Overview

Introduction

For those who live in northern climes, Florida takes on an almost mythical stature. Long before visiting the state, travelers are regaled with tales of its warm sun, exotic creatures and golden beaches.

Once they actually visit Florida, visitors tend to find that these ideas are oversimplified. Golden sand there is, but mangrove thickets, barren coral islands and reedy estuaries are just as common.

Reality matches the myths in many ways, though. In the middle of the state, Orlando stands as the undisputed capital of fun, at least when it comes to theme parks. Along the Atlantic coast, Miami simmers with Caribbean and Latin American flair, and sights such as alligators in the Everglades and rocket launches at the Kennedy Space Center allow you to combine education with vacation.

Anyone convinced that Florida's history commenced with NASA, NASCAR and Mickey Mouse need only head to St. Augustine or St. Marks to find living proof that the state's historical roots are some of the deepest in the U.S. On the Gulf coast, a stop in Tampa and St. Petersburg will provide all the comfort and entertainment you would expect from a booming metropolis. Yet just a few hours down the highway, on Sanibel Island, you can explore a region of wild Florida that has changed little over the past few centuries.

Geography

History

Several Native American tribes—the Apalachees, Timucuans, Calusa and Tocobaga—settled in Florida 10,000-20,000 years ago. The Timucuans left burial mounds that are preserved at several historic sites. Later, the Seminoles—an offshoot of the Creek tribes—moved into the area from present-day Georgia and Alabama.

In 1513, explorer Ponce de Leon arrived at what he would later dub Florida near St. Augustine, where the Spanish founded their first true settlement in the U.S. about 50 years later. Spain laid the strongest colonial claim, but France and Great Britain also controlled the peninsula over the years before it was turned back over to Spain in 1783. Soon, expansionist settlers from the newly independent U.S. began eyeing Florida. With mounting pressure from the U.S., Spain finally gave up Florida to the fast-growing country in 1819, and settlers poured in.

Resistance from the Seminoles resulted in armed confrontations between the Native Americans and U.S. government forces in the early 1800s. Most of the Seminoles were eventually exiled to Oklahoma, although a small core refused to surrender or be captured. These survivors are ancestors of the 15,000 Seminoles who now live on three Florida reservations.

In 1845, Florida joined the U.S. as a slave state. Economic recovery after the Civil War was long in coming, but it was speeded by the growth of the citrus industry and the state's development as a vacation destination. In more recent years, its popularity has come to pose its biggest challenge. The throngs who vacation and retire in the state have brought massive population growth and development; an estimated 1,000 people move to Florida each day. No state income tax also entices people to move. This has strained some of the state's natural resources, including the coastal beaches, the Everglades and the water table.

The state's challenging seasonal weather conditions create a completely different kind of strain, most notably in the hurricanes that often pound the Sunshine State. More storms hit Florida than any other state. Hurricanes Irma and Michael are some of the most damaging to hit the state in recent decades, and hurricanes have caused more than US$120 billion in damages in this century alone.

If you're planning a trip during hurricane season (June-November), pay attention to forecasts, and be prepared to rearrange plans if a hurricane is headed toward your vacation destination.

Snapshot

Florida's foremost attractions are sun and sand, freshwater and saltwater fishing, tropical wetlands and forests, Orlando and Walt Disney World Resort, the Florida Keys, the Kennedy Space Center, Miami, Tampa and St. Petersburg, Native American culture, Caribbean and Latin American cuisine, lots of fresh seafood, unlimited watersports and a wide variety of day and night activities.

It's hard to imagine there's a person alive who won't find something to enjoy in Florida, though those who prefer to avoid heavily commercialized attractions will have to work a bit to find less-traveled areas. Those who love the sea, the beach and warm weather will get the most out of a Florida vacation.

Potpourri

Key West's average temperature, 78 F/26 C, is the highest in the U.S.

The manatees that frequent the Gulf Coast are an endangered species: Only about 3,000-4,000 survive in Florida waters. Run-ins with pleasure boat props are the main cause of death, but strict boating regulations have helped to increase their numbers.

