Arcing around Sarasota Bay, Longboat Key is a Gulf Coast town on a wondrous barrier island. By the Gulf are unblemished white sandy beaches, while the calm inward waters of the bay are wreathed with mangroves. For me, getting the most out of somewhere like Longboat Key means embracing island life. You can paddle out …
A byword for conspicuous wealth since the tycoon Henry Flager built a lavish hotel here in the 1890s, Palm Beach is a world-famous haven for billionaires. In fact there were at least 30 living here when I wrote this article. One is the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, whose permanent residence is …
Wedged between Jacksonville Beach and Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach is a community in the Jacksonville Beaches. This is the smallest of The Beaches, with a population of less than 8,000, and a residential vibe. You won’t see the large resorts and sprawling beach parks that command the waterfront in neighboring communities. Instead the beachfront is …
I fell in love with this adorable city in Citrus County right away. For one thing, Inverness is bordered on all sides by majestic nature. Ten minutes west you’ve got the Withlacoochee River, ready for airboat tours, while the lakes and swamps of the Flying Eagle Preserve are even closer. Inverness has a small but …
On the southwest shore of the immense Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston is a city with a few feathers in its cap. First off, that lake is the largest in the Southeast and famed as a hotspot for bass fishing. This is partly down to a spawning season that lasts for six months. Clewiston is also noted …
On the wide and deep lower reaches of the St. Johns River, Green Cove Springs is a charming historical city surrounded by natural beauty. I love how the city’s downtown mingles with the riverbank, where the namesake spring rises. This hydrological feature has attracted people for more than 170 years, and even today is a …
In the Peace River Valley, Arcadia is a rural city about half an hour in from the Gulf Coast. Passing by just west of the city, the river is a big attraction for quite a few reasons. For one, it’s at the southern end of a paddling trail, coursing lazily through remote forests and cypress …
First appearing on the map in the 1880s, Alachua grew up on the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad. Sitting northwest of the much larger Gainesville, Alachua is the third-largest city in North Central Florida. I found a lot to love about Alachua, from its historic Main Street to pastoral farms, and the beautiful nature all …
About an hour inland from St. Augustine, Palatka is an historic city on a giant bend in the St. Johns River. At this point Florida’s longest and most famous watercourse suddenly widens as it turns north towards Jacksonville. I can’t get enough of the magnificent riverfront views in Palatka, and it’s no wonder that most …
Sitting next to the beloved Blue Spring State Park, Orange City was settled by Europeans in the mid-19th century. The name of course comes from citrus growing, although the thousands of acres of groves were lost in the Great Freeze of 1894-95. Orange City has a large historic district with a number of buildings dating …