The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on February 20, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
Myakka River State Park is a Florida State Park, that is located nine miles (14 km) east of Interstate 75 in Sarasota County and a portion of southeastern Manatee County on the Atlantic coastal plain. This state park consists of 37,000 acres (150 km2), making it one of the state's largest parks. It is also one of the oldest parks in the state. It was delineated in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. A small portion of the park was the gift of the family of Bertha Palmer to the state. The park is named after the Myakka River.
First acquired in 1977, Big Lagoon State Park is a 705-acre (2.85 km2) Florida State Park located on the northwestern Florida coast, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Pensacola on Gulf Beach Highway. It encompasses the northern boundary of Big Lagoon as it snakes toward Pensacola Bay to the east. Wild Grande Lagoon and its minor tributaries lay within the boundaries of the park, as does the alligator-inhabited Long Pond, a man-made freshwater pond.
Ochlockonee River State Park is a Florida State Park located in Wakulla County, Florida, south of the town of Sopchoppy in the Florida Panhandle. Located off of U.S. 319 on the Ochlockonee River, just north of the Gulf of Mexico coast, it is surrounded by the Apalachicola National Forest and the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and provides important habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
Kisatchie National Forest, the only National forest in Louisiana, United States, is located in the forested piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It is part of the Cenozoic uplands and has large areas of longleaf pine forests. It is one of the largest pieces of natural landscape in Louisiana, with some 604,000 acres (2,440 km2) of public land, more than half of which is vital longleaf pine and flatwoods vegetation. These support many rare plant and animal species. There are also rare habitats, such as hillside seepage bogs and calcareous prairies. The forest also contains and provides a buffer for the Kisatchie Hills Wilderness, a nationally designated wilderness area that contributes to protecting biodiversity of the coastal plain region of the United States.
The Conecuh National Forest in southern Alabama covers 83,000 acres (340 km2), along the Alabama - Florida line in Covington and Escambia counties. Topography is level to moderately sloping, broad ridges with stream terraces and broad floodplains.
Cleveland National Forest encompasses 460,000 acres, mostly of chaparral, with a few riparian areas. A warm dry mediterranean climate prevails over the forest. It is the southernmost U.S. National Forest of California. It is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, a government agency within the United States Department of Agriculture. It is divided into the Descanso, Palomar and Trabuco Ranger Districts and is located in the counties of San Diego, Riverside, and Orange.
The Ocala National Forest ls the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers 607 square miles (1,570 km2) of Central Florida. It is located three miles (5 km) east of Ocala and 16 miles (26 km) southeast of Gainesville. The Ocala National Forest, established in 1908, is the oldest national forest east of the Mississippi River and the southernmost national forest in the continental U.S. The word Ocala is thought to be a derivative of a Timucuan term meaning "fair land" or "big hammock". The forest is headquartered in Tallahassee, as are all three National Forests in Florida, but there are local ranger district offices located in Silver Springs and Umatilla.
The Apalachicola National Forest is the largest U.S. National Forest in the state of Florida. It encompasses 632,890 acres and is the only national forest located in the Florida Panhandle. The National Forest provides water and land-based outdoors activities such as off-road biking, hiking, swimming, boating, hunting, fishing, horse-back riding, and off-road ATV usage.
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, encompassing a 21,000-acre (85 km2) savanna in Alachua County, Florida lying between Micanopy and Gainesville. It is also a U.S. National Natural Landmark. It is crossed by both I-75 and U.S. 441. It is in the center of the Paynes Prairie Basin. The basin's primary source of drainage is Alachua Sink. During occasional wet periods, the basin will become full. A notable period occurred from 1871 to 1891 when the Alachua Sink was temporarily blocked. During this period, shallow draft steamboats were a frequent sight on Alachua Lake in the center of the prairie. The region was also historically known as the Alachua Savannah. Its drainage has been modified by several canals. Since 1927, Camps Canal has linked the basin to the River Styx which leads to Orange Lake and eventually the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Johns River. That reduced the basins water intake by half. Additional changes to the prairie's environment have been detrimental to its hydrology. In 1970, the state of Florida acquired the land and has been in the process of restoring the environment to a more natural condition ever since.
Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven islands. Some islands along the Alabama coast were originally considered for inclusion, but none are part of the National Seashore.
De Soto National Forest, named for 16th-century Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, is 518,587 acres of pine forests in southern Mississippi. It is one of the most important protected areas for the biological diversity of the Gulf Coast ecoregion of North America.
Lake Kissimmee State Park is a 5,930-acre (24 km²) Florida State Park located north of State Road 60, 15 miles (24 km) east of Lake Wales. It contains floodplain, forest, prairie, hammock, flatwoods and Lakes Kissimmee, Tiger, and Rosalie. The park is home to 50 species of plants and animals that are either threatened, of special concern or endangered.
Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park is a Florida State Park in the Osceola National Forest, near the town of Olustee. The site of Florida's largest Civil War battle, the Battle of Olustee. The park is located 50 miles (80 km) west of Jacksonville and 15 miles (24 km) east of Lake City, on U.S. 90. It also has the distinction of being the first park in the Florida State Park system.
The Kettle Moraine State Forest is a state forest in southeastern Wisconsin. The chief feature of the reserve is the Kettle Moraine, a highly glaciated area. The area contains very hilly terrain and glacial landforms, such as kettles, kames and eskers. The 56,000-acre (23,000 ha) forest is divided into two large and three small units, which are spread across a hundred miles.
The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs 1,000 miles (1,600 km), with 300 miles (480 km) planned, from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation opportunity for hiking and other compatible activities and is within an hour of most Floridians. The Florida National Scenic Trail is designated as a National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968.
The Forest Preserve District of Cook County is a governmental commission in Cook County, Illinois, that owns and manages a network of open spaces, containing forest, prairie, wetland, streams, and lakes, that are mostly set aside as natural areas. Cook County contains Chicago, and is the center of the most densely populated urban metropolitan area in the Midwest. The Forest Preserve lands encompass approximately 70,000 acres (280 km2), about 11% of the county, providing open space within its urban surroundings. It contains facilities for recreation, as well as a zoo and a botanic garden.
Peninsula State Park is a 3,776-acre (1,528 ha) Wisconsin state park with eight miles (13 km) of Green Bay shoreline in Door County. Peninsula is the third largest state park in Wisconsin, and is visited by an estimated one million visitors annually.
Colt Creek State Park is a Florida State Park in Central Florida, 16 miles (26 km) north of Lakeland off of State Road 471. This 5,067 acre park nestled within the Green Swamp Wilderness Area and named after one of the tributaries that flows through the property was opened to the public on January 20, 2007. Composed mainly of pine flatwoods, cypress domes and open pasture land, this piece of pristine wilderness is home to many animal species including the American bald eagle, Southern fox squirrel, gopher tortoise, white-tailed deer, wild turkey and bobcat.
DuPuis Management Area is a 21,875 acre protected area in northwestern Palm Beach County, Florida and southwestern Martin County, Florida. Recreational opportunities include hunting, horseback riding, cycling, camping, hiking, auto touring, and fishing. During hunting periods it is closed to other use. The property includes a visitor center. Dogs are not allowed on the property. The park includes 22 miles of hiking trails, including a stretch of the Ocean to Lake Trail. There is also an equestrian campground and 40 miles of horseback riding trails. The park is located off State Road 76. It is along the Ocean to Lake Trail.
