Wright Lake Trail

Apalachicola National Forest is more than half a million acres of bald-cypress swamp, densely overgrown wilderness, stands of longleaf and slash pines that support the world's healthiest population of red-cockaded woodpeckers, open savannas, odd plants from sundews to orchids to titi thickets, and fascinating karst-plain sinkholes. It is home to the stretch of the Florida Trail through Bradwell Bay that Backpacker magazine has rated one of the toughest hikes in North America, to several gorgeous, navigable rivers that are perfect for multi-day canoe adventures, even to rollicking, single-track mountain bike trails.

So next time you're breezing down I-95 on your way to the Sunshine State's more publicized attractions, consider a right turn at Jacksonville. One of the Southeast's more underrated wild places awaits.