Outdoor Project

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park has a storied history, as well as some unique features marking it as a destination of interest.

Ponce De Leon Springs State Park is a medium sized park area centered around the Ponce De Leon springs, which gush about 14 million gallons of water daily into a stone-walled swimming area. 

Named after the supposed discoverer of the fountain of youth, Ponce De Leon Springs are set in a state park containing picnic areas, two short hiking trails, and a large bathhouse. But the prime attraction here are the springs that emerge at 68 degrees into a sculpted swimming area, essentially creating a large emerald sand-bottom pool beneath the cypress trees.

Potato Creek State Park is a stunning park with beautiful, forested hiking trails, a lake, sheltered picnic areas, phenomenal campgrounds, and an educational and informative Nature Center. Lovers of the outdoors can go to Potato Creek to satisfy almost any of their outdoor desires. The park offers over 10 miles of hiking trails, fishing, kayak and canoe rental, horseback riding, camping, mountain biking, swimming, and cross-country skiing in the winter. Potato Creek State Park is truly the outdoor lovers paradise.

This short section of the 23.9-mile Escarpment Trail provides great views of North-South Lake and the Hudson River Valley on the ascent up North Point Mountain. The return along Marys Glen is different, also pretty, and there are numerous seeps that feed into small creeks with deep green mosses covering the rocks. During the descent through Marys Glen you'll see the merging of the rivulets into a small gurgling creek that flows over Ashley Falls.

Flattop Mountain is the most climbed peak in Alaska, and depending on your perspective, that can either either be positive or negative. On one hand, it's almost always crowded in the summertime. The best time to go is early morning (before 11 a.m.

The Talkeetna Mountains are about as “Alaska” as it gets. Situated right in-between the silty ocean waters lined with tidewater glaciers and the permanently snowy Alaska Range, the Talkeetna Mountains are often mistaken as unassuming and neglected by visitors for the more popular sights to both the north and south. To most Alaskans, however, the heart of Alaska is in the Talkeetna Mountains. In winter, it’s home to some of the most spectacular backcountry skiing at only a couple hours from Anchorage. In the fall, berry pickers flock to the alpine tundra, scouring the treeless hills for blue

Lone Lake lies close to the border between Idaho and Montana in the pristine northern portion of the Bitterroot Mountains. The trailhead is shared with the Stevens Lake Trailhead (to the left), so make sure to go to the right when starting the hike. The trail starts in the trees but opens up to the sweeping Willow Creek valley that offers spectacular viws of Willow Peak. There is a cascading waterfall before you start the final ascent to the lake that feeds into Willow Creek

The beginning or end of the Appalachian Trail is Mount Katahdin, Maine's highest point. Across from Katahdin sits South Turner Mountain, a summit offering vistas of Baxter State Park and majestic Katahdin, which is why so many through hikers cherish the day to summit this peak. Though South Turner Mountain only sits 3,100 feet above sea level, it offers a stark climb up from Sandy Stream Pond to challenge all types of hikers.

Tibbet’s Knob Trail is one of those trails you just might want to do on a quick getaway from the crowded suburbs of Washington and Baltimore when you don’t want to deal with the entrance fees and crowds at Shenandoah National Park. It is only a 3.2-mile out and back hike with 670 feet of elevation gain. The hike passes through a second-growth mixed forest above the Wolf Gap Recreation Area (WGRA) in George Washington National Forest. Tibbet’s Knob, the namesake of the trail, offers 180-degree views looking west into West Virginia and the small, quaint, farming valley of Trout Run.

This is really cool hike with grand 180- and 270-degree vistas from multiple rocky overlooks along the Eastern Continental Divide. It provides more solitude compared to the much more visited, but only slightly more spectacular Bear Rocks at Dolly Sods to the north. Cascading streams and beautiful forest trails exist deep in the canyon of the South Fork of Red Creek.