The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States, created by the National Trails System Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-543).[1] It runs 1,500 miles (2,400 km),[2] from Big Cypress National Preserve (between Miami and Naples, along the Tamiami Trail) to Fort PickensatGulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail (which applies only to its federally certified segments), the trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation for hiking and other compatible activities within an hour of most floridians.[3]
Trail logo
The trail began on October 29, 1966 when members of the Florida Trail Association marked its first blaze at Clearwater Lake Recreation Area in the Ocala National Forest. It was officially designated as a National Scenic Trail in 1983. The U.S. Forest Service, through the National Forests in Florida program, officially oversees the trail but volunteers and land managers throughout the state are responsible for its development, maintenance and management.
In the early 1960s, Miami resident Jim Kern founded the Florida Trail Association after hiking the Appalachian Trail with his brother and encouraged members to share his vision of creating something similar across Florida. By October 1966, he received permission from Ocala National Forest managers to start blazing a hiking trail. It was officially designated a National Scenic Trail in 1983. It has been a volunteer-driven construction project ever since, built in disconnected segments in corridors where public land (or easements granted by private individuals) was available.
More than 25 agencies and private partners manage the trail.[4] Partnerships, memoranda of understanding and certification agreements between these parties facilitate the project.
The Florida Trail Association is a non-profit partner of the project, administering a volunteer program to construct, maintain, and garner support for the trail.
This coalition was established in 2010 by the forest supervisor of the national forests in Florida to engage a broader group of partners to manage the Trail and serve recreationists. It is composed primarily of agency, district, or company leaders who own or manage the land through which the trail passes. The Florida National Scenic Trail 5-Year Strategic Plan was released in 2012, setting goals for trail completion, standards, partnerships, and trail promotion. Coalition members participate in bi-annual meetings to address emerging issues and to exchange resources such as expertise, funding, and information.[6]
Florida is home to a range of environments not seen elsewhere in the world. The Trail crosses swamps, forests, prairies and springs in both urban and remote wilderness areas, traversing a variety of semi-tropical ecosystems.
Types of Plant Life by Region
Southern Region: Cypress swamp, pine, prairies of cabbage palm, saw palmetto, sawgrass, marsh, oak hammocks, and scrub.
Central Region: Palmetto prairies, pine flatwoods, ranch land, cypress sloughs, freshwater marshes, scrub, and oak hammocks.
Northern Region: Longleaf pine and wiregrass, flatwoods, pine plantations, hardwoods, cypress, and oak hammocks.
Panhandle Region: Salt marsh, hardwood hammocks, coastal pine flatwoods, pine savannas, wild ground orchids, pitcher plants, titi swamp, hydrangea, magnolia, liverworts, and dune grasses.
Types of Wildlife by Region
Southern Region: panthers, Florida black bears, cattle, alligators, and a wide variety of birds.
Central Region: Sandhill cranes, wood storks, cattle, white-tailed deer, feral hogs, wild turkey, bobwhite quail, river otters, alligators, Red Widow spider, Florida pine snake, black bears, and gopher tortoises.
Northern Region: Red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, black bears, eastern cottontail rabbits, wild turkeys, deer, red-tailed hawks, gators, and Gulf sturgeon.
Panhandle Region: Waterfowl, bald eagles, ospreys, otters, alligators, deer, black bears, warblers, sea turtles, and piping plovers.
