The Big Bend Coast is a region in Florida that includes the rural Gulf Coast counties of Dixie, Levy, Taylor, Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco. It includes the Nature Coast, which consists of the three northernmost counties of the Big Bend Coast.

Cities

• 1 Brooksville
• 2 Cedar Key
• 3 Crystal River
• 4 Fanning Springs
• 5 Homosassa Springs
• 6 Inverness
• 7 Land O Lakes
• 8 New Port Richey
• 9 Perry
• 10 Spring Hill
• 11 Zephyrhills

Other destinations

• 1 Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge

Understand

The Big Bend Coast is one of the quietest parts of the state, between the tourist spots in St. Petersburg and the Florida Panhandle. Although on the Gulf of Mexico, one of the world's warmest bodies of water during the Northern Hemisphere summer, there's not much tourism here as the coast is a swamp. The region lacks barrier islands found off most of Florida's coast; hence, population is low and concentrated on rivers and inland areas, giving it some similarities to North Central Florida to the east.

The region's climate is hot and humid in summer but can get fairly cold in winter, similar to North Central Florida. Gulf water temperatures drop substantially as the North American continent cools throughout fall, so it does little to moderate the region's climate.

Go next

• Northwest to the Florida Panhandle with the state capital, Tallahassee
• East to North Central Florida with cities including Ocala and Gainesville
• South to the Tampa Bay Area with Tampa and St. Petersburg