Take a Florida road trip this fall — seriously, the weather’s perfect. To help get you in a “travel Florida” state of mind, we’ve picked some of our favorite Florida places. Some of these Florida road trips are a few hours or less, while others might require an overnight stay. Take a look at our favorite places in Florida, and then go gas up the car and get driving!

Photos by Cathy Salustri http://www.cathysalustri.com

Flora-Bama Home of the Inter-State Mullet Toss. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Gulf Islands National Seashore The sand dunes are so white and windblown, they look like snowdrifts. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Navarre Beach Navarre Beach is one of many panhandle towns that seem transported here from midcentury Florida. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Henderson Beach State Park Sugar sand and secluded campsites. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Seaside Ever see Truman? This is where they filmed it and it’s as idyllic as it looks in the film. Plus, check out the logo with a cat and a dachshund on it! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Destin and Fort Walton beaches Miles and miles of that powdery sand, and some Florida fall color, too. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Goofy Golf in Pensacola This picture’s nothing — wait until you see the gold Buddha. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Check out the fun on Pensacola Beach It’s seasonal but the best part is when it’s empty — those beaches, man. Those sugar sand beaches… Credit: Cathy Salustri
Tour Apalachicola’s historic downtown And you thought it was all about the oysters! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Up the Creek Raw Bar We suggest the oysters. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Check out a working waterfront in Apalachicola It’s salty. That’s not a euphemism. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Fort Caroline in Jacksonville The first Thanksgiving in North America in Jacksonville. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Eat oysters at Ouzts Too This is probably the best dive oyster bar in Florida. Credit: Cathy Salustri
St. Mark’s Wildlife Refuge Check out their plan to bring more monarch butterflies to the planet. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Wakulla Springs State Park You can dip in the refreshingly cold spring, take a boat ride, or hike some nature trails. Pole vaulting fish may or may not be part of your experience. Also, we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you parts of Creature From the Black Lagoon were filmed here. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Coastal US 98 Soak in the unexpected sights on a leisurely road trip along US 98 in the panhandle. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Olustee Battleground/Ocean Pond This historic Civil War battleground has two names because the North and the South — shockingly — couldn’t agree. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Little Talbot Island State Park This is one of several state-owned gems in Northeast Florida. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Take a dry air cave at Florida Caverns State Park Yes, Virginia, we do have caves in Florida. Bonus: Sharkansas Women’s Prison was filmed here. Credit: Cathy Salustri
See where the Seminole tricked then-general Andrew Jackson and his men We hate that guy. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Chattahoochee State Hospital Think of it as the Hotel California, without the whimsy. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Monticello’s Roseland Cemetery While you’re in Monticello, take a walk along the crumbling brick pathways of this old cemetery. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Antebellum homes in Monticello No, the otherMonticello — the one in Florida! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Beluthahatchee Park Stetson Kennedy’s riverfront home has regular musical gatherings. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Ravine Gardens State Park This state park goes down deep. For reals. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Angel’s Diner Get a pusalow. Trust us. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Fernandina Beach Yes, they have a putt-putt on the beach! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Bosquebellows Cemetery While you’re in Fernandina, check out this huge historic cemetery. Credit: Cathy Salustri
American Beach This historically African American beach was featured in Sunshine State. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Ride a 1920s merry-go-round in Davenport It’s on A1A, just north of St. Augustine. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center There’s more to St. Augustine the Fountain of Youth and the Spanish Quarter. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Nombre de Dios mission in St. Augustine. The second Thanksgiving in North America in St. Augustine. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Flagler College This magnificent private school was one of Henry Flagler’s finest hotels, and they give tours daily. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Meehan’s St. Augustine Arguably the best restaurant in the Spanish Quarter, not only because of the seafood tower and amazing whisky selection — the crustless key lime pie’s pretty damn great, too. Credit: Cathy Salustri
St. Augustine’s Huguenot Cemetery Visit a yellow fever cemetery in historic St. Augustine. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Surf (or chill out) at Flagler Beach How can you resist that cinnamon sand? Credit: Cathy Salustri
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park When Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings died, she left her property to the state, and you get to see it exactly as she left it… pretty much (they do dust, you know!) Credit: Cathy Salustri
Taste fresh Florida orange juice in Citra Local groves and fresh-squeezed juice — it’s citrus season, so take advantage! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Cedar Key Way, wayyyyyy off the beaten path — and totally worth the trip. Take a kayak tour, sample the clams, or simply do nothing. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Rosewood The Rosewood Massacre was horrific. The town’s all but a ghost town, but if you go, you’ll never forget its story. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Catfish Place St. Cloud Kissimmee Try the chicken-fried steak and collards. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Downtown Winter Park Look for the hidden peacocks, and on Saturdays they have a pretty fantastic farmer’s market. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar This entire bar is a prequel for Indiana Jones. And no, we’re not kidding. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Escape to the South Pacific at Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto No theme park admission required at the Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Resort bar. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Check out the holiday decor at Disney Springs No theme park ticket required, and the holiday decor is the absolute best. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Check out the history of Tupperware at the Orange County Regional History Center They have other stuff, too — but that 1980s lunchbox is the reason to go. If you had one, you know what we mean. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Historic Sinclair dinosaur on US 19 Sino isn’t real, either, but ya gotta see him at least once. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Dinosaur World They’re not real. At least, not yet. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Fort DeSoto Spend the day — or the weekend — at Fort DeSoto — and bring Fido! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Paddle to Shell Key from Tierra Verde It’s an easy paddle if the tide is high, so check local tide charts. If it’s low tide, there are plenty of ferries. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Emerson Point Preserve Take a walk along a waterfront, secluded trail. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Gamble Rogers Plantation in Sarasota Some Civil War history south of the South. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Sarasota Jungle Gardens In addition to the pink flamingos, they have a bird show. And nothing says “Florida” like a bird on a bicycle. Credit: Cathy Salustri
McLarty Treasure Museum Learn about shipwrecks and pirates, Florida-style. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Withlacoochee Forest The forest is a great way to get lost. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Paddle to the stilt houses on Durney Key Leave from Robert K. Rees Memorial Park. It’s an easy paddle. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Surf Vero Beach The waves and the beaches are sublime. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Eat a chocolate show in Winter Park Peterbrooke Chocolatier has other confections, too… but man, that show… Credit: Cathy Salustri
Tarpon Springs The sponge docks are one of many reasons to visit. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Weeki Wachee If you’re a girl who grew up in Florida, you wanted to be a Weeki Wachee mermaid. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Yeehaw Junction Yeehaw Junction has a half-decent restaurant, but the reason to go is in its ladies room. Really. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Cassadaga Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp is like an artist collective, but with psychics. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Manatee Springs State Park Discovered by William Bartram. Of course, it wasn’t a state park then… Credit: Cathy Salustri
Rainbow Springs State Park Walk the park and find the decaying remnants of its abandoned zoo. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Highlands Hammock State Park This is Florida’s first state park. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Webb’s Candy Factory This historic candy shop has those orange slices you remember from childhood. Credit: Cathy Salustri
The Citrus Tower Ride to the top of the Citrus Tower, but instead of millions of orange trees, you’ll see millions of homes. The ride itself is well worth it, through. Credit: Cathy Salustri
O’Leno State Park The way this town got its name is pretty cool — it went from Keno to Leno to Old Leno to O’Leno. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Kennedy Space Center Blast off in a simulated space shuttle. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Downtown Sanford’s Celery City Craft The former celery capital of Florida honors its history with its beer. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Lake Kissimmee State Park This state park is literally in the middle of glorious nowhere. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Paddle the Hillsborough River Any real Floridian knows if you want to see a real gator — more than 12 feet long — this is the place. Credit: Cathy Salustri
See a manatee — or 40 — at the Apollo Beach viewing stationThe warm water from the power plant attracts manatee as the weather gets colder. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Caladesi Island Snorkel in the seagrass just off the beach, or simply soak up some sun at this state park. Credit: Cathy Salustri
The Citrus Place In tiny Terra Ceia, get local orange juice, orange ice cream, local produce and Terra Ceia clams. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Anna Maria Island Anna Maria Island has more than its fair share of cute shops, local art and plenty of white sand beaches. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Robinson Preserve Look north and you’ll see the skyway. This preserve has the perfect 5k running trail along some of the prettiest stretches of Tampa Bay. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Mote Marine Aquarium Scientists here are working on a fix for red tide, but even without that, it’s a working aquarium. No pretty tours here, but rescued sea critters, marine mammals and a glimmer of hope for Florida’s waterlife. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Matlacha Welcome to the Florida small town that time forget — and the most fishingest bridge in the world. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Fish at Lake Okeechobee Want to catch a largemouth bass? This is the place! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Jonathan Dickinson State Park This secluded park offers solitude and wildlife in abundance. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Mai-Kai The Mai Kai is ground zero for tiki fans. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Skunk Ape Research Headquarters If you say it isn’t real, answer this: How do you know? Credit: Cathy Salustri
Robert Is Here A produce stand as a destination? This one is. Plus, it has the largest purple martin house in Florida and a nifty… petting zoo? Bottom line, you have to go there when you’re in the neighborhood. Credit: Cathy Salustri
The Everglades This time of year it has way fewer mosquitoes. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Take an airboat ride in the Everglades Our favorite is Totch Brown’s Airboat Rides in Chokoloskee, but any of the airboats on US 41 between Naples and Miami will be a loud thrill ride through watery wilderness. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Take a glass bottom boat ride at John Pennekamp Coral Reef Underwater State Park This underwater state park lets you get up close and personal with Florida’s coral reefs, whether you see them from a glass-bottom boat, a snorkel mask or on a SCUBA trip. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Islamorada Brewing Company When you’re in the Florida Keys, you need a beer, right? This is locally brewed by locals in the Morada Creative District. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Lorelei in Islamorada Have a cocktail at The Lorelei in Islamorada. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Indian Key It’s a short paddle from the bridge, but your best bet is parking at Robbie’s Marina and renting a kayak there. While you’re there, grab a beer and feed the tarpon. Credit: Cathy Salustri
White Gate Court This dog-friendly, cozy Keys resort is a great place to unwind with your pup. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Drive the Overseas Highway Don’t forget to wave to Fred on the Seven Mile Bridge! Credit: Cathy Salustri
Dolphin Research Center Home of the real Flipper — her name was Mitzi. For reals. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Bahia Honda State Park While Hurricane Irma did some destruction to the park’s spectacular white sand beaches, there’s still camping, hiking and plenty of water-based fun you can have here. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Big Pine Key Please do not pet the teeny-tiny Key Deer. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Eat hogfish at Hogfish on Stock Island Shrimp and grits will never be the same. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Fort Zachary Taylor State Park Visit one of the only beaches in Key West at Fort Zacahary Taylor Historic State Park. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Hemingway House, Key West Check out Ernest Hemingway’s house — and his six-toed cats. #polydactyl Credit: Cathy Salustri
The Perry on Stock Island Grab a drink waterside (or get a room) at The Perry Hotel on Stock Island Credit: Cathy Salustri
Get a day pass at the Southernmost House If you want to spend the night, you can — but if not, you can hang for the day. Credit: Cathy Salustri
Key West Cemetery Find the elusive B.P. Roberts, and check out other dead Conchs with a sense of humor Credit: Cathy Salustri