Six Florida Websites Worth Bookmarking

Most Florida travel content is either an ad or an aggregator. These six are neither. We use all of them.

For Getting Outdoors

Florida Rambler. Running since 2010 and written by people who actually go. Beaches, camping, paddling, springs, county parks and the old-Florida places that never make a tourism campaign. If you want to know whether a campground is worth the drive, start here.

Florida Hikes. The most thorough trail database in the state, including the full Florida Trail. Detailed enough to plan from, and honest about conditions, which is rarer than it should be.

Florida State Parks. The official system site, and the only reliable source for current fees, hours, closures and the day-use reservations that more and more parks now require. Check it before any spring trip, because the rules have been changing fast.

For Planning a Trip

Authentic Florida. An independent travel site covering the state by region, with a taste for the kitschy and the small. Good on festivals and on places that have been running for decades.

VISIT FLORIDA. The official tourism site, run by the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation. Broad rather than deep, but the regional breakdowns and the free visitor guides are genuinely useful for a first pass.

For Looking Backward

Florida Memory. The State Library and Archives of Florida put their digitized collections online for free: photographs, maps, militia rosters going back to 1826, family papers and audio. It is where a surprising number of the images you have seen of old Florida actually come from, and you can spend an afternoon in it without meaning to.

Six sites, no paywalls, no sponsored listicles.