A Silent Sports Outfitter

EcoFlorida welcomes A Silent Sports Outfitter to the EcoFlorida Tour Guide and Outfitter Directory. Find more outfitters and tour guides there for your nature excursions.

Nationwide outdoors events encourage people to head into nature

June 13 is National Get Outdoors Day, a push by the U.S. Forest Service and other organizations to get people to explore public lands. There are only three locations in Florida holding events -- Florida's three national forests (Apalachicola, Osceola and Ocala). It's a good idea to encourage people to visit the forests -- I wonder if they will. It is summer, after all, and hurricane season here.

That might or might not stop people from participating in the Great American Backyard Campout on June 27. This is an annual event by the National Wildlife Federation to help foster a love of nature in kids. I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on camping here in the summer -- I prefer to camp in winter. And yes, I tent camp -- no air-conditioned camper or RV for me.

Have you or do you camp in Florida in the summer?

Kayaking Florida's Forgotten Coast

Here is a nice feature on paddling around the Apalachicola area from the New York Times.

For a list of outfitters and tour guides in the area, check out the EcoFlorida Tour Guide and Outfitter Directory.

Florida's top camping spots

Naming the best sports team or car could spark an argument. Listing the best beaches or camping spots in Florida could also be fighting words!

But the Miami Herald took the plunge and recently published Florida's top spots for family camping. Some of the places I would have picked made the list: Fort De Soto, Bahia Honda, Myakka River, Lake Kissimmee, Blue Spring and Silver River. The truth is there are so many nice places to camp in Florida that it would be hard to narrow it down.

People are supposedly turning to camping more and more now because of the economy. What do you think -- true?

Image of Bahia Honda State Park from Florida State Parks Web site

100 ways to see Florida in 100 days

Could you rediscover Florida in 100 different ways in 100 days? The Florida Department of Environmental Protection hopes people will, and they have a handy list of 100 ways to encourage you. The idea is getting people outdoors and pointing out you don't have to spend a lot of money to do so.

I think this is a great idea, but I'm a little wary of the word "rediscover." Maybe some folks need to rediscover their own state, but I don't feel I have to! Do you?

Almost Heaven Kayak Adventures

The EcoFlorida Tour Guide and Outfitter Directory welcomes Almost Heaven Kayak Adventures in the Sarasota area.

Babcock Ranch trail opens

Babcock Ranch, the state of Florida's largest conservation land purchase ever, is open to the public -- sort of, according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune.