This small town festival celebrates a uniquely Lake Placid product: caladiums, a colorful plant grown commercially almost nowhere else. There’ll be music, food, a car show, arts and crafts plus bus tours of the caladium fields.
Author: Bonnie Gross
Paddle Florida: 2020-21 kayak trips explore Florida’s top waterways
Paddle Florida is a non-profit that organizes a few paddling trips each year on Florida’s greatest waterways. Limited in size and carefully researched, these trips are great for solo paddlers or folks who appreciate a little support in undertaking a several day paddling and camping trip.
Telegraph Creek: Unspoiled kayak trail worth discovering
Telegraph Creek, a tributary of the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers, is all the things I love about kayaking destinations – out-of-the-way, uncrowded, scenic, full of wildlife. It’s located within a half hour of Fort Myers and is ideal for a shaded two- or three-hour kayak outing.
Local sodas are back at Sebring Soda Festival, April 2-3, 2021
Sebring, a small town along the lovely Lake Wales Ridge in Central Florida, is staking a claim for something new — Florida’s first (and only) craft soda festival, the Sebring Soda Festival. Local small-batch sodas made with real sugar are making a comeback, partly as an outgrowth of the craft beer phenomenon. This Sebring festival is a good opportunity to taste what it’s all about.
Top hiking trails near Orlando: Little Big Econ State Forest
Some of the best hiking near Orlando can be found at the Little Big Econ State Forest, where bluffs along a scenic river add interest. The forest is 5,000 acres preserved in a suburban area in the middle of the triangle formed by Orlando, Cocoa and Daytona Beach.
Discover Lake Wales Ridge State Forest for hiking, exploring, camping
Lake Wales Ridge State Forest is for explorers – folks who like to find places that aren’t in the guidebooks. Here you can hike for miles in the woods, hear only nature and have a chance to spot wildlife, including bear, bald eagles and endangered scrub jays.
Top 75 Florida events, fairs & festivals: Updated with cancellations
Florida loves a good festival. Here are 75 hand-picked festivals around the state that range from funky local bashes to huge nationally known cultural events.
Deseret Ranches: Tour a surprising Florida cattle ranch
Even many Floridians don’t know that cattle ranching in Florida is big business. This interesting free tour near Orlando offers a peek into one of the biggest cattle ranches in the nation, and it’s owned by a church.
Kayaking St. Lucie River waterways: Many kayak trails to explore
We’ve spent several great days kayaking the waterways along the St. Lucie River in the Treasure Coast. Here are three kayak trails we like: St. Lucie south branch , St. Lucie Inlet Preserve and Ten Mile Creek.
Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach: Watch the wood storks nesting
One of the best places to see wood storks and other wading birds nesting up close in winter is Wakodahatchee Preserve in Delray Beach. In February and March, dozens of storks build nests close to an easy-to-walk .75 mile boardwalk.