Before constructing The Breakers, Florida pioneer and railroad baron Henry Flagler built a 55-room mansion in Palm Beach in 1902 and gave it to his wife, Mary Lily Kenan, as a wedding present. The house rivaled any palace in Europe at the time it was built. Today it is a museum called Whitehall and is adorned with artifacts from the Golden Age.

The largest concentration of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's work is in Lakeland.

The first racially integrated professional baseball game was played in Daytona Beach at City Island Ballpark in 1946, with Jackie Robinson, who would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This historic ballpark now bears his name and features a public museum.

Florida consistently racks up the highest annual number of lightning strikes in the world.

Florida is famous for many air feats. Among them: The world's first scheduled passenger airline flight took place on New Year's Day 1914, from Tampa to St. Petersburg. The first Pan Am office was in Key West.

The beaches in the Fort Myers and Sanibel Island area have some of the best shelling in the world (only the Sulu Islands in the Philippines and Jeffreys Bay in South Africa are considered better). They have more varieties of shells than anywhere else in North America.

Florida is truly the land of perpetual sunshine: St. Petersburg/Clearwater claims 361 days of sunshine each year.

Minnesota's claim to fame may be 10,000 lakes, but Florida has more than 30,000 freshwater lakes to call its own.

Opened in 1982, The Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg boasts the largest collection of the Spanish surrealist's work outside of Europe, with more than 200 paintings, prints and sculptures.

Upon his retirement, circus impresario John Ringling built his family estate and a museum in Sarasota. Later donated to the state, The Ringling Museum and former residence, Ca' D'Zan, now contain his magnificent collection of circus memorabilia and European art.

Miami is the only U.S. city to border two national parks—Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park.

Overview

Introduction

The coast of the far-western part of the state—known as the Florida Panhandle because of its geographical shape—is a popular summer vacation spot for visitors from the neighboring states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. They go there for good reason: It's one of the most beautiful stretches of white-sand beach and clear blue-green water in the U.S.

Sometimes called the Emerald Coast, the Florida Panhandle extends more than 100 mi/160 km from Apalachicola to Pensacola.

Beginning on the eastern end, the town of Apalachicola is famous for its oysters and for being the place where Dr. John Gorrie pioneered the technology of air-conditioning in the mid-1800s. A replica of his machine is in the John Gorrie State Museum on Gorrie Square. Apalachicola Maritime Museum celebrates more than 100 years of the American South, particularly Apalachicola's maritime history.

Just off the coast, St. George Island State Park is particularly attractive, with forests and coves for camping and hiking.

To the northwest is Panama City, one of the larger resort towns along the Panhandle coast, and just to the west of Panama City is Seaside.

Right next door to Seaside is Grayton Beach, the oldest town between Pensacola and Apalachicola (settled in the early 1900s). Beach fanatics should be aware that Grayton has been rated one of the best beaches in the U.S. in the annual rating compiled by the University of Maryland, one of the highest honors for a sandy shore. West of town is Grayton Beach State Park, a 355-acre/145-hectare oceanfront preserve with camping facilities.

Not far from Grayton Beach, in the northeast corner of Choctawhatchee Bay, the state has established Eden State Gardens Park at the homestead of a 19th-century lumberman, William Henry Wesley. After his death, Wesley's home fell into disrepair until it was refurbished by the late Lois Maxon in the 1960s. After restoring the antebellum mansion and its beautiful garden, Maxon gave it all to the Florida park system as a gift.

Highway 98 becomes scenic as you continue west from Grayton Beach. You'll get good views of the white-sand beaches as you near Destin and Fort Walton Beach. You'll probably want to spend most of your time in or near the water, but do visit the Indian Temple Mound Museum National Historic Landmark in Fort Walton Beach, which has exhibits on the Native Americans who lived in the area and a ceremonial mound that dates from the 1400s. Destin is especially popular as a fishing destination.

To the west is Gulf Islands National Seashore, which stretches 150 mi/240 km from Fort Walton Beach through Alabama to Gulfport, Mississippi. Accessible by bridge or boat, these islands have beautiful beaches and also some historic forts.

Near the Florida-Alabama border is Pensacola, a city that is older than many in Florida, with a rich and diverse history dating from before Civil War days.

Overview

Introduction