Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to read two reviews. Read Ariel W's and especially…read moreperuse her photos. As a five-year resident of this teeny tiny town, I'll add to hers and here are my additions- * The pavilions are a big draw as they have nice big canopies for shade and sturdy picnic tables. Each has its own trash bin a few feet away. That's nice but they are fly and hornet magnets! Just sayin- * Because of the adjacent playground, birthday parties are common. Expect a bunch of rug rats to be running around. * This is a no pets park except for service animals of course. There is minimal chance you will step in something horrendous with your bare feet. * It's nicely lit at night so it's a nice place to enjoy the cool of the evening. * If you enjoy alcohol, as long as you wrap your can, you know what I mean, nobody with bother you. * This is rural Florida and everyone with half a brain knows every lake has gators! The beach is nice and if you swim during the day the chances of even seeing one is minuscule! If you decide to take a swim at night with an open wound, well, you didn't really need four appendages, did you?

Donaldson Park is located on East Main Street close to downtown. There are shady oaks, picnic…read morepavilions with tables, and a playground. During my visit there was birthday party in one of the pavilions. Donaldson Park sits on the shores of Lake Verona and there is a beach for swimming. I have always heard that if you swim in lakes in Florida you can get the brain eating Naegleria fowleri amoeba. When water gets up your nose it travels to your brain which is almost always fatal. There have been 37 reported cases in Florida since 1962. Peak times to get it are July through September. I am not sure if they test the water here or if people are just careful not to submerge their heads in the water. Although I grew up swimming in lakes in New Jersey, this is the first time I have seen a swimming beach on a Florida lake. Also noteworthy is the dinosaur skeleton on the beach. It features heavily in promotional pictures for Avon Park. The park is used by the City of Avon Park for events like the Blueberry Festival and Christmas in the Park. The beach looked inviting but I am just not sure how safe it is to swim here.

Gasparilla Island/Boca Grande is a hidden gem and one of my new favorite places to visit in…read moreFlorida. You can get to both of these places through the same toll, and is just a smaller, quaint, and quieter side of the gulf shores in Florida. Very beautiful pristine and crystal clear waters from all ends of the island. $6 for Tolls and $3 for Parking Arrive anytime between 9am-3pm to check out most of the shops within the area. It is a more small and private island where many of the residents shops close early. (Island Time) This place has two light houses. One in the middle of Gasparilla and then the other at the very bottom of Boca Grande. This place is going to have beautiful sunset views from most places on the island as well!

Love this beach so much . Good place to see the sunset with your love one or friends !! Great warm…read moreweather during February . Warm ocean water, too . Wish can stay this place forever .

This historic 9000-acre park opened in 1931. It's considered an old growth forest and full of bald…read morecypress trees. There are a wide variety of endemic wildlife and plants. The main feature of this wonderful park was the boardwalk that goes through the swamp forest. Some really old trees that are possibly 1000 years old, is located in this park. There are nine trails, a campground, a playground, and a picnic area. There's a 3-mile loop trail for biking and driving. Also, a museum and concession built by the Civilian Conservation Corps; they constructed many buildings, bridges, and blazed trails in Florida State Parks. We were staying nearby and decided to explore this park. I enjoyed the historic land and old trees. The boardwalk was pleasant to stroll on; I saw quite a few memorial plaques. Generations of people walking on the same paths decades ago. It's a peaceful place and I'm glad they didn't turn it into farmland back in the 1930s.

This park is wonderful, plenty of trails, a cute store and just peaceful nature where you can see…read moreall kinds of birds, sometimes deer or gators and it's just a great place to visit.

Have to pay a fee to get in but the privacy and the view was all worth it. Very clean too.read more

I was in town visiting. A day pass is valid for a week between $20-25 per vehicle. There are…read moredifferent beach lots. I visited the first lot. There was parking available, accessible restrooms, trash and recycling bins next to beach ramp. The water was a bit chilly but gorgeous! It was easy to walk on the sand, not many shells. I highly recommend a visit to this beach.

