USA

Florida Caverns State Park: The Sunshine State’s Underground Secret

February 7, 2017 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: May 2026

Florida is not a state you associate with caves. The geology of most of the peninsula — flat, sandy, barely above sea level — doesn’t suggest anything underground worth exploring. But the Florida Panhandle sits on a different kind of rock. The limestone karst terrain around Marianna, where slightly acidic groundwater has been dissolving passages through calcium carbonate bedrock for tens of thousands of years, produced something unique in the Florida state park system: Florida Caverns State Park, the only park in the state with cave passages large enough to walk through and open to public tours.

Florida Caverns State Park, Marianna, Florida

Three Rivers State Park, Florida: Controlled Burns, Bald Eagles & Jake’s First Canoe Ride

February 5, 2017 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: May 2026

Three Rivers State Park sits in the Florida Panhandle just south of the Georgia border, taking its name from the convergence that defines the landscape: the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers meet above the Jim Woodruff Dam to form Lake Seminole, and below the dam their combined waters become the Apalachicola River, flowing south through the Panhandle to Apalachicola Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The park was established in 1955 and remains one of the quieter, less-visited stops on the Florida state park circuit — which is exactly what we needed between the crowds of the Gulf Coast and the long drive north.

Three Rivers State Park, Lake Seminole, Florida

Silver Springs State Park, Florida: Glass Bottom Boats, Feral Monkeys & Hollywood History

February 4, 2017 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: May 2026

Florida’s springs are among the most striking natural features in the eastern United States — year-round 68°F water, extraordinary clarity, and ecosystems unlike anything on the coasts. Silver Springs is the largest artesian spring formation in Florida, and for much of the 19th and 20th centuries it was one of the most visited tourist attractions in the entire country. The state took over management in 2013, converting it to Silver Springs State Park. What remains is a rare convergence of natural wonder and layered American cultural history unlike anything else we encountered in Florida.

Sandy Huntley at Silver Springs State Park, Florida

Highlands Hammock & Suwannee River State Parks, Florida: Old-Growth Forest & Civil War Earthworks

February 4, 2017 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: May 2026

Leaving Fort Myers after the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, we headed north and inland, trading the Gulf Coast resort strip for something quieter and considerably older. Florida has two state parks that belong on any serious nature traveler’s itinerary — Highlands Hammock near Sebring and Suwannee River on the Georgia border — and we managed to catch both on the same northward push. Neither disappointed.

Jake Huntley exploring Highlands Hammock State Park, Florida

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Edison & Ford Winter Estates, Fort Myers: A Masterclass in American Ingenuity

February 2, 2017 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: May 2026

Fort Myers holds a secret that most visitors driving to Naples or the Keys never stop to discover: for nearly five decades, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford spent their winters as neighbors here, on adjoining properties along the Caloosahatchee River. The Edison & Ford Winter Estates preserve both homes, Edison’s working laboratory, an extraordinary botanical garden, and a world-class museum — all on a single 20-acre site in the middle of the city. We spent a full morning here and left wishing we’d given it a full day.

Thomas Edison's winter estate, Fort Myers Florida — Thomas Edison’s Winter Estate

Chokoloskee Island, Florida: Airboats, Wildlife Sanctuary & a Midnight Flood Warning

February 2, 2017 by Michael Huntley

Last Updated: May 2026

Chokoloskee Island sits at the southern tip of Florida’s Gulf Coast, a tiny shell-mound island connected to the mainland by a single causeway and surrounded by the vast estuaries of Everglades National Park. We found it by chance — looking for a waterfront RV resort to decompress after the sensory overload of Big Cypress — and ended up with one of our most memorable stops of the entire Florida winter. We stayed at Outdoor Resorts of Chokoloskee Island, a community-within-a-resort where most sites are occupied by full-time residents who head north when summer heat makes the Gulf Coast nearly uninhabitable.

Chokoloskee Island waterfront, Florida Everglades

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