Hiking at Brooker Creek Preserve near Tampa offers a glimpse of Old Florida along three different trails – the interpretive Friendly Trail, the 9+ mile equestrian trail, and the Wildlands Hiking Trail at the main entrance to the Preserve. In this article, I share my experiences and photos from hiking the Wildlands Trail.
Anclote Key Preserve State Park lies three miles from Tarpon Springs in the Gulf of Mexico. You need a boat to get there. While I generally have private boats available to me, I had never been to this particular barrier island. When the opportunity to host a photo walk with a local photography group came…
One of the most beautiful gardens in Florida, Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo, Florida calls itself “our urban oasis”. This county park aims to inspire and educate visitors using a number of resources, including plants and flowers as well as the animals which call the gardens, creeks, and wetlands home. These beautiful gardens in Florida…
I grew up in Miami in the 1980s, an animal lover, with a new zoo practically in my back yard. Miami Metrozoo was a cutting edge facility at the time, one of the best zoos in Florida if not the country. I spent weekends and summers there, learning about animals and conservation in different parts…
Crews Lake Wilderness Park is a 113-acre park in Spring Hill, Florida. As the name implies, the park is located on the shores of a lake and, across the lake, abuts Jumping Gully Preserve (not open to the public). Crews Lake features mostly pine flatwoods, an easy-to-traverse terrain, and a variety of activities for the…