Kiwanis Park is a great local park in Winter Haven, Florida. It's in a neighborhood area across the…read morestreet from a lake and a great walking trail. We were staying at an airbnb nearby so we walked there one morning. There are swings, slides, climbing structures, and it is also accessible for kids with disabilities. There's a little shade from the shade structures but there are not many trees. A small pavilion is another option for some shade and rest. The water fountains could use some work. Kiwanis Park is a nice way for kids to burn off some energy with a great view of a lake!

This park is loaded with challenging equipment and two age appropriate areas of play. There is a…read morebathroom, picnic tables, pavilion and a dock. The play equipment is well maintained. The dock is safe and goes out a good distance into the water. No swimming is allowed. While we were playing a collection of homeless people started to migrate to the pavilion. The pavilion loaded up with their belongings as they set up camp. I'm not sure if this is normal but since we are not from the neighborhood we will not be returning.

Large lake that has clearly been set up for scuba training. There is a large parking lot and a…read morelarge concrete pad with many picnic tables that classes can use to set up gear, brief their dives, etc. The path from the pad to the lake has been cleared and is easy to traverse in full gear. They recently put up "sails" over the picnic tables to keep most of the sun off, which is really helpful. Every time I go, I can see some new improvement to the facilities. The lake itself is laid out with many lines and markers to facilitate underwater navigation. They have set up some "fun" things to see, such as mounting bicycles or creating a "gnome garden," sinking a boat with skeletons on board, etc. There are platforms that can be used for skills. The lake is good for Open Water and for Advanced classes. The bottom is fairly silty and it's easy to kick up a "storm" of silt and screw up visibility. The viz is between 10 and 20 feet (on a good day), and mostly greenish, so make sure you're sticking together. There are two port-a-potties and a small changing room...and that's it. Bring lots of water and snacks in a cooler. Waivers and reservations are done online. If you're a scuba instructor, register with the management of the lake (free) to get an instructor ID number. Use that number when you make reservations for your classes. Instructors are free, students pay $20 plus $1.20 in tax. Well worth it. When I have the time and students are willing to make the drive (it's 2 hours from my home and scuba shop), I prefer to do training here because I can take my time and not worry about the tides at Blue Heron Bridge.

So, sue me! My teeny tiny town Of Avon Park in Central Florida is lousy with lakes. You can't throw…read morea stick without hitting a lake. Of course, the stick would clunk a gator on the snout first! I finally got around to visiting this particular lake. Do your homework- If you are not from the area and looking for a place to swim & picnic, this isn't it! This lake has a lot of private homes surrounding it, but it has a big reputation for SCUBA divers. There is a divers parking lot with a few picnic tables where they lay out their gear. Local organizations hold diving classes here. There is also an adjacent boat ramp, but there is NO public swimming! Pro Tip- If you are traveling with little munchkins and looking for swimming & picnicking, I recommend Donaldson Park in downtown Avon Park. It's just minutes away. Nice beach. Divers love this place because the water is so clear and it's up to 50ft deep. If SCUBA is your thing, this is a four star stop.

Tiger creek was a beautiful hiking area provide extremely well marked trial blazes and ever…read morechanging ecosystems along it's hike as well as amazing demonstrations of succession (post prescribed burn growth) in some areas. Trails can be taken in chunks or as one long loop of about 10-13 miles. I'd be sure to pick a cloudy cool day these trails would be very warm otherwise

One of the most beautiful preserves in Central Florida. Tiger Creek sits high on the ridge. Trails…read morecover rolling hills of Sandhills, Oak Hammocks and bay heads. Long and short trails provide views of rare native plants, swaths of wild flowers, and small grassy lakes. I love it here and try to make it once or twice a month to see the seasons unfold. Eagles and swallow tailed kites nest here. Both bears and panthers have been found here. Tiger Creek has a range of hikes to offer. The trails are well marked ( travel from blaze to blaze and ignore the unmarked fire access roads). It's charms are subtle but well worth a visit.

