Miami residents hike on Elliot Key in Biscayne National Park. Photo / Christopher Boykin

Visit Florida, the state’s tourism bureau, has launched a website that helps people plan paddling, hiking and horseback trails vacations in the Sunshine State.

With more than 8,000 miles of existing land trails and 4,000 miles of water trails, according to a Visit Florida report, the state won the inaugural award of “Best Trails State in the Nation” by American Trails in 2008. Additionally, according to the report, in 2009 more than 4 million visitors to the Cross Florida Greenway and eight state trails generated an estimated economic impact of $95 million. Two-thirds of visitors to Florida in 2009 participated in nature-based activities. Almost every Florida resident (80 percent) suggests nearby natural, cultural and historical sites to out-of-state friends and family when they visit Florida.

In other words, Florida’s trails are pretty damn cool. Even the animals like them.

VisitFlorida.com/trails has descriptions of trails, detailed maps and amazing photographs.