An independent guide to Lake Wales and the Florida Ridge.
§ Out the door
Everything worth driving to within an hour of Lake Wales — the Singing Tower, state parks, ridge scrub, sand-bottom lakes, and paved trails.
Landmarks & attractions
Lake Wales · 8 min
The 205-foot Singing Tower, an Olmsted-designed garden, and the Pinewood Estate house museum — a National Historic Landmark and the region's defining destination.
1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales, FL 33853
Official site →Lake Wales · 3 min
The gravity-hill optical illusion at the foot of North Wales Drive — free, quirky, and two minutes from downtown.
N Wales Dr, Lake Wales, FL 33853
Winter Haven · 30 min
Theme park on the former Cypress Gardens site, with the historic botanical gardens preserved inside.
Official site →Bartow · 25 min
Free county museum in the restored 1908 courthouse.
100 E Main St, Bartow, FL 33830
Lakeland · 40 min
Thirteen Wright buildings at Florida Southern College, the largest single-site collection in the world.
111 Lake Hollingsworth Dr, Lakeland, FL 33801
Sebring · 50 min
Home of the 12 Hours of Sebring, run on a converted WWII airfield since 1952.
Official site →Parks, lakes & trails
Lake Wales · 25 min
5,900 acres of pine flatwoods and prairie with a living-history cow camp, 13 miles of trails, and marsh observation platforms.
14248 Camp Mack Rd, Lake Wales, FL 33898
Lake Wales / Frostproof · 20 min
Ancient sand dunes and scrub on the highest ground of the Lake Wales Ridge. Hiking only, no facilities.
Lakeland · 40 min
Restored marsh on Lake Hancock and the best free wildlife viewing in Polk County — alligators, eagles, and wading birds.
4399 Winter Lake Rd, Lakeland, FL 33803
Sebring · 50 min
One of Florida's original state parks: an elevated cypress boardwalk, nine short trails, and 1,000-year-old oaks.
5931 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872
Babson Park · 12 min
Public sand beach on a clear, sand-bottom Ridge lake — the closest good free swim to Lake Wales.
Frostproof · 20 min
Bass and crappie water with public ramps at both ends of town.
Bartow to Lakeland · 25 min
Paved 7.7-mile rail-trail for cycling and running.
Winter Haven / Auburndale · 25 min
Twenty-five connected lakes for boating plus a paved multi-use trail network on shore.
Lake Alfred · 22 min
150-acre historic estate with oak-canopy trails and a lakefront lawn.