Scenic Highway ridge drive
The classic CR-17 grove-and-lake stretch.
Lake Wales · Ridge village south of the city
Hillcrest Heights
One of Florida's smallest towns, on top of the Ridge.
Hillcrest Heights is an incorporated town of a few hundred people on the Ridge south of Lake Wales — small enough that its town limits are easy to miss on the drive down Scenic Highway.
There is no commercial district. What there is: elevation, groves, and immediate access to Crooked Lake and the scrub preserves that make this stretch of the Ridge ecologically significant.
BoundariesAlong Scenic Highway (CR-17) south of Lake Wales, north of Babson Park, on the ridge above Crooked Lake.
What it's like
Character
- Very small incorporated town, entirely residential
- Grove and scrub surroundings on high ridge ground
- Crooked Lake access minutes away
- The scenic route between Lake Wales and Babson Park runs through it
On the ground
Landmarks
Crooked Lake shoreline
Sand-bottom lake water just south and west.
Lake Wales Ridge scrub
Globally rare sandhill and scrub habitat on adjacent conservation land.
Ten minutes south of downtown Lake Wales on Scenic Highway.
Verified 2026-07-29
Events calendar
What’s coming up in Hillcrest Heights.
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