Lakewood Park – Florida

How it all began…

I should start with the fact that while Malcolm and I love hiking and camping and being outside we are by no means professional hikers. We don’t have the best and most expensive gear. We don’t have months at a time to spend on the trail at this point in our lives. We work full time jobs, run businesses, & usually use our weekend/vacation time to get outside and enjoy nature. Hiking is a fun hobby for us and great way to connect with each other, stay in shape, and get a breath of fresh air!

In December 2015, long before we ever even thought about having kids, we were headed back home to Chattanooga, Tennessee from a wonderful vacation in Rosemary Beach, Florida with our dog, Charlie. (Side note: we have two rescue dogs, Charlie and Turk. Charlie is a 4 year old lab/pit mix and old man Turk is around 14 years old and is a terrier mix. They are great hikers, but not the best at longer road trips so Turk didn’t make this particular trip.) Anyway, somewhere on the journey home we saw a sign that said “Florida’s Highest Point” and decided to take the detour to check it out. It’s been awhile and I don’t remember how far from the highway or what the town looked like, but I remember pulling into a little area called Lakewood Park in DeFuniak Springs, Florida and finding Britton Hill. Sitting at an elevation of 345 ft. above sea level it was … well, if I’m being perfectly honest it was actually pretty underwhelming.

After stopping to catch our breath (kidding, obviously) and walking around the park, which is really cute and if I remember correctly has some walking trails to check out, we hopped back in the car and decided it would be our goal to make it to the highest point in every state. This decision has made for some of the most fun hikes and trips through tiny small towns, camping in beautiful places, staying in new and unique places, new friendships, and priceless memories for our family. I hope you’ll continue to follow along!