DEP Celebrates February as Florida Hiking Trails Month

Greenways and trails offer affordable, fun and healthy opportunities to explore the outdoors

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Florida Trail Association are encouraging Floridians to lace up their walking shoes and hike a trail throughout the month of February to celebrate Florida Hiking Trails Month. In addition, Governor Charlie Crist recently signed a proclamation inviting residents and visitors alike to explore Florida’s outstanding system of greenways and trails by taking advantage of the free fitness benefits, recreational activities and alternative transportation options the system has to offer.

{sidebar id=1}“February is a great time to enjoy the state’s natural beauty through a quiet walk or an invigorating hike,” said Jena Brooks, Director of the DEP Office of Greenways & Trails (OGT). “Florida has long been committed to preserving its natural lands and creating a system of greenways and trails that make it easy and affordable for people to access the beautifully wild and green spaces that entice us outdoors this time of year.”

From the longleaf pine forests of north Florida to the island paradise of the Florida Keys, hikers have the opportunity to explore the state’s diverse environment on foot, through what will eventually be a continuous wilderness corridor. The Florida Trail, one of eight federally designated National Scenic Trails, now includes loop and linear trails on public lands throughout Florida and will ultimately extend 1,560 miles from the Gulf Islands National Seashore in the Panhandle to Big Cypress National Preserve in south Florida.

“The Florida Trail System is an incredible network of hiking trails that exist within an hour's drive of most major population areas and tourist destinations in Florida,” said Deborah R. Stewart-Kent, Executive Director of the Florida Trail Association. “This extensive system offers a myriad of places for people to connect to natural Florida for a walk in the woods. Wonders abound along the Florida Trail for people of all ages to experience and enjoy in Florida's great outdoors.”

Florida Hiking Trails Month celebrates the more than 1,800-miles of hiking trails throughout Florida and the volunteers and public and private partners who make this trail system possible. Florida Hiking Trails Month emphasizes fun and fitness along all of the state's scenic and diverse trails, including paved rail-trails, urban trails through cityscapes and wilderness trails.

Florida Hiking Trails Month 2009 events are being held statewide and can be found at the Florida Trail Association website at: www.floridatrail.org/component/option,com_events .

This information originally published on February 5, 2009.

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