Webber University
Small private business university on the lakefront, founded 1927; the campus is open and walkable.
1201 N Scenic Hwy, Babson Park, FL 33827
Polk County · 8 mi S of Lake Wales
Babson Park, Florida
A college hamlet on Crooked Lake, twelve minutes from downtown.
- Drive time
- 12 min
- Distance
- 8 mi S
- Population
- ~1,200
- Founded
- 1920s
Babson Park is the nearest of the nearby towns — twelve minutes south — and the easiest to underestimate. Businessman Roger Babson laid it out in the 1920s on the shore of Crooked Lake, one of the clearest sand-bottom lakes on the Ridge, and founded what is now Webber University.
There is no commercial strip to speak of. There is a beach, a lake, a small campus, and some of the best remaining sandhill scrub in Central Florida.
Worth the drive
See & do
Babson Park Audubon Center
Volunteer-run nature center with trail access and Ridge ecology exhibits.
Historic Scenic Highway stretch
The CR-17 run between Lake Wales and Babson Park is the classic Ridge drive — orange groves and lake views on both sides.
On the ground
Eat & drink
Campus-adjacent cafés
A handful of small counters serving Webber students; limited hours outside the academic year.
Lake Wales, 12 minutes north
For a real dinner, Babson Park eats in Lake Wales — see the Lake Wales dining guide.
Parks, lakes & trails
Outdoors
Crooked Lake Beach and Park
Public sand beach, swimming area, and pavilion on a spring-clear lake — the best free swim near Lake Wales.
Crooked Lake Prairie & Sandhill
Polk County environmental lands with marked scrub trails and gopher tortoise habitat.
Lake Wales Ridge State Forest access
Trailheads south of town into one of the rarest ecosystems in North America.
Every year
Annual events
- Webber University athletics and commencement (fall/spring)
- Audubon Center guided walks (winter season)
- Crooked Lake cleanup and fishing days
Events calendar
What’s coming up in Babson Park.
No Babson Park dates are on our calendar yet — annual events are listed above. Browse the full regional calendar →
Getting there
The drive
South on Scenic Highway (CR-17) from downtown Lake Wales — eight miles, no turns, about twelve minutes.
ZIP 33827 · Verified 2026-07-29
Before you go
Good to know
- Crooked Lake Beach has no lifeguard; hours are posted at the gate.
- Scrub trails are exposed and sandy — hike them early in summer.
Keep exploring
Other towns near Lake Wales
25 min away
Bartow
The county seat, and the best porch-and-oak street grid in Polk.
40 min away
Lakeland
The big city on the Ridge — swans, Frank Lloyd Wright, and a real dinner scene.
25 min away
Haines City
The US-27 gateway — ballfields, Lake Eva, and the road to I-4.
20 min away
Frostproof
A citrus town that kept its main street.