Gainesville is home to 2 unique state Parks: Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park and San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. Devil's Millhopper is a large sinkhole with a boardwalk that descends to its bottom. San Felasco SP contains trails for hiking, off-road biking, and equestrians.

O'Leno State Park in High Springs is one of the 9 Florida state parks built by the CCC in the 1930s. It offers primitive and developed camping, historical information and artifacts, hiking and cycling trails, picnicking, and fishing, swimming, and canoeing opportunities on the Santa Fe River.

Every January brings the Alafia River Rendezvous to Homeland in Polk County. It is the largest frontier living history encampment in the southeast U.S. If you enjoy historical reenactments, make plans to attend the next rendezvous in 2019.

The Florida State Fair began over a century ago, but has been held at the Florida State Fairgrounds in eastern Hillsborough County only since 1977. Read a short history of the state fair and find out about upcoming events at the state fairgrounds.

Florida National Cemetery, located near Bushnell, is worth a visit, even if you don't have a loved one buried there, as a way to pay tribute to those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. It is a place of peace and beauty.

Take a hike through old Florida at the Nature Conservancy's Tiger Creek Preserve near Babson Park in Polk County. Six trails comprise over 10 miles of hiking through a variety of ecosystems.

One of Florida's newer state parks, the 5067-acre Colt Creek State Park is located 16 miles north of Lakeland in the Green Swamp. The land, once a working cattle ranch, was purchased from the Overstreet Family in 2006. The park plans to open a full-service campground in February 2018.

The 46-mile-long, multi-use Withlacoochee State Trail is one of Florida's longer rail trails. From Citrus Springs in Citrus County, it runs south through a variety of landscapes and ends north of Dade City in Pasco County. Five designated trailheads provide access to the trail.

The Mackay Gardens and Lakeside Preserve in Lake Alfred, Polk County, offers recreational and nature education opportunities that are generally free of charge. It is the historic estate of the Alexander Mackay family. The house can be rented for weddings and other events.

The Suwannee River, made famous by Stephen Foster's song "Old Folks at Home," is a federally designated wild river. It is a beautiful river to paddle, particularly in its upper and middle sections, with many places available for overnight stops.