Photo: Ashley Belanger
“I can see for miles.
The key to making it through the summer might be the opposite of past years (our usual annual advice: Park yourself in front of the strongest air conditioning and don’t move). In fact, we think taking in some fresh air, sunshine and greenery – in a space so big you’ll be free to move while staying safely distanced – might the best way to get a moment of mental respite during this deeply messed-up 2020 summer.
Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area
…It’s off the beaten path, but its many trails offer a rare solitude typically encountered exclusively in apocalyptic storybooks and doomsday movies. Once inside, enjoy hiking the rugged Florida landscapes – quaint ponds, open fields of wildflowers and canopies of hanging moss – populated in the early morning hours by wild turkeys, boar, deer and more birds than Audubon Park documents on its street signs. Butterflies flock here, too; the Palamedes Swallowtail, Gulf Fritillary, Silver-spotted Skipper and Northern Cloudywing are just some of the species commonly seen in summer.
Orlando Wetlands Park
The 1,650-acre property in east Orange County used to be a cattle pasture…The biodiversity of the wetlands makes it a boon for animals as well as visitors – more than 220 bird species live in the park, and 19 endangered or threatened species thrive there as well: 12 birds, three reptiles, two mammals and two insects.
Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area
The county line between Orange and Osceola runs right through this park, untouched in centuries by Central Florida’s rampant development…The mostly flat terrain of pine woods and scrub hammocks is home to threatened gopher tortoises, scrub jays, sandhill cranes, Sherman’s fox squirrels, gopher frogs, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, indigo snakes, bald eagles, and feral hogs…”
— Orlando Weekly Staff