Taking A Walk in the Woods: Family Hiking in Florida is Possible!
Walking through the forest is one of my personal favorite methods to escape the ways of the world and immerse myself in the beauty of creation. I am grateful that I am one of those individuals who remain connected to the soil. While I moved here for our white sandy beaches (I’ve also lived in TX, CO, and CA ), there is a huge part of my soul that misses the mountains. As a family, we take at least one trip a year up north to fulfill this aspect of our hearts. The book, “A Walk In The Woods” by Bill Bryson, inspired my husband and I years ago to hike the Appalachian Trail. The book is a personal account by the American author who decided to re-aquant himself with the nature in the US by hiking the AT. (In 2015 it also became an independent film) We have kept our ambition for hiking (taking a walk in the woods) over the years with our small children.
Would you like to know the really great news? You can begin taking a walk in the woods right here off 30a!
Long Leaf Pine Trail is commonly explored with mountain bikes, running, and in our case, hiking. With a combination of our tall pine trees, sunshine, lots of palmetto bushes, rosemary, and other beautiful greenery, our local forest is the perfect temporary escape.
A few months ago, we went hiking with our best friends and took the GoPro along. The winter + spring weather here is perfect for hiking. That day the sun was shining with just a tiny bit of chill in the air. Off we went! Through the tall trees my 4 year old (at the time) danced to the beat of her own drum, my 2 year old fell asleep on dad as he carried her, and I got a few minutes of chit chatting with my best friend. While walking through the forest, we were able to capture these little moments along the way:
“Hiking” as defined by Wikipedia is “the activity of going for long walks, especially in the country or woods”…. therefore, technically one CAN hike in Florida. The state of Florida is home to 35 state forests covering more than 1,058,000 acres! That is A LOT of family hiking to be done. (Not that I can say I want to walk flat, just knowing it is all here is like the warm feeling of southern comfort.) While we don’t spend a lot of time in our woods, I always enjoy it when I do. I’ve only seen a few black snakes when we are back there. There is no need to worry, they slither away pretty quickly.
So whether you just want to explore more, walk through a space surrounded by nature, or grab your mountain bike and zip through… there is space for you right here in the panhandle of Florida. Taking a walk in the woods is closer than you think!
Take a walk…..Take a hike.
