TIGER CREEK PRESERVE  sits on the eastern edge of the Lake Wales Ridge, one of Florida’s “ancient islands.” Separated from the mainland long ago by a shallow sea, the Ridge is peninsular Florida’s oldest and highest landmass. 

Visitors who get up close and watch very carefully will see one of the highest concentrations of threatened and endangered plants and animals in the country. Some exist nowhere else on Earth! Named after the pristine blackwater stream that forms its spine, the preserve contains hardwood swamps, hammocks, scrubby flatwoods, pine flatwoods, sandhill and longleaf pine/wiregrass habitat. It’s a land that must be burned in order to survive, and one where some animals literally swim through ancient white sands.

Two hiking trails are open to the public:

• The George Cooley Trail is an easy, well-marked loop that goes through a variety of natural habitats: scrubby flatwoods, hardwood swamp, pine flatwoods and cutthroat seeps. Allow 30 minutes to 1 hour.

• The Highlands Trail is a 7.2-mile, sandy loop trail that takes visitors through a beautiful, open pine woods area called the "central highlands." Please allow 4 hours. A shorter side trail, the Patrick Creek Loop, crosses Patrick Creek and enters a forested wetland. Allow 2 hours.

• A new hiking trail opens in fall of 2012. An extension of the Highlands Trail, this 2-mile loop traverses longleaf pine and turkey oak habitat. Seven of the 10 federally listed species are found near the trail. And, there are steep (for Central Florida) elevation changes atop some of the highest peaks on the preserve. Visitors will view shallow ponds more than 30 feet below, where wildlife congregates in the mornings and evenings.

Only foot travel is permitted, and guests are asked to stay on the marked trails. To protect the preserve’s rare plants and animals, the following are not allowed: pets, smoking, littering, camping, collecting, firearms, fires, hunting and radios. Visitors should bring drinking water. Please – leave dogs at home

From the South on State Highway 27:

Sunset Trail take a left on Wes Mann……… turn right at Murray Road. Go 2 miles and take a left onto Pfundstein Road. The George Cooley Trail is 100 yards on the left. To visit the Highlands Trail, continue on Pfundstein Road and turn left at The Nature Conservancy sign. There is a Hiker Parking area just ahead on the right. If you wish to visit the office, take the gravel drive past the “Hiker Parking” sign. Go through the open gate to a “Visitor Parking” sign. Keep left for parking.

​

BABSON PARK NATURE CENTER

Located along the Lake Wales Ridge. The area is home to many plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. The Caloosa Nature Trail is open daily from dawn to dusk. Maps for the easy, self-guided 1/4 mile trail walk are available at the entry kiosk.

​

The Babson Park Nature Center, home to the Ridge Audubon Society, is located at 200 North Crooked Lake Drive in Babson Park, Florida, and can be found with a pleasant 15 minute drive south of the city of Lake Wales, Florida, via the Ridge Scenic Highway (also known as Alternate US Hwy 27 or State Route 17). The Nature Center stands at the corner of N Crooked Lake Drive and Scenic Highway and is well marked by signs.

 

CROOKED LAKE PRAIRIE

Crooked Lake Prairie is a refreshing excursion into habitats found on the high hills of the Lake Wales Ridge. The network of interlinking loop trails includes the orange-blazed 1.3 mile Scrub Trail, the 0.3-mile purple blazed Lookout Trail, the 1.5 mile blue blazed Pine Woods Trail, and the most popular loop, the yellow-blazed 1.2 mile Prairie Path. Walking the perimeter of the trail system, you can enjoy a hike of roughly three miles.

All of the trails are very open, so use sun protection. Camping is permitted at a designated site if you contact the Environmental Lands office in advance for a permit. Maps should be available at the trailhead.

While a sign at the trailhead almost immediately points you to walk clockwise on the Scrub Trail, I discovered that the hike is far more enjoyable by turning right to follow the Prairie Path. Starting out by following a jeep trail along the ecotone where scrub and prairie meet, it leads you into a series of oak hammocks draped in Spanish moss.

Dropping down to the edge of Crooked Lake, the trail reaches the boardwalk. It’s here you’ll want to take out your camera. Herons and egrets poke around the shallows, and the view across the cordgrass prairie is spectacular, with showy sprays of slender grass waving in unison in the breeze.

Once you leave the boardwalk, the trail rises onto a berm with more views of the swaying clumps of cordgrass before it tacks from oak hammock to oak hammock across the ancient sands of the Lake Wales Ridge. After 0.7 mile you reach a junction with the Piney Woods Trail, which is a shortcut back to the parking area. To continue hiking the perimeter, head straight.

The trail leaves the prairie rim and continues into a slash pine forest. Follow the orange blazes, and you’ll soon enter the open scrub. At least two families of Florida scrub-jays live here, so look for the blur of blue characteristic of this colorful bird in flight. At the next trail junction, the left takes you back to the parking area along the Piney Wood Loop, which is a good choice if you want to see more of the cordgrass prairie. Or continue straight ahead on the Scrub Trail into the thick of the diminutive scrub forest, where the footing is soft underfoot but you’re more likely to see scrub-jays up close. After 3 miles of hiking the perimeter, you’re back to the trailhead.

Mileage

0.0 trailhead
0.25 Picnic table under oaks
0.4 Boardwalk along Crooked Lake
0.7 Junction with Piney Woods Trail
3.0 trailhead