This winter, we’ve had some incredible wildlife experiences in Florida. A little over a month ago, my husband learned from the local news that record numbers of manatees were at Blue Spring State Park. So we drove there and saw over 800 manatees—wow!

That same local news channel also tipped him off to an amazing wildlife drive about 40 minutes north of the Orlando airport. Of course, we had to check it out—and let me tell you, it was incredible. Read on to see all the cool things we spotted without ever leaving the car.

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Admission: None
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Federal Holidays: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is located within the 20,000-acre Lake Apopka North Shore nature preserve. It’s a one-way, 11-mile drive through the eastern portion of the preserve.

The drive typically takes 1–3 hours, though I’d plan for at least two if you want time to stop and watch wildlife.

There are a couple of spots with portable toilets, but if you can arrange a quick relief stop before arriving, you’ll have a better time. You’ll also want to bring drinking water and snacks, since there aren’t any restaurants or potable water along the drive.

OK, now that the practical stuff is out of the way—it was incredible!!!

Right as we entered the preserve, we came across a family of river otters chasing away an alligator. They were pretty easy to spot because several cars had already stopped ahead of us to watch the action. (All of these photos were taken with my Fuji X-H2 and a 300mm lens, so it looks like I was much closer than I actually was.)

After that exciting start, we began spotting wading birds and thousands of migrating ducks as we wound our way through the shallow marshlands.

The road is slightly raised, with water-filled trenches on both sides. As we drove along, we saw at least a hundred alligators of all sizes. Some were sunning themselves on the embankments, while others were waiting quietly in the water—possibly for their next meal. A few were even on the road or just steps away.

We think we saw so many alligators because the water was still a little cool, while the sun felt nice and warm. Toward the last quarter of the drive, we also spotted several turtles.

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The preserve is a great reminder of why being good stewards of the land matters so much for wildlife.

Lake Apopka—one of Florida’s largest lakes—was once famous for trophy-sized bass and was a major destination for anglers. But over the centuries, human activity caused significant environmental damage.

The first major change came with the dredging of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal in 1888. Then, in 1941, a levee was built that created 20,000 acres of marshland, converting the area into farmland. Unfortunately, agricultural runoff eventually led to severe algae blooms that killed many of the fish that had once drawn people to the lake.

Then in the 1980s, Tower Chemical Company disposed of significant amounts of DDE into the lake and surrounding marshes, which caused serious health issues for wildlife—including infertility in alligators.

Finally, in 1991, the Friends of Lake Apopka formed to help reclaim the land from agricultural companies that were still farming and polluting the marshes.

Since then, the state of Florida has focused on marsh and floodplain restoration and cleanup, making it possible for the incredible resurgence of wildlife you can see today. There are now hundreds of bird species, thousands of alligators, and other animals—including those very cute otters—calling the preserve home.

If you’re near Orlando, I’d absolutely make the effort to check it out. I can’t promise you’ll see as many alligators as we did, but there was so much wildlife that chances are you’ll still have an amazing experience.

It almost felt like the animals knew to hang out and get noticed. I have a few other nature-focused places to share in the coming weeks that are pretty cool, so stay tuned.

‘til next week, happy exploring!
Kathleen

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