Back at the Springs again luckily for us it wasn't too busy. The water was actually fuller this…read moretime than it was on our last visit. The water was clear and you could see all the fish swimming around. The spring was pushing out crisp cold water that felt amazing once you get used to it. We had a great experience and we even took a hike afterwards on their trail which I recommend it's so beautiful and tons of butterflies right now.

Very rude staff. We understand that rules must be followed, but there are respectful and…read moreprofessional ways to communicate with people without being rude. We had a small dog with us at our campsite, and he briefly walked over to the campsite next to us. A staff member approached us and told us that if our dog was not kept on a leash, he would ask us to leave. We understand the rule and had no issue complying with it, but the way he spoke to us was unnecessarily rude and disrespectful. I am an IR nurse, and I always treat my patients with compassion and respect. Imagine if this staff member arrived at the IR department in pain or with an injury and was treated with the same level of rudeness. Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness, dignity, and respect.

I have by a Floridian for over 20 years and I have never visited Bok Tower Gardens, despite the…read morefact that my friend and former coworker Bill Murphy wrote about it and visited it in his Fox 13 "On Tank Trip" book. What an amazing place! At 324 feet above sea level, it is the highest point in Florida and anywhere sixty miles away from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is in the middle of the state, and not Disney middle of the state so you have to decide you are going and plan the day. As you make the turn to the attraction, you go through an orange grove, kind of like you are going back in time. While the tower is at the top of the hill, the paved paths make it easy to get up the hill. It would be perfect for anyone with scooters or strollers to get up there as well. What struck me the most was that I have never seen so many butterflies in one place! They were everywhere! The gardens are so beautiful, even in a drought year the plants were blooming beautifully. I would recommend bringing a picnic lunch because it is an amazing place to just chill. Also, the tower has a half hour concert at 1pm and 3pm every day so make sure you time your visit to coincide with one of them. I had such a great afternoon, I want to come back for some of their special events. If you are a plant nerd like me, you cannot sleep on this spot! I am a big botanical gardens person, and this one is special.

This is perhaps the best botanical garden in the world--we haven't gone to any outside of Florida…read morethough so take that how you will. We got engaged here! 8.28.26! So take that how you will! The tower itself is a masterful design, everyone is friendly and will answer any questions you have! The cafe is stellar and the wine and tap selection will appease anyone who partakes! This was our third time going, so many gift shop goodies and plants we've taken home!

Terrific lakeside park with play areas for children, large and small dogs. I think dogs on the…read morenature trail require a leash. It's currently undergoing construction via a large donation from a local humanitarian and through the work of volunteers and help from a construction team. Unleash Day, the opening ceremony is December 12, 2021. Bathrooms are on a time lock and currently closed until the bathroom floor resurfacing dries. The nature trail is suitable for seniors with walkers, people requiring a wheelchair, and Mom's with strollers. The large loop is about 3 miles, smaller loop about 1/2 mile and goes around a lake. The roadside trail has older oak trees. Both loops go around a trail. The trail is posted no trespassing in neighborhood or nature preserve so stay on the trail. Beware of golf carts on the trail. It's good for bikes and skates, too. The play areas feature bridges, mini hills and culverts. A swing set is near the lake. Their are covered benches. We spotted a kingfisher, Mallard ducks, a Snowy Egret, an Osprey with a fish, and palm warblers.

Searching for True Love & Forgiveness? Talk to GOD and get a…read moreDOG! #ReflectDogs Love & Forgiveness Well if you're into agility items, cute buildings, shaded seating areas and interesting structures this dog park was made for you!! They even have the mandatory fire hydrant. There is a nice big double-gated entry with a huge tree and nice bench in it. Put dog park has a couple poop bag dispensers as well as trash cans and a water feature. You can park right next to the dog park. The ground covering is mostly sand and grass. But beware there seem to be quite a few biological landmines?