The Circle (Circle Park)
Downtown's 1912 core — shops, cafés, and a bandshell in the middle of the roundabout.
Circle Park Dr, Sebring, FL 33870
Highlands County · 40 mi S of Lake Wales
Sebring, Florida
The circle, the raceway, and the best old-growth hammock in Florida.
- Drive time
- 50 min
- Distance
- 40 mi S
- Population
- ~11,000
- Founded
- 1912
Fifty minutes south on US-27, Sebring is the farthest town most Lake Wales day-trippers reach — and the one with the most distinct identity. George Sebring laid the town out in 1912 as a circle radiating spokes, a plan you can still walk in twenty minutes.
Two things bring outside visitors: the 12 Hours of Sebring, run since 1952 on a converted WWII airfield, and Highlands Hammock, one of Florida's first state parks and the best surviving old-growth hydric hammock in the state.
Worth the drive
See & do
Sebring International Raceway
Home of the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race each March, plus club racing year-round.
Official site →Highlands Art League and Museum
Local arts center with rotating exhibits and classes.
Lake Jackson waterfront
Downtown-adjacent lakefront with a boardwalk, beach, and sunset views.
On the ground
Eat & drink
Circle-area restaurants
Independent kitchens, a brewery, and coffee shops all within the roundabout's block.
US-27 corridor
Chain dining and Highlands County staples along the highway strip.
Parks, lakes & trails
Outdoors
Highlands Hammock State Park
One of Florida's original state parks: nine short trails, an elevated cypress boardwalk, and 1,000-year-old oaks.
5931 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872
Lake Istokpoga
Florida's fifth-largest lake, southeast of town — serious bass and crappie water.
Sebring's lake chain
Jackson, Little Jackson, and Dinner Lake all have public access.
Every year
Annual events
- 12 Hours of Sebring (March)
- Highlands County Fair (winter)
- Roaring 20s Festival on the Circle
- Caladium Festival in nearby Lake Placid (July)
Events calendar
What’s coming up in Sebring.
No Sebring dates are on our calendar yet — annual events are listed above. Browse the full regional calendar →
Getting there
The drive
Straight south on US-27, 40 miles, about 50 minutes. Traffic is light except during race week.
ZIP 33870, 33872, 33875 · Verified 2026-07-29
Before you go
Good to know
- Race week in March fills every hotel from Sebring to Lake Wales — book far ahead.
- Highlands Hammock charges a per-vehicle entry fee and the campground books out all winter.
- Lake Placid, the 'Town of Murals,' is fifteen minutes further south and pairs well with a Sebring trip.
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.