https://mountainadventures.us/ The adventures include hiking, biking, camping and kayaking with associated stuff like nearby breweries and wineries tossed in. en-us Copyright 2008-2026, Mountain Adventures LLC Outdoors Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:45:10 -0600 120 https://mountainadventures.us/images/mountain-adventures-title-2.png https://mountainadventures.us/ https://mountainadventures.us/post/manatees-blue-spring-state-park Tue, 03 Mar 2026 17:00:00 -0700 Blue Spring State Park near Orange City, Florida is known for manatees coming into Blue Spring Run during the winter due to its warm 72 degree water. The spring run is a slow moving body of water connecting the spring or boil to the St. Johns River. There is a boardwalk that goes up the spring run to the boil, but it was closed for reconstructio... https://mountainadventures.us/post/big-thicket-pitcher-plants Wed, 18 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that attract bugs onto the rim of the pitcher where they slip inside are trapped. Big Thicket has a few areas with them. These are on the Sundew Trail in the Hickory Creek Unit. [img_full_block 317] They were smaller than I thought and I did not realize that it was them the first time I went by. Onc... https://mountainadventures.us/post/big-thicket-turkey-creek-hike Sat, 14 Feb 2026 09:00:00 -0700 Big Thicket National Preserve is north of Beaumont in eastern Texas near Louisiana. It a collection of areas rather than a large contiguous park like most NPS areas. It is mainly around creeks and wetlands. This area is a little east of the main visitor center. This hike was in January, so things are a bit more brown than in most of the ... https://mountainadventures.us/post/big-thicket-national-preserve-texas Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:00:00 -0700 This video is from two hikes in Big Thicket National Preserve north of Beaumont Texas. The first is in the Turkey Creek area starting on the Kirby Nature Trail the going north along the creek to the Sandhill Loop. Little changes in elevation made a big difference in vegetation with the lower areas having more cypress trees around creeks and wetl... https://mountainadventures.us/post/blowing-rocks-december-2025 Fri, 30 Jan 2026 10:00:00 -0700 Blowing Rocks is a nature preserve with a unique feature on the Florida east coast which is mostly sand beaches. A short stretch of the beach is rocky and the waves have worn holes and cracks in the rocks. When wave hit them, the water blows through them. There doesn't seem to be as many cracks and holes for water to shoot through as there used ... https://mountainadventures.us/post/blowing-rocks-january-2024 Sat, 17 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0700 I've posted a couple times about Bowing Rocks before. This is from a January 2024 trip there. This was close to high tide, but not one of the bigger ones. The best time to go is during a full or new moon at high tide. Check a tide chart to see when the tide will be the highest. Even at the highest tides, the rocks are not underwater. [img... https://mountainadventures.us/post/lassen-volcanic-np-warner-valley-thermal-features Sun, 16 Nov 2025 16:00:00 -0700 There's three thermal areas in the Warner Valley section of Lassen Volcanic NP. This area of the park is much quieter than the west side of the park with the visitor center and through road. Devil's Kitchen is a mix of fumaroles and hot springs that you can see on a loop trail through the area. Boiling Springs Lake has a collection of ... https://mountainadventures.us/post/thunder-mountain-monument-nevada Mon, 10 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0700 If you are driving on I-80 near Imlay, Nevada (about 130 miles east of Reno) you may see Thunder Mountain Monument along the south side of the highway. It was built by World War II veteran Frank Van Zant, aka Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder. The buildings are made of artifacts and other items found in the nearby desert held together with concret... https://mountainadventures.us/post/halpatiokee-mtb-loop-florida Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0700 The Halpatiokee trail system near the South Fork of the St. Lucie River has a directional set of mountain bike trails that form a loop. There a few spots where some trails can be skipped. It is mostly flat, but there's a few hills and some tight palmetto bush areas that make it interesting. Trail System Links: https://mountainadventures.us/post/camp-murphy-trails-jonathan-dickinson-florida-sp Tue, 28 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0600 Camp Murphy is one of the best trail systems in Florida for jumps, drops, berms and other tech. It also has sand pits, palmetto roots and climbs in rock gardens to challenge you. This area is hilly for Florida, so gravity can help you get some speed in a few spots. To hit many of the other jumps you have to pedal hard to get enough speed. ... https://mountainadventures.us/post/bunker-hill-trail-camp-murphy Wed, 22 Oct 2025 10:30:00 -0600 Bunker Hill is the black diamond trail near the trailhead. It's got rock gardens, drops, jump and other techy spots. The hardest thing on this trail is getting enough speed to hit the features. There isn't much vertical to get speed around here. Trail Links: https://mountainadventures.us/post/hare-trail-camp-murphy Sun, 19 Oct 2025 20:00:00 -0600 Hare Trail is a green trail that takes you back to the trailhead. It goes by Bunker Hill trail which is where this video stops. Trail Links: Trailforks MTB Pr... https://mountainadventures.us/post/prickly-pear-8-10s-silo-trails-camp-murphy Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:00:00 -0600 This video has two short trails sandwiching a longer one. Eight Tenths is a twist blue trail between Prickly Pear and Silo trails. There is an option to use a short cut between the two to skip it. One climbing section is sped up. The one cut early on was a battery dying. Camp Murphy is the mountain bike trail system in Jonathan Dickinson State P... https://mountainadventures.us/post/fire-ring-trail-camp-murphy Thu, 16 Oct 2025 15:30:00 -0600 Fire Ring has jumps like the other trails in Camp Murphy, but also has a long skinny and rock climb to keep things interesting. Camp Murphy is the mountainb bike trail system in Jonathan Dickinson State Park.. Trail Links: Trailforks https://mountainadventures.us/post/half-pipe-trail-camp-murphy Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:30:00 -0600 A drop, a boardwalk and a pond view on a short trail in the Camp Murphy trail system of Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Trail Links: Trailforks https://mountainadventures.us/post/gator-hole-palmetto-trails-camp-murphy Sun, 12 Oct 2025 09:57:00 -0600 These are two trails a blue trail in the Camp Murphy trails in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. There's a few techy features...and some sand pits. Palmetto ends in a skills area with some skinnys. Gator Hole Trail Links: Trailforks https://mountainadventures.us/post/big-burn-trail-camp-murphy Sat, 11 Oct 2025 10:30:00 -0600 Big Burn is a blue trail in the Camp Murphy trail system in Jonathan Dickinson Florida State Park. It starts out with a log ride and a jump. It has more jumps and berm turns. The trail also has a couple of sandy climbs that are sped up in the video. They are followed by a good views of a pond. A third climb through soft sand (cut out in the vide... https://mountainadventures.us/post/doe-trail-camp-murphy Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0600 Doe is a blue trail in the Camp Murphy trails in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Trail Links: Trailforks MTB Project https://mountainadventures.us/post/root-loop-trail-camp-murphy Tue, 07 Oct 2025 22:00:00 -0600 Root Loop is a blue trail in the Camp Murphy trails in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. This used to be a harder black trail due to the palmetto bush roots crossing the trail. They are more buried by the sand now and not as hard as they used to be. Trail Links: https://mountainadventures.us/post/osprey-trail-camp-murphy Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:30:00 -0600 Osprey is a blue trail in the Camp Murphy trails in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Is this really a blue trail? Felt more like a green. Does anyoe see a trail on the right? I missed a optional side black trail. Trail Links: Trailforks