A fun way to hang out in Gulfport, which is a great place.
Lazy 8 Daytrip Destinations Beyond SRQ County
Babcock Ranch Reserve
Nestled in the beating heart of Florida’s wildlands, Babcock Ranch Reserve sprawls across 67,000 acres of pristine wilderness, mere miles from the buzz of Punta Gorda. As a naturalist venturing here in late October, you’re granted a front-row seat to some of Florida’s finest seasonal transformations. The dry air settles in as autumn’s crispness hints […]
Highlands Hammock State Park (Sebring FL)
Some parks whisper. Highlands Hammock State Park sings. It begins the moment you turn off US-27 onto Hammock Road, the traffic falling away behind you like a shed skin. Before you even see the official sign, the landscape shifts: more oaks, more shadows, more sense that you’re entering an older, wiser Florida—one that existed long […]
Brooker Creek Preserve (Tarpon Springs, FL)
Some places in Florida feel like they’ve been hiding in plain sight, quietly thriving while the world rushes past in a blur of pavement and Publix shopping plazas. Brooker Creek Preserve, tucked into the northeastern corner of Pinellas County near Tarpon Springs, is one of those places—a wild, breathing sanctuary where the land remembers what […]
Bok Tower (Lake Wales, FL)
“Bok Tower — the Taj Mahal of Florida.” With a tag line like that, I didn’t expect much, but the gardens and the estate are beautiful, and well worth the 2+ hour drive to get us there. There are landscapes in Florida that feel like invitations—open-armed gestures from the natural world to slow down, breathe […]
Three Sisters Springs (Crystal River, FL)
There are a handful of places in Florida where the world seems to breathe differently—slower, cleaner, with a kind of crystalline patience that feels almost ancient. Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River is one of these places. It is the closest thing our wild peninsula has to a natural cathedral: clear water glowing like liquid […]