Lakeland: Florida ecotourism destination day trip column for winter

There are 16 lakes in Lakeland, many of them hangouts for birds

Florida Ecotourism Destination
Winter Day Trippin' Column: Lakeland

Sunset over Lakeland's Lake Mirror with the city's characteristic swans

Lakeland appears as that picture-perfect town like those in all the classic movies and like the one you may daydream about living in. It’s got a small-town feel, and yet it is the largest city in Polk County. The downtown area, complete with town square, is a charming place to while away an afternoon. And it’s situated in central Florida, partway between Tampa and Orlando, so it’s not far from most places in the state. EcoFlorida readers will want to go not just for the town’s ambience, but for the nature that is there and for the wild lands just a short drive away.

True to the city’s name, there are 16 lakes in Lakeland, and many of them are hangouts for birds like wood storks, herons, egrets, ducks, geese and the swans -- both white and black -- that have become Lakeland’s symbol.

A walk or drive around the lakes -- like Lake Hollingsworth, Lake Morton and Lake Mirror -- is a must if you visit, especially Lake Hollingsworth, which is listed as a Great Florida Birding Trail site and said to have purple gallinules, least bitterns and terns in winter. Photo opportunities are excellent.

Speaking of Lake Hollingsworth, some people visit Lakeland just to see the 12 Frank Lloyd Wright buildings on the Florida Southern College campus situated on the lake. The Florida Southern campus is the site of the largest grouping of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings anywhere. The buildings are open to the public for free, and you can take off on your own self-guided walking tour or go on a guided tour of the structures.

Lake Mirror offers an elegant park-like atmosphere. A lamppost-lit walkway and the terraced Hollis Gardens recall a European scene that is popular for weddings. Hollis Gardens is a formal botanical garden donated to the city by the Hollis family, which started the Publix grocery store chain based in Lakeland, and admission is free.

Past the industrial-looking Lake Parker in the northeastern part of town is the Tenoroc Fish Management Area. While its name doesn’t sound very appealing, you may find its 5 lakes inviting. Anglers are in the majority here, but the dirt roads and hiking trails lead you through what used to be a phosphate mine that now looks like anything but. Tenoroc also is on the Great Florida Birding Trail, a good place for viewing wintering waterfowl.

And just outside of Lakeland lies the eastern portion of the Green Swamp, a wilderness area so large that it’s divided into 2 sections, east and west, over 5 counties. The birthplace of 4 Florida rivers (Withlacoochee, Peace, Ocklawaha and Hillsborough) the Green Swamp has almost 50,000 acres of nature to explore. In the eastern portion, best approached from Lakeland on Rock Ridge Road off US 98, you can drive or bike along the 40 miles of dirt roads and hike 20 miles of trails.