanding array of hiking trails. Covering more than 35 hikes across a three-county region, all within an hour’s drive of either city, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala gives you a reason to get outdoors now. Hikes are rated and highlighted according to their strengths from five perspectives: scenery, trail conditions, good for children, difficulty, and solitude. This handy guide makes planning your trip easy and enjoyable!

Five-Star Trails: Orlando is a handy guide for area residents, vacationers seeking outdoor fun, and for business travelers with a free afternoon. With a diverse collection of hiking routes, the book offers choices for everyone from solo trekkers to companions to families with either youngsters or oldsters to consider. Researched, experienced, and written by a local author, the guide provides in-depth trail descriptions, directions, and commentary on what to expect along the way. Each hike features an individual trail map, elevation profile, and at-a-glance key info, helping readers quickly determine the perfect trip for them when they are ready to head out the door. Sized to fit in a pocket, the book is convenient to keep in the car or toss into a backpack. Driving directions direct hikers to the nearest trailhead parking areas, and GPS trailhead coordinates get them to the start of the trail.

While polar opposites in many ways - hip college town versus retiree mecca - both Gainesville and Ocala, only 35 miles apart, share a love of the outdoors. Student clubs from the University of Florida hike the same trails as Volksmarch groups from the Villages, enjoying wilderness immersion in the Ocala National Forest and scrambles on rugged terrain along the Cross Florida Greenway. With several hundred miles of trails throughout the region to choose from, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala helps you find the best. Authored by Florida hiking expert and long-time Ocala resident Sandra Friend, with 40-year Eagle Scout and Florida Trail Association life member John Keatley, this handy guide provides a fresh perspective on the region's ever-expanding array of hiking trails. Find urban places for reflection like Sholom Park, a carefully manicured woodlands in a retirement community, and Bivens Arm Nature Park, surrounding a marsh in Gainesville; both feature inspirational quotes and places to relax along their trails. Explore the vast longleaf pine flatwoods of the Ocala National Forest on the Florida Trail near Lake Delancy and the shady swamp forests of Goethe State Forest along the Big Cypress Trail. See more alligators than you've ever seen in your life in the home of the Gators along the La Chua Trail at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Covering more than 35 hikes across a three-county region, all within an hour's drive of either city, Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala gives you a reason to get outdoors now. Hikes are rated and highlighted according to their strengths from five perspectives: scenery, trail conditions, good for children, difficulty, and solitude. Author recommendations for best hikes in other categories - including wildlife watching, ancient trees, Florida Trail segments, geology, kid-friendly, and dog-friendly hikes - make it easy to choose an adventure at a glance. Add in Sandra Friend's extensive knowledge of habitats, wildlife, wildflowers, and local history, and you'll be glad to have Five-Star Trails: Gainesville & Ocala as your guide to exploring the region's outdoors.

Each hike through the Adirondack Park is rated for scenery, difficulty, trail condition, and accessibility for children. Individual trail maps, elevation profiles, and GPS trailhead coordinates aid in navigating the myriad of unnamed roads. Featured trails range from easy strolls for the family to bone-crunching vertical ascents for the fearless hiker.

A Florida hike for every interest and ability Florida’s landscape is a marvel of diversity, and Central Florida is its pinnacle. Footpaths range through salt marshes, river floodplains, and along coastal dunes and beaches. Trails pass through desert- like scrub islands, jungle- like hydric hammocks, and deep, dark bayous. There’s no better way to take in this natural world than by walking it. Ranging from 1 to 43 miles in length, each hike includes directions, a detailed map, and information on hike duration, difficulty, and trail conditions. Explore a new side of Florida, from hidden urban gems like the Circle Bar B Ranch in Lakeland and Ponce Preserve in Daytona Beach, to the quiet rural landscapes of Catfish Creek State Park and Chinsegut Hill.

Hike and Backpack in Nature’s Stunning Beauty The rugged wilderness of Kentucky’s Red River Gorge is like no other. Dense forests, wondrous rock formations, and awe-inspiring views make it a paradise that’s waiting to be explored. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced hiker, you’ll find carefully maintained trails that are perfect for your needs. Hiking Kentucky's Red River Gorge is the definitive guide to the Red River Gorge Geologic Area, Natural Bridge State Park, and Clifty Wilderness. This updated, full-color edition by Kentucky author Sean Patrick Hill showcases 25 of the best hikes in the Gorge, as well as a selection of recommended nearby trails. The book’s easy-to-use layout treats each hike as its own adventure, presenting trail details, maps, full-color photographs, and tips for enjoying the flora, fauna, and history along the way. Ratings for key elements that make each trail appealing help you to quickly make an informed decision about which hike to choose for yourself or the whole family. Thrill-seekers will also discover how to combine routes into a longer adventure for a full day of hiking or even a backpacking trip. It’s everything you need to know to experience the famed Red River Gorge on foot.

Hiking Kentucky's Red River Gorge is the definitive guide to trails in the Red River Gorge Geologic Area, Natural Bridge State Park, and Clifty Wilderness. The book showcases 25 of the best hikes in the Gorge, as well as a back-of-book bonus on nearby trails. Distinguished from other Red River Gorge guides, this book provides readers not only with detailed maps, sharp photos, and individual-trail details, THIS guidebook outlines definitive hikes--ways to explore the area and enjoy its flora, fauna, and history. The easy-to-use layout treats each hike distinctly, as its own adventure. Because of this, the routes are detailed with photographs, maps, trail gradient information and, most importantly, ratings for key elements that make a trail appealing to a wide variety of people. This allows the reader to make informed decisions about which trails they will want to hike, which ones will be appropriate for children, and so on. Further, readers will discover how to combine trails and routes for a great hiking day or backpacking trip. This book is ideal for people who've never been to the Gorge, or even beginner hikers. The book simply looks great and is easy to read, and designed for planning hikes as well as while on the trail.

Marjorie Harris Carr (1915-1997) is best known for leading the fight against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Cross Florida Barge Canal. In this first full-length biography, Peggy Macdonald corrects many long-held misapprehensions about the self-described “housewife from Micanopy,” who struggled to balance career and family with her husband, Archie Carr, a pioneering conservation biologist. Born in Boston, Carr grew up in southwest Florida, exploring marshes and waterways and observing firsthand the impact of unchecked development on the state’s flora and fauna. Macdonald’s work depicts a determined woman and Phi Beta Kappa scholar who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in zoology only to see her career thwarted by institutionalized gender discrimination. Carr launched her conservation career in the 1950s while raising five children and eventually became one of the century’s leading environmental activists. A series of ecological catastrophes in the 1960s placed Florida in the vanguard of the burgeoning environmental revolution as the nation’s developing eco-consciousness ushered in a wave of revolutionary legislation. With Carr serving as one of the most effective leaders of a powerful contingent of citizen activists who opposed dredging a canal across the state, “Free the Ocklawaha” became a rallying cry for environmentalists throughout the country. Marjorie Harris Carr is an intimate look at this remarkable woman who dedicated her life to conserving Florida’s wildlife and wild places. It is also a revelation of how the grassroots battle to save a small but vitally important river in central Florida transformed the modern environmental movement.