Exploring the Culture, Coasts, and Hidden Corners of Florida
In the farmland south of Williston, where oak branches tangle with Spanish moss and the road runs straight through horse country, there’s a hole in the ground that breathes cold air. From above it looks like an ordinary sinkhole, but…
East of Panama City, before the coastline gives way to pine and sand, Pine Log State Forest waits in a hush that feels older than Florida’s highways. The air smells of resin and damp earth. The trees rise straight and…
Some places in Florida hum with an energy that feels ancient. Wacissa Springs is one of them. It lies just south of Monticello, tucked into the Big Bend region where pine forests meet the slow curve of the Gulf. The…
If you think Miami is all neon lights, high-rise condos, and South Beach tans, let me take you upstream. Just north of the towers of Sunny Isles, tucked between Biscayne Bay and the rumble of U.S. 1, lies Oleta River…
The Econfina River doesn’t care for glamour. It doesn’t sparkle like Miami Beach, nor does it draw crowds like the Panhandle’s sugar sands. Instead, it slips through pine flatwoods, cypress domes, and salt marshes before spilling into Apalachee Bay. At…
If you drive the lonely stretch of U.S. Highway 98 between Port St. Joe and Apalachicola, it’s easy to miss what lies to the west of the road. The St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve doesn’t have a big sign…
Most rivers flow in plain sight. Not the Santa Fe. This quirky North Florida river disappears underground for three miles near O’Leno State Park, only to resurface — as if nothing happened — inside River Rise Preserve State Park. It’s…
Mention “Hallandale Beach” to a Floridian and you’ll usually get a knowing nod: “Ah, the casino town.” This small city sandwiched between Hollywood and Aventura is often pegged as Broward County’s playground for retirees and snowbirds. But that reputation misses…
Florida is known for slow, meandering rivers and flat terrain — not whitewater. But tucked into the state’s northern borderlands near White Springs lies something extraordinary: the Big Shoals Public Lands, home to the largest whitewater rapids in Florida. Here,…
Florida’s landscapes often conjure images of beaches, springs, or swamps. But in the rolling uplands northwest of Gainesville lies a different kind of wild place — one of the last and largest remaining mature hardwood forests in the state. San…