A Week in Sebring FL

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When we had pieced together our travel plans last summer for this winter season in Florida, we had reserved a spot at a state park down by Naples after our stop here in Vero Beach but had left one week unplanned in between. The original thinking was that we could possibly find some Elks Lodges to stay at that would cover the 7 nights as we work our way from the east coast of Florida to the west coast. In January, I was looking around at other options and discovered that Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring could work as an intermediate stop. This was one of the few state park campgrounds that actually had some availability for the week we needed. It helped that we would be coming in on a Sunday and we were able to reserve the 5 non-weekend days. That would leave us only the two weekend nights to account for.

The drive from Vero Beach to Sebring is not quite 120 miles and would put us pretty much smack dab in the center of Florida between the two coasts. It was an area we have never visited before so we figured there would likely be things to see in the area that are new to us. The campground at Highlands Hammock SP has about 140 campsites. Nestled in the trees, each site is rather unique in its size and shape. We definitely would not have fit in many of the campsites but we had done enough upfront investigation to know our site would work for us.

There is a 2 mile, one way loop road just west of the campground with a bike lane and about half a dozen small parking areas at the start of multiple shorter walking trails. We head out for a walk right from our campsite to check out some of these trails along this park loop. There are over 30 geocaches hidden with the park, so we are able to use some of these to determine our route. None of the individual trails are all that long - maybe 1/2 a mile. We start out on the Wild Orange Trail then onto the Fern Garden Trail. Much of the area is swamp like so there are plenty of boardwalks along the way.

Boardwalk at Highlands Hammock SP

Pickerel Weed

On the far western end of the park loop is the Cypress Swamp Trail. This one was only partially open while the park maintenance crew is reconstructing a portion of the loop. It was still a pretty walk with a fair number of flowers in bloom, some really neat looking damselflies and a raccoon foraging in the muck just off of the boardwalk.

Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly

Swampy

The section of this loop that is closed is the “catwalk”. This is a mini boardwalk about 18 inches wide and with a hand rail on just one side. The first section we could see looked to be in good shape and we considered stepping over the yellow caution tape and checking it out but decided we may discover a section that wouldn’t support our weight and we would get rather wet. We eventually looped our way back to camp and got in a 5 mile walk.

Better View of Wings

The Closed Catwalk

Turtle Sunning

There were several trails in the park that are open to bicycles so the next day we head out to explore some more of the park on our mountain bikes. We are able to start right from our campsite for this journey as well. The South Branch Road comes off the backside of the campground past the rec hall. It is a service road that also serves as a fire break. Much of the trail was in great shape and we had many geocaches along the way to keep us busy. There were a few areas with sandy conditions but nothing so bad as to slow us down. Along the way, we find the bird viewing platform. It looked like a rather large structure so we were hopeful but no birds were out.

Heading Out South Branch Road

Bird Viewing Platform

After finishing this loop, we bike the main park road to the western edge and pick up a trail that gets us to the Dam Road. This was more of a dirt/gravel service road that was rather pleasant. It ends up in the park maintenance area which is just off the campground. It worked out to be a really nice 7 mile loop with 17 caches along the way.

On the Dam Road

The next day we took thing a bit easier and headed out for a drive. Our plan was to stop for a geocache in 4 of the counties surrounding Sebring to the east, south and west. We planned the most efficient route to achieve our goal but also get to see a few more interesting places along the way. The town of Arcadia was our first significant stop. It also had an Adventure Lab to complete that would tour us around town a bit. There are some neat old buildings in this town.

County Court House

Old Train Depot

Unusual Flower

Pink Building in Downtown Arcadia

Large Rodeo Mural

From here, we head north up US 17 into Zolfo Springs to get a virtual cache at the Cracker Trail Museum grounds. We only stopped to get the required information at the old locomotive but it looked like there were other things to see and do here.

Locomotive at Cracker Trail Museum

We decided to conclude our sightseeing trip near the town of Bowling Green Florida to visit Paynes Creek Historic State Park. This park is at the site of a fort from the mid 1800’s during the time of fighting with the Seminole Indians that lived in the area. We didn’t have time to check out all the park but did get a chance to see a nice suspension bridge over the creek and stretch our legs a bit and find a few geocaches hidden along the Mary Jane Trail. It was a long day but we got to see some of the interior of Florida many people don’t visit.

Entrance at Paynes Creek

Large Suspension Bridge

Iris in Bloom

We stayed within Highlands Hammock SP the following day to see if we could find the remaining caches hidden in the park and also get to a couple of the trails we hadn’t visited yet. There was one of the perimeter trails that loops off South Branch Road that the park brochure comments that bikes aren’t recommended on this path due to soft sand. We had looked down this trail when we had biked by here the other day and it looked no worse than what we had ridden so we head back out to see if we could bike it and find the 10 caches hidden along the way. The 1.5 miles of road was good for the majority of the ride. Admittedly there were plenty of soft sand areas but we could often find firmer ground on the sides of the road that allowed us to bike the majority of the trail, only needing to walk the bikes a few hundred feet.

Sandy Section of Road

Swallowtail on Thistle

Spread Your Wings

After lunch, we head back over to the picnic area in the state park where there is a CCC Museum. We have likely stopped at a dozen or more of these small museums dedicated to the Civilian Conservation Corps all across the country. This park was developed back in the 1930’s with the help of the CCC. There were lots of interesting displays in the museum. I particularly liked the map of the USA with pins at all the locations where the CCC worked. From the looks of things, we haven’t even scratched the surface of checking them all out.

CCC Museum at Highlands Hammock SP

Old Tools

Lots of CCC Camps

We also walked a few of the remaining short loops we hadn’t done yet. The Hickory Trail was not quite a half mile in length but does have a catwalk. This one appears to be in good enough shape that visitors can walk on it.

Big Oak Trail

Chris on the Catwalk

Cherokee Bean Flower

Our five nights in the park went by quickly. With the weekend coming upon us, we needed to move to a new spot for 2 more nights before heading to the Naples area. We had already checked out the Sebring Elks Lodge right on the shore of Lake Jackson. This was one lodge where we had only recently discovered that they actually have a power outlet on a light pole right next to the lake. It was a simple 6 mile drive from the state park to the lodge. We got in before the lodge was officially open so we were able to get situated before any cars showed up for the Friday night dinner. We head in to pay for the 2 nights and also decided to join them for a nice meal.

Our Lakeside Spot at Elks Lodge

Power Provided

Saturday we head into downtown Sebring. It is a cute little town with a large town circle surrounded by many small shops and businesses. We had an Adventure Lab to help us learn about the town.

Art in Sebring

Old Theater in Town Circle

Sebring Mural

Less than 20 miles south of Sebring is the town of Lake Placid. We had another Adventure Lab there and thought it sounding like an interesting place to explore. There was also the Saturday morning farmers market taking place so we had the opportunity to see what they had. This one was definitely had more craft vendors than actual farm stands but was still nice to check it out.

Lake Placid Mural

We had a good time exploring Lake Placid. The town used to have a railway station  so they had some small museum for this part of its history. The American Clown Museum and School was an unexpected find. We didn’t take the time to visit the inside but there were some cool murals outside.

Train Mural in Lake Placid

Caboose

Clown Museum

Just Clowning Around

The Sebring Elks Lodge worked out nicely for our stop over the weekend and likely could work well for an even longer stay if needed. The setting is quite picturesque right on the lake. The lodge does have a boat launch off their parking lot and on Saturday it got a lot of action from locals. We finished up our stay with a beautiful sunset across Lake Jackson.

Sunset Over Lake Jackson