Top Things to do in Central Florida
Top Hotels in Central Florida
- 1. Universal's Endless Summer Resort - Surfside Inn and Suites
- 2. Universal’s Endless Summer Resort - Dockside Inn and Suites
- 3. Holiday Inn Orlando - Disney Springs Area, An IHG Hotel
- 4. Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort
- 5. Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek
- 6. Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando
- 7. Holiday Inn Orlando - Disney Springs Area, An IHG Hotel
- 8. Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress
- 9. Hyatt Regency Orlando
- 10. Avanti International Resort
Countries
What to do and see in Central Florida, Central Florida: The Best Forests
Discover the best top things to do in Central Florida, United States including Seminole State Forest, Bluffton Recreation Area, Goethe State Forest, Barr Street Trailhead, Johnson Pond Trailhead, Ocala National Forest, Charles H. Bronson State Forest.
Restaurants in Central Florida
1. Seminole State Forest
2. Bluffton Recreation Area
3. Goethe State Forest
4. Barr Street Trailhead
5. Johnson Pond Trailhead
6. Ocala National Forest
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 160 reviews
National parkland consisting of 383,220 acres of various landscapes, including highlands, coastal lowlands, swamps, springs, lakes and ponds.
Reviewed By fioreart - Sarasota, United States
We hiked sections of the Florida Trail through the Ocala National Forest. Know that you can park for free where a road intersects the trail. It is an easy trail with few tree roots and other obstacles on the trail. We did not need out hiking sticks. It gently rolls in a few sections, so no significant altitude changes. There are many sandy sections. We enjoyed sections going north out out Juniper Springs and south from 314 the most as it was mostly forest with some shade. Hopkins Prairie north of 50 is pretty but sandy and sunny. We went in January, so the temperatures were in the 60s and 70s. No bugs nor mud. Do not attempt to hike here or most places in Florida in the summer other than at dawn or dusk. Here it will be swampy, in the 90s, buggy and too humid.
7. Charles H. Bronson State Forest
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By cedarjules - Atlanta, United States
We parked in the Phillips Road Lot. You drive down a short dirt road prior to reaching the lot at the end of Phillips Road. The parking lot is huge for a state forest parking lot. It was 2 dollars per person to park. We hiked the loop clockwise. Look at a map prior to going to see what I'm talking about. There is a very short blue connector trail to get to the loop. Then we took the Orange Florida Trail north to the Blue Connector, to the White River Trail to the Florida Trail. The first section of the Florida Trail (north of the parking) was EXTREMELY wet in late December. Wear water shoes. We had to take our tennis shoes off and walk parts of it in bare feet because we didn't want to hike 10 miles in wet shoes. There are bridges over parts of the wet areas, but not all of it. There are places were you can find dry areas to avoid the wet parts, but other parts where there is no way you are going forward without getting your feet wet. We are slightly faster than average hikers and it took us 4.5 hours to complete the loop. But again, the first part was very slow due to hiking barefoot parts of the way. We stopped about 20 minutes for lunch. There are two places with benches along the trail with really nice water views for lunch. One is about 15 minutes in on the white trail (south of CB13) and the other is on the white trail about 15 minutes before you reach the junction of the white trail and the Florida orange trail southeast of the parking lot. Plan according for a great lunch spot. There is also a campsite with a picnic table near the junction of the white trail and Florida orange trail southeast of the parking, plus another bench with less pretty water view in this vicinity also. The wettest part of the trail was Florida trail north of parking, so it may be better to hike counterclockwise to hit the wettest part at the end (although there were wet places throughout when we were there). Maybe it is just wetter in December. The trails were all really well marked with paint on the trees. You won't get bored hiking this trail, you are constantly walking through different habitats with different flora. It was beautiful. I highly recommend this hike. We only saw one other person on the trail when we were there plus saw some people horseback riding at the start. There are lots of horse trails that criss-cross the hiking trails. Great hike! I highly recommend it.
