Canoeing/Kayaking

Timberline Glamping at Hillsborough River

Timberline Glamping at Hillsborough River brings luxury tent accommodations to the banks of the Hillsborough River in Thonotosassa, Florida, operating within one of the Tampa Bay area's most distinctive natural parks. The timberline glamping experience trades the standard campsite for thoughtfully furnished canvas tents that combine the setting of a Florida state park with the comfort level of a boutique hotel—an approach that opens genuine outdoor immersion to guests who wouldn't otherwise consider sleeping under canvas. Deluxe Bell Tents offer 200 square feet with a queen bed, hotel-quality linens, air conditioning and heating, a mini refrigerator, Keurig coffee maker, beautiful home décor, electrical outlets, and diffusers. Double Safari Tents scale up to 320 square feet with two queen beds and the same comfort amenities. Each glampsite surrounds the tent with outdoor elements that make the landscape part of the stay: a hammock under tree canopy, a private fire pit, a charcoal grill with cooking grate, string lights, camp chairs, a picnic table, and cornhole—all within the park's natural setting along the Hillsborough River. Shared bathrooms and showers are within easy walking distance. Hillsborough River State Park provides the natural infrastructure that makes this hillsborough river glamping location so compelling. The park protects one of the few class II river rapids in Florida—a rarity in a state defined by flat, slow-moving waterways—and the rapids are navigable by kayak for paddlers who enjoy moving water. Suspension bridges cross the river at scenic points, and trails wind through hammock forest and along the river's edge through terrain dominated by live oaks, cypress, and cabbage palms. Historic picnic pavilions built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s add a layer of heritage to a landscape that feels remarkably unchanged. Tampa lies roughly 15 miles west of the park, giving Timberline guests easy access to a full urban day trip without sacrificing the natural setting. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is about 20 minutes away for families who want a theme park afternoon, and Ybor City's historic Latin Quarter provides distinctive dining and nightlife with genuine cultural character. The Florida Aquarium, Lowry Park Zoo, and the downtown Tampa Riverwalk extend the day-trip possibilities for guests based at the river. Hillsborough River's quiet morning light and the sound of the rapids at night provide a counterpoint to the city that makes this one of the more satisfying one-foot-in-two-worlds camping experiences in central Florida. Timberline Glamping at Hillsborough River operates year-round in Florida's climate, though the fall-through-spring window offers the most comfortable outdoor temperatures for sitting by the fire pit and spending extended time outside. Summer brings the lush rainy-season greenery and warm water for swimming, along with the afternoon thunderstorms that are part of any honest Florida summer experience. Reservations book quickly for holiday weekends and spring break, and the combination of proximity to Tampa with the genuine park immersion the tents provide makes this a popular option for both couples and families looking for something beyond the standard Florida resort.

from $105/night

Camp Margaritaville RV Resort and Cabana Cabins Auburndale

262 RV Sites, 42 Cabins

Camp Margaritaville RV Resort and Cabana Cabins in Auburndale, Florida, offers 262 full-hookup RV sites and 42 cabins on the Florida Ridge, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted up to 90 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. Premium back-in and premium pull-through categories join standard tiers, alongside a water park, splash pad, fishing pier, and bar. Two hundred sixty-two sites span back-in, premium back-in, pull-thru, and premium pull-thru categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 20, 30, and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 90 feet, with picnic tables and BBQ pits. Ninety feet is exceptional and accommodates the longest coaches with a tow. Forty-two cabins round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, dump station, restrooms, showers, and a pet washing station handle the practical side. One policy to clear before booking: any RV 10 years old or older requires advance approval — email [email protected]. A water park and splash pad anchor the summer, with an outdoor pool alongside. A lake and fishing pier support fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, with mini-golf, a fitness center, recreation center, clubhouse, sports courts, basketball, corn hole, golf cart rentals, hiking, biking, a playground, pavilion, community fire pit, dog park, on-site dining, and a bar filling the rest. Planned activities run through the season. Polk County sits between Tampa and Orlando, with both within easy reach. Winter and spring drive demand. Reserve well ahead, and clear RV approval early if your coach is older.

