Lake Wales
Where is Lake Wales, Florida?
Lake Wales is a city in Polk County in Central Florida, on the Lake Wales Ridge about halfway between Tampa and Orlando, roughly 15 miles south of Winter Haven and 25 miles southeast of Bartow.
Lake Wales sits at about 27.9011° N, -81.5859° W on US 27 and SR 60, the two highways that carry most traffic through the southern half of Polk County.
Its elevation is unusually high for Florida because the city is built on the Lake Wales Ridge, an ancient chain of sand dunes that runs north–south down the middle of the peninsula. That ridge is why Bok Tower Gardens sits on a hill and why Spook Hill exists.
Reviewed 2026-08-07 · Lake Wales Guide