Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive Tips and Highlights
Winter in Florida is our time to enjoy the outdoors, and drive with the windows down. Which is exactly why we headed out to the FREE Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive.
Over the past year, we had been hearing great things about the Drive. Lots of our homeschool friends had been out there, so we finally took advantage of the beautiful weather we’ve been having here in Central Florida, and we were looking for something new and fun to do during winter break from school. We had so much fun, we got up early and went back the next morning in the hopes of seeing a bobcat.
I’ll be honest, I was very uninformed before going to the drive. I knew there would be lots of native birds, and gators, but I had no idea it is 11 miles long, and the maximum speed limit is 10 MPH. And most of the time you are driving much slower in order to lookout for the wildlife. So, do the math. You will be out there for several hours.
Therefore, here are some tips to be prepared:
- Bring water and snacks because you will be there a while.
- Be sure your camera is charged, and there is plenty of space on your memory card. We took almost 1000 pictures!!
- Bring binoculars, because the preserve is very big!!
- You can visit this website during your drive for an audio tour, plus a birding and butterfly checklist.
- Be smart about when and where you get out of your vehicle.
- Be patient, and keep your eyes open.
You can bring lunch with you, because there are a couple picnic tables at the water pump station. The park is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, plus major holidays. Hours of operation are sunrise to sunset. Fear not, portable restrooms can be found in the pump station parking lot, up by the pump station, and a couple places along the drive.
Some of Our Highlights
Right at the beginning, one of the first things we saw, was a couple turtles in the water. Sadly these were the only turtles we saw. Just their heads peeking out of the water.
Birds
The variety of native birds was quite spectacular. We enjoyed listening to the Common Moorhen, once knows as the Common Gallinule.
There were so many of them, and the call noises they make can sound pretty funny.
We also saw plenty of Egrets along the drive. Watching the Egrets in action, hunting their meals.
It was a quest to get some pictures of the Egrets flying too.
We were quite entertained by this Anhinga drying out his wings.
It was like he was rocking out to some heavy metal, because he was bouncing, and bobbing his head up and down, while looking forward and backward. We were giggling.
Plenty of Herons are found along the drive.
We were able to get some great photos of this Heron eating a fish.
The Purple Gallinule was a new bird for all of us to see. The colors are stunning.
I know Cardinals are pretty popular birds to come across, but we always enjoy seeing them.
Plenty of Male Blue-winged Teals could be found in the water.
They were tough to spot, but we saw a couple Pied-billed Grebes
This little Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher was hard to snap a picture of, but we got him!
I tried, but still had trouble identifying some of the birds we saw. Thank you to Apopka Ecotourism for helping us to identify the rest of our birds. Left clockwise: Anhinga, Cattle Egret, immature Black-crowned Night-Heron, female Boat-tailed Grackle and juvenile Little Blue Heron (white until second summer when it molts in the blue feathers)
I used A Field Guide to the Birds of North America, to help me identify most of the birds.
Gators
We were definitely excited to see some gators, but we had no idea we would see so many!! I said this in my tips, but I am going to say it again……PLEASE be smart about getting out of your vehicle. We were behind a car, and a woman got out to take pictures of a gator on the side of the road. She kept walking toward it to get closer. Not very smart, and not worth the risk, when you can get great pictures in the safety of your vehicle.
Ecotourism is “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.” The International Ecotourism Society
Our oldest was on a quest to see gators in different settings. She wanted to see one swimming in the water, which we got to see a couple of those.
She also wanted to see a gator with its’ mouth open.
We did not expect to see a gator family, like this mom watching her baby swim.
Trails and Roads
The first day, Friday, we went in the afternoon, and did not get out of our truck at all. It was fairly busy, but there are passing areas, so you don’t get stuck behind someone else if you are wanting to keep moving. Honestly, I was not so sure about getting out of our truck.
But when we went back on Saturday morning, as soon as we pulled into the entrance, there were lots of photographers outside their vehicles, taking photos and talking. We stopped to get out and take some pictures several times along the way. At this stop, you can see there is a walking trail on the far right in the picture. There are some roads that are now just walking trails.
We parked our truck in the parking lot at the pump station, where you can see some of the portable bathrooms too.
We walked up to and around the pump station.
There is a walking trail on both sides of the pump station. Behind the pump station is the northeast coast of Lake Apopka.
You can learn a little on the history of farming around Lake Apopka near the pump station too.
During our late afternoon Friday visit, the lighting was gorgeous. This is one of my favorite photos I got that day.
As you can see, no luck with spotting a bobcat. We look forward to heading back in spring for sure. They have a butterfly garden, and if you haven’t checked out our other butterfly encounter, you can find it HERE. I’m hoping to see some otters next time too.
More Florida Nature:
Thanks for the tips, especially the heads up about the timing. We are all looking forward to going soon!
You are welcome!! Thankfully I always keep extra snacks in my truck!!
I love the center of our state. So much to see and do! I think it is beautiful and you captured it really well!
I sure do too!! I’m not a big beach person, so I’m in the right place. So much more than just theme parks!
Beautiful photos! This reminded me of my hometown along the coast in South Texas, which has similar environments. My mom would appreciate this, as she loves bird watching.
Thank you. Sounds like I should visit Texas!!
I didn’t know this drive existed. I will for sure do this next time in the area. We are usually there at least once. A year. Your pictures are beautiful. Such a cool variety of animals.
I hope you do. It is so worth it, and a great way to have a little more relaxing day of vacation.
Wow! So many birds! What a fun drive, great pictures!!!
So many birds. It was tough to choose pictures to post out of our almost 1000 pics we took.
Ok. I have to be honest. I DON’T like gators. However, I will visit any state park because I love nature & (other) wildlife. 🙂 This sounds like a fun visit!
Same here!! Which is why I was freaking out when the lady got out of her car and walking toward the gator to take pictures!! No thank you.
You’re so right about Florida winters and the outdoors. It’s the best time to enjoy our surroundings. Have heard so much about Apopka and never been. I see what I’ve been missing.
Our winters are like Michigan fall. We love it.
What a great place to visit! We have a Natural Preserve near our house and go often, but I’ve not been to Lake Apopka before! We’ll have to give it a try!
Which one are you near? We would love to find more.
We go to Florida all the time, but have never done this! Thanks for the heads up!
You are welcome!! Hope you get a chance to check it out!!
We are excited to add Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive to our list when visiting. Thank you for the tips- we like checklists – so that we know what to look for.
Can’t wait to hear about when you visit. I like the checklist too, but I need pics, so the book comes in handy for us.
Love all the wildlife photos! Especially the water with all the green on his back. Very cool
Thank you!! We really thought that was a cool picture too!!
What a neat idea for an afternoon adventure! I would love to see the gators and some of the birds. I’ll definitely be pinning this for later!
We saw more gators in one day, than we’ve seen in 10 years living here!!
What a fun place to explore! I love getting so close to all the animals (well, most of them!)
Yes, I think we will keep our distance from the gators, lol!!
Wow, this looks like a great alternative to other central Florida attractions. 🙂 A wildlife drive is more my speed and I would love to check it out the next time I’m in the area. Thank you!
As much as we love Disney, we always have friends and family asking us for non-theme park activities!! This is one of the best!
We are going to check this out in February!!!
Great!! We can’t wait to hear about it!!
It’s so nice that you can do these types of things locally!
We are thankful. It gives us a nice break from theme park craziness!!
This looks like a great place to see wildlife in Florida! We need to get out and see more of Florida than just Orlando.
That’s my hopes with sharing our experiences. That people see Central Florida is more than just theme parks.
This isn’t too far from me – I’m going to have to go exploring, I guess. Beautiful photos!!!
Thank you! It’s worth the drive. Hope you get a chance to make the road trip.
This place seems like a bird watchers dream. What beauty. Like you I would’ve taken 1000 pictures as well. Love visiting parks like this.
There were lots of bird watchers and photographers there our second day. It’s a photographers dream too, lol!
We leave for Florida in a couple weeks. I might have to squeeze this into our trip too! Who doesn’t love free stuff when you’re traveling?!?
We are all about free stuff, and we hope you can squeeze it into your schedule.
Wow! You were definitely up close and personal with those gators! What part of Florida is this in?
Yes!! It was great, but I was happy to be in a truck!! This is in Central Florida, just north, and not too far from Disney!!
This looks so relaxing experiencing all things in nature. Your video is a great visual! Do you mind me asking what you use to edit your videos?
It was even more relaxing when I let my daughters drive! I just use iMovie to edit my videos. Super easy!
What a fun way to spend the day! The cardinal is my favorite! 🙂
Cardinals are great!! We enjoy our visitors from heaven. We get lots of them in our yard at home.
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