Springs & Lake

Spring water, recovering lake

Apopka sits between two of Central Florida's great natural stories: the 72-degree Wekiwa Springs, and Lake Apopka's two-decade restoration from farm runoff to birding destination.

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The local angle

Two waters, one town

On the city's east side, Wekiwa Springs State Park and Kelly Park's Rock Springs hold Central Florida's classic 72-degree swimming holes and paddling runs. To the west lies Lake Apopka — Florida's fourth-largest lake — where the state bought out the north-shore muck farms after the 1996 Restoration Act; the recovering marshes now draw more than 360 recorded bird species along the Wildlife Drive and the 20-mile Loop Trail.

The town in between earned its "Indoor Foliage Capital of the World" nickname honestly: the greenhouse industry that grew from the 1920s fern trade still shapes the local landscape.

Wekiwa Springs State ParkThe 72-degree spring and state park on the city's eastern edge Lake Apopka North Shore — SJRWMDThe water management district's official page for the restoration lands and Wildlife Drive Lake Apopka Loop Trail — Orange County ParksCounty page for the 20-plus-mile trail along the lake's restored north shore Friends of Lake ApopkaNonprofit tracking the lake's restoration progress Lake Apopka Wildlife — Access & Trail MapsPractical maps of trailheads, gates, and the Wildlife Drive route