Adventurers
This land calls out for hearty souls who blaze new trails. Like to hike, backpack, fish, or hunt?
How about tackling a world-class canoe run? There are many great opportunities for “roughing it” in these parts!
Jim Kern – Founder of the Florida Trail
In the 1960s, Jim Kern headed to North Carolina for a hike on the Appalachian Trail. He returned to Florida with a vision for a hiking trail across Florida and founded the Florida Trail Association. By October 1966, Kern met with the managers of the Ocala National Forest and received permission to start blazing the hiking trail adventurers enjoy today.
A passionate photographer, he published a book in 2011 about hiking the world, Trail Reflections, 50 Years of Hiking and Backpacking. In 2014 he founded the Friends of the Florida Trail.
Jim’s latest mission, starting in 2013, has been to close the gaps on scenic trails at the national level, with Hiking Trails for America
Ross Allen – Reptile Wrangler
Ross Allen, founder in 1929 of the Ross Allen Reptile Institute (now closed) at Silver Springs, was known for his daring approach to wild Florida, particularly the reptiles. Famous for “milking” snakes of their venom, he says he was motivated to start this practice by treating his son for a bite when there was no serum available.
As a famed wilderness expert, Allen helped the Boy Scouts set standards for some of the wildlife merit badges and helped carve out some of the Florida Trail with Jim Kern.
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés – Conquistador
Pedro Menendez, a bold and brutal Spanish conquistador, came to Florida in 1565. He eventually established the city of St. Augustine and became the first governor of colonial Florida.
- He explored the St. Johns River from Jacksonville south
- In 1566, he and fifty soldiers came down the St. Johns River, crossing Lake George
- He is thought to be the first European to visit Lake George
- Encountered regional tribes, including what is now thought to have been the Mayaca, who lived in the region previously for 6,000 years
- Came as far south on the St. Johns River as Astor, where he and his soldiers met resistance from
Native American tribes, which turned them back.
Vacationers
Historians
Naturalists
