Driving Tours & Trails
Your License to Explore La Florida
Embark on your own adventure with these fun driving tours and trails. Explore many of Florida's great cities and also the road less traveled to experience Florida's Spanish colonial history and cultural heritage.
Sites on the tours below that include the phone number and website, are not specifically Spanish or colonial sites and therefore not included as a listing in the guide, however they are indeed worth the drive as they provide an entertaining and often enriching experience as part of the tours.
*mileage between sites is approximate
The Old Spanish Trail - 3 Days
NORTH FLORIDAU.S. 90, Pensacola to St. Augustine
Day 1 - Pensacola
Fort Barrancas at NAS
Historic Pensacola Village
T.T. Wentworth Museum
Archaeology Institute at University of West Florida
192 miles to Tallahassee
Day 2 - Tallahassee
Mission San Luis
Museum of Florida History
194 miles to St. Augustine
Day 3 - St. Augustine
Fort Mose Historic State Park
Castillo de San Marcos
Lunch at the Columbia Restaurant
Anastasia State Park
Ponce de Leon Trail - 5 Days
Central East & South FloridaSt. Augustine to Punta Gorda
Day 1 - St. Augustine
Fountain of Youth (800-356-8222; www.FountainofYouthFlorida.com )
65 miles to DeLeon Springs
DeLeon Springs
DeLeon Springs State Parks
91 miles to Melbourne Beach
Day 2 - Melbourne Beach
Juan Ponce de Leon Landing Park
60 miles to Hobe Sound
Day 3 - Hobe Sound
Jonathan Dickinson State Park
117 miles to Fort Myers
Day 4 - Fort Myers
Southwest Florida Museum of History
Calusa Heritage Trail, Randall Research Center at Pineland
24 miles to Punta Gorda
Day 5 - Punta Gorda
Ponce de Leon Park
Hernando de Soto Trail - 4 Days
Central West & North Central FloridaBradenton to Tallahassee
Day 1 - Bradenton
DeSoto National Memorial
South Florida Museum
25 miles to St. Petersburg
Day 2 - St. Petersburg
Salvador Dali Museum, 727-823-3767; www.salvadordalimuseum.org)
20 miles to Tampa
Tampa - Ybor City
Centro Asturiano (813-229-2214; www.CentroAsturianoTampa.org)
Dine at the 1905 Columbia Restaurant
80 miles to Inverness
Day 3 - Near Inverness
Withlacoochee State Forest (352-754-6896; www.fl-dof.com, www.floridatrail.org)
165 miles to Tallahassee
Day 4 - Tallahassee
DeSoto Winter Encampment Site
Museum of Florida History
Orange Blossom Trail - 5 Days
SOUTHERNMOST POINT TO NORTH FLORIDAKey West North through the heart of Florida
Day 1 - Key West
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum (305-294-2633; www.melfisher.org)
Pirate Soul Museum (305-292-1113; www.piratesoul.com)
85 miles to Islamorada
Islamorada
San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve -
82 miles to Miami
Day 2 - Miami
Historical Museum of Southern Florida
Calle Ocho in Little Havana (800-933-8448; www.miamiandbeaches.com)
Ancient Spanish Monastery (305-945-1461; www.spanishmonastery.com)
187 miles to Lake Wales
Day 3 - Lake Wales
Florida's Natural Grove House Visitor's Center (863-679-4110; www.floridasnatural.com -
Lake Kissimmee State Park (863-696-1112; www.floridastateparks.org/lakekissimmee)
48 miles to Orlando
Day 4 - Orlando
Orlando County Regional History Center
18 miles to Kissimmee
Kissimmee
Silver Spurs Rodeo (407-677-6336; www.silverspursrodeo.com)
122 miles to Gainesville
Day 5 - Gainesville
Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida
Matheson Museum
10 Miles to Micanopy
Micanopy
Paynes Prairie State Park
