Cinnamon rolls and the fall season are both back; Knaus Berry Farms reopens Oct. 31. This 50-year-old institution south of Miami has generations of devoted fans. It’s a good stop for an Everglades trip or a day exploring the Redland.
Agritourism
Florida harvest festivals and farm tours demonstrate that you can soak up a little autumn spirit, even in Florida. All across Florida, farms create family fun with traditional harvest activities like pumpkin patches and corn mazes.
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 and arts and crafts. New this year: A 1920s steam locomotive, The Sugar Express, will offer rides on a vintage train.
Robert Is Here, just outside Everglades National Park, is a must-stop for my family on the basis of its fresh-fruit milkshakes alone. But we also love the menangerie out back, the exotic tropical fruits there for the tasting and the overall ambiance.
The historic agricultural area surrounding the Homestead entrance to Everglades National Park offers so many cool experiences — a park where you can see and sample exotic fruits, a historic village of shops and restaurants, a local tropical-fruit winery and famous fruit milkshakes and cinnamon rolls.
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.
There are many reasons to visit the Redland, the rural area between Miami and Everglades National Park. But if you like orchids, here’s the best reason: Excellent free tours of the private gardens at R F Fuchs Orchids.