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5 days ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bob Rountree
Camping veterans know that planning a successful Florida camping trip in any season, but especially the busy winter season, takes advance planning and a lot of patience. The most popular campgrounds are in Florida State Parks, and they are the hardest to reserve. RV sites are in greatest demand. Tent campers have more options, especially in wildlife refuges, forests and county parks.
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1 week ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bob Rountree
You’ll find Old Florida at every turn in downtown Fort Pierce. You cannot escape references to A.E. Backus and his influence on the cadre of famed landscape artists known collectively as The Highwaymen. There’s a museum and gallery here dedicated to their work.
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1 week ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bonnie Gross
Two and a half years after Category 4 Hurricane Ian slammed Sanibel in September 2022, the beaches, the sea shells, the birds and the wildlife — all the natural stuff — is back. But many things people built are still a work in progreess. While Sanibel was recovering from Hurricane Ian, along came two more hurricanes in 2024, Milton and Helene, which slowed the effort. But as summer 2025 approaches, Sanibel is gaining momentum in its recovery. A key milestone is the rebuilding of Sanibel Causeway.
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1 week ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bonnie Gross
Folks who dream of picnicking or even camping on their own little island can make that dream come true — and pretty easily – by kayaking the Indian River Lagoon. Within sight of many boat ramps, the Indian River Lagoon is studded with attractive little islands that will fulfill your fantasy of having an island to yourself.
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2 weeks ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bonnie Gross
The Ocklawaha River almost died, but kayaking one of its pristine sections, you’d barely know it now. This section of the Ocklawaha River near Ocala forms the western border of Ocala National Forest. Here the Ocklawaha is wild, pristine, profoundly quiet and lined with ancient cypress trees. It’s the sort of the place where in an eight-mile kayak trip, we saw one beer can, two man-made structures and dozens of birds, turtles and gators.
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2 weeks ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bonnie Gross
This is one of the most scenic bike path in South Florida. This paved, traffic-free trail hugs the shore of Lake Worth, with views of statuesque royal palms lining the waterway as sailboats and yachts glide by. Biking here, on a barrier island that has been the home of presidents (Kennedy and Trump), the famous and the merely rich, you feel you are experiencing an exclusive place not many get to enjoy.
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2 weeks ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bob Rountree |Bonnie Gross
Veteran journalists who worked together at Fort Lauderdale's SunSentinel newspaper, Bonnie and Bob founded FloridaRambler.com in 2010 to explore the natural, authentic Florida, writing about their natural interests in hiking, biking, paddling, RV and tent camping, wildlife, unique lodging, dining and historic places.
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2 weeks ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bob Rountree
Gold Head Branch State Park has long been on my radar, a small dot on the map with a curious name in the middle of nowhere, out of range of any major highways but close enough to the University of Florida to be a great camping option on game weekends. One of Florida’s earliest state parks, Gold Head Branch was developed in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was created to combat unemployment during the Great Depression.
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3 weeks ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bonnie Gross
Downtown Dunedin may surprise you. A decade ago, I bicycled on the Pinellas Trail through Dunedin and I remember I thought it was cool that there was a great ice cream shop and a brewery right off the bike path. It was a charming little downtown, but I don’t recall there was a lot else there. Today it’s a busy and vibrant place, home to eight craft breweries, popular coffee shops, great restaurants plus boutiques and galleries. Its historic downtown buildings have been restored.
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3 weeks ago | 
floridarambler.com | Bonnie Gross
Visitors have been taking scenic boat tours of Florida waterways ever since there were visitors to Florida. The state’s very first tourist attraction, Silver Springs in Ocala, began its famous glass-bottom boat tours almost 150 years ago. Clearly, they were on to something — there are few better ways to see the state’s beauty than on a Florida boat tour. With 1,800 miles of coastline and 12,000 miles of rivers and streams, you’ll never run out of places to cruise.