from $62/night

Trails End RV Park

37 RV Sites, 2 Tent Sites

Trails End RV Park in Floral City, Florida, offers 37 RV sites and two tent sites along the Withlacoochee River, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 47 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. Five categories cover water-and-electric and full-hookup back-ins plus premium back-in and pull-through options, with a boat ramp, docks, and kayak rentals on site. Thirty-seven sites run in 50-amp water-and-electric back-ins, 30-amp and 50-amp full-hookup back-ins, and premium 50-amp back-in and pull-through categories, sized to 47 feet, with picnic tables. Two tent sites and distinctive tree tent rentals round out the accommodations. Personal mailboxes, laundry, a dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood support longer stays, with WiFi throughout. The river carries the recreation. A boat ramp, boat docks, fishing pier, and boat and kayak rentals give guests direct access to the Withlacoochee, with canoeing, kayaking, boating, fishing, and paddle boats all running from the property. A clubhouse, dog park, and community fire pit fill the grounds. The oak hammock and cypress forest lining the river gives the park a state-park character that its 12-mile distance from I-75 belies. Pets are welcome. Floral City sits in Citrus County on Florida's Nature Coast, where the Withlacoochee State Forest and the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge sustain unusual wildlife density in the undeveloped interior between Ocala and the Suncoast. The Withlacoochee is one of Florida's most pristine blackwater river systems. Winter and spring draw the heaviest demand from seasonal residents and paddlers. Reserve ahead for those months.

from $31/night

River Oaks RV Campground & Retreat

1 RV Site

River Oaks RV Campground & Retreat in Inverness, Florida, offers full-hookup RV sites with 30-amp service and rigs accepted to 40 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, under a canopy of old oaks and palms in Citrus County. Kayak and bike rentals, a pond, and a recreation center serve an intimate property with limited sites, open all year. Full-hookup sites carry water, sewer, and electric on 30-amp, sized to 40 feet, with site WiFi. This is a deliberately small campground with limited sites, so confirm availability rather than arriving on spec — the intimacy is the point. A dump station, laundry, restrooms, showers, and a pavilion handle the practical side. The old-growth canopy is the setting. Live oak, sabal palm, and cypress hammock shade the grounds, giving the property genuine old-Florida character that newer parks cannot replicate. Kayak rentals and bike rentals are available on site, with canoeing, kayaking, boating, biking, picnicking, and birding from the area and a pond on the property. A recreation center, walking trails, and dog park fill the rest, with planned activities through the season and wine tasting nearby. The campground also serves as a wedding venue. Pets are welcome. Inverness sits in Citrus County on US-41 between Brooksville and Ocala, in the freshwater lake country of Florida's Nature Coast. The Withlacoochee River corridor and the Tsala Apopka Lake chain surround the area, the Withlacoochee State Forest covers 157,000 acres nearby, and Inverness's vintage brick downtown is close. Winter and spring draw the heaviest Nature Coast demand. Reserve well ahead.

from $22/night

Thousand Palms Resort

4 RV Sites

Thousand Palms Resort and Campgrounds in Lake Panasoffkee, Florida, is a multi-format camping destination in Sumter County offering cabins, RV sites, and tent camping with a comprehensive amenity package for a comfortable and enjoyable camping experience in the heart of Florida's lake and spring country. Lake Panasoffkee's Sumter County position on CR-470 between Coleman and Bushnell gives the resort the specific inland Florida character of a lake and wetland campground in the Withlacoochee River watershed's spring-fed lake system, where Lake Panasoffkee's 4,400-acre shallow lake, the Withlacoochee State Forest's surrounding woodland, and the Jumper Creek Canal's connection to the Withlacoochee River give guests the central Florida freshwater ecosystem access that the springtime bass spawn and the year-round sunfish and catfish fisheries sustain in one of Sumter County's most productive shallow lake systems. Cabins, RV sites, and tent camping with a full amenity range give Thousand Palms the complete accommodation spectrum for the inland Florida lake vacation — the cabin option gives the family or couple the comfortable lakeside Florida accommodation without the tent camping logistics, and the full-hookup RV site gives the self-contained RV traveler the practical lake-adjacent campground infrastructure for the multi-day Sumter County fishing and nature visit. The resort's amenity package gives the on-site recreation depth that the lake access and the woodland setting extend into the broader Withlacoochee River watershed's natural landscape. Pets are welcome. Lake Panasoffkee, one of the largest natural lakes in peninsular Florida at 4,400 acres, is recognized by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as one of the most productive freshwater bass and panfish lakes in the state — a shallow, spring-fed lake whose emergent aquatic vegetation, the floating water hyacinth mats, and the littoral zone's diverse submerged plant community give the large-mouth bass, bluegill, and crappie the structure and food chain productivity that the lake's fishing guide operations and the spring bass tournament circuit specifically depend on. The lake's shallowness (average depth 5 feet) and its spring-fed clarity give it the specific warm-water panfish habitat that the central Florida spring-fed lake system sustains through the year. The Withlacoochee State Forest, surrounding the Lake Panasoffkee basin in Citrus, Hernando, and Sumter Counties, encompasses 157,479 acres of sandhill, flatwoods, and floodplain forest that protect the most extensive block of publicly accessible natural land in the central Florida ridge and valley landscape. The Richloam Tract's longleaf pine restoration project and the Citrus Tract's mountain bike trail system give the state forest's four geographically separate tracts the specific conservation and recreation programming that the Florida Division of Forestry manages in the most complex multi-tract state forest in Florida. Thousand Palms Resort serves guests year-round in Sumter County's subtropical Florida climate, where the mild winters sustain the snowbird and northern visitor market and the spring bass spawn season from February through April represents the most concentrated angling demand on Lake Panasoffkee. The Villages, Florida, the nation's largest active adult retirement community, occupies the eastern and southern Sumter County landscape 20 miles east of Lake Panasoffkee — a planned retirement community of 130,000-plus residents whose golf courses, town squares, and social programming give the Sumter County area its specific retirement community economic character. Reserve sites and cabins ahead for the winter snowbird season and the spring bass fishing tournament calendar.

from $61/night

Sun Resorts & Residences Horseshoe Cove

138 RV Sites, 7 Cottages, 1 Apartment

Horseshoe Cove in Bradenton, Florida, offers 138 full-hookup RV sites and eight apartment and cottage units in a waterfront community on the Gulf Coast, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 44 feet behind a gated entrance. Super, standard, value, and standard pull-through categories join a pool, hot tub, fitness center, boat docks, and library. One hundred thirty-eight sites run in value full hookup, standard full hookup, standard full hookup pull-through, and super full hookup categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 44 feet, with picnic tables. The value tier keeps a lower-priced option on the table in a market where waterfront pricing runs high; note the 44-foot cap before booking a larger rig. Eight apartments and cottages round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, restrooms, showers, and recycling handle the practical side. An outdoor pool and hot tub and sauna anchor daily recreation, with a fitness center, recreation center, clubhouse, game room, library, pavilion, and on-site dining besides. Boat docks open the water for boating, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing, with pickleball, sports courts, billiards, shuffleboard, horseshoes, walking trails, and picnicking filling the grounds. There is a large open pet area for long walks, and a state park is nearby. The waterfront setting gives the resort a natural quality uncommon among Florida's densely developed Gulf Coast communities. Winter is decisively the season. Book well ahead for January through March.

from $58/night

Camp Mack

70 RV Sites, 8 Cabins, 33 Motel Rooms

Camp Mack in Lake Wales, Florida, offers 70 full-hookup back-in RV sites and 41 cabin and motel room units directly on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, with 30 and 50-amp service, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 45 feet. Premium shaded, premium, and standard back-in categories join a marina, boat ramp, boat rentals, and on-site fishing guides. Seventy back-in sites run in standard, premium, and premium shaded categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 45 feet. The premium shaded tier is worth requesting in central Florida. Forty-one cabins and motel rooms round out an unusually deep lodging inventory for a fishing property. A general store, laundry, propane fills and exchange, dump station, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. The marina is the anchor, with boat docks, boat rentals, and on-site fishing guides giving launch access to Lake Kissimmee, Lake Hatchineha, Lake Cypress, and Lake Tohopekaliga. An outdoor pool, clubhouse, playground, dog park, golf cart rentals, pond, on-site dining, pickleball, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and swimming fill the rest, with live music through the season and exceptional birding across the marshes. A state park is nearby. Pets are welcome. The upper Kissimmee's shallow, vegetation-rich interconnected lakes are among the most consistently productive trophy largemouth bass fisheries in the world. Winter and spring are peak bass season and draw the heaviest demand. Reserve well ahead for January through April.

from $51/night

Cross Creek RV Resort

17 RV Sites

On the Peace River in Arcadia at the heart of DeSoto County's ranch and citrus country, Cross Creek RV Resort has earned one of the rarest distinctions in North American campground quality—a Good Sam 10/10/10 rating, one of only six resorts in all of Florida to achieve the scoring system's perfect marks for facilities, restrooms, and visual appeal. The resort's 50-amp full-hookup sites measuring at least 38 by 75 feet, two swimming pools, spa, boat launch, fishing docks, miniature golf, and the Peace River frontage that places guests on one of Florida's most famous fossil hunting rivers create a resort experience that the Peace River valley's unique prehistoric heritage makes genuinely irreplaceable in the broader Florida campground landscape. All full-hookup sites feature 50-amp electric, water, sewer, cable TV, and Wi-Fi on pads at least 38 by 75 feet—large enough to accommodate the widest and longest rigs on the road today with room for double slide-outs and full outdoor setup. Riverfront and waterfront site configurations give the most desirable locations direct Peace River access, and the boat launch and fishing docks provide the on-water infrastructure for guests who want to explore the river by canoe, kayak, or powerboat. Two pools, a spa, miniature golf, shuffleboard, bocce ball, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, a dog park, camp store, pavilion, recreation hall, and planned activities complete one of the most comprehensive resort amenity packages in southwest Florida. The Peace River, flowing past the resort's waterfront sites southward through DeSoto, Hardee, and Charlotte Counties to the tidal estuary at Charlotte Harbor, is one of Florida's most paleontologically significant river systems—a shallow, dark-water river whose acidic sediments have preserved Ice Age megafauna fossils in extraordinary condition for millions of years. Fossil hunters wade the Peace River's gravel bars and shallow bottom in search of mastodon teeth, giant ground sloth bones, megalodon shark teeth, and the remains of Pleistocene horses and camels that accumulated in the river's prehistoric shoreline environments when south Florida was dry savanna during the ice ages. Guided fossil hunting excursions from Arcadia give campground guests professional interpretation that transforms fossil hunting from a lucky find into an educational introduction to Florida's extraordinary prehistoric fauna. Arcadia, the DeSoto County seat, maintains the western flavor of Central Florida's ranch country in its historic downtown and the All-Florida Championship Rodeo—one of Florida's oldest and most authentic rodeos, held each spring and fall in a county that still runs cattle on the flatwoods and palmetto prairies covering DeSoto County's undeveloped interior. Myakka River State Park, about 30 miles northwest, provides one of Florida's premier wildlife watching destinations with resident alligators, Florida sandhill cranes, and the roseate spoonbill and wood stork nesting colonies that make the Myakka River marshes one of the state's most biologically productive wetland habitats. Sarasota, with world-class arts institutions and the Gulf beaches of Siesta Key and Lido Key, lies 50 miles northwest. The Peace River valley's subtropical climate supports year-round camping at Cross Creek, with the winter season from November through April drawing the largest concentration of snowbird guests who fill the resort's riverfront and waterfront sites for weeks and months at a time in south-central Florida's mild winter conditions. Fossil hunting is most productive after summer rains have washed new material from the river banks, making the late summer and early fall months—when the Peace River's thunderstorm season has freshly eroded the gravel bars—the most rewarding time for a fossil hunting visit. Reserve riverfront sites well ahead for the peak winter season when the resort's 10/10/10 reputation and Peace River location create demand that the limited number of prime waterfront sites cannot satisfy through the most popular weeks.

from $62/night

Wekiva Falls RV Resort

230 RV Sites

Wekiva Falls RV Resort in Sorrento, Florida, offers 230 full-hookup back-in RV sites with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted up to 100 feet — a generous allowance for central Florida. Premium, standard, and super back-in categories join an outdoor pool, fitness center, library, and kayak rentals near the Wekiva River, open all year. Two hundred thirty back-in sites run in standard, premium, and super categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric on 30 and 50-amp, sized to 100 feet. The super category handles the longest coaches with a tow. A general store, laundry, and WiFi handle the practical side. An outdoor pool anchors daily recreation, with a fitness center, clubhouse, library, on-site dining, and a bar besides. Pickleball, shuffleboard, walking trails, a playground, dog park, and picnicking fill the grounds, and kayak rentals put guests on the water. Live music and planned activities run through the season. This is an adult-oriented resort, and the amenity set reflects that. Pets are welcome. The Wekiva River system is the draw. Florida's most celebrated spring-run river emerges from the karst aquifer at a constant 68 degrees, and the Wekiwa Springs and Rock Springs corridor is among the state's premier natural springs destinations for paddlers, swimmers, and wildlife watchers. Sorrento sits in Lake County within easy reach of it. Winter and spring drive the heaviest demand in central Florida, with the springs staying comfortable year-round. Reserve well ahead for January through April.

from $64/night

Eleanor Oaks RV Park

55 RV Sites

Eleanor Oaks RV Park in Yankeetown, Florida, offers 55 full-hookup RV sites on the Nature Coast, with 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 45 feet. Back-in and pull-through categories join a solar-heated pool, marina, boat docks, fishing pier, kayak rentals, and recreation center in Levy County. Fifty-five sites run in back-in and pull-through categories, both carrying water, sewer, and electric on 50-amp with site WiFi, sized to 45 feet. One thing to check before booking: service is 50-amp throughout, so bring an adapter if your rig runs 30. Furnished rental accommodations round out the lodging. A laundry, restrooms, showers, firewood, RV storage, and boat storage handle the practical side. A solar-heated outdoor pool anchors the property, with a marina, boat docks, fishing pier, and kayak rentals opening the water for boating, canoeing, kayaking, and swimming. A recreation center, clubhouse, walking trails, playground, community fire pit, dog park, horseshoes, and corn hole fill the rest. Pets are welcome. Yankeetown sits at the mouth of the Withlacoochee River on one of the least developed and most ecologically intact stretches of the Florida Gulf Coast. The Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve is a 413-acre parcel of undeveloped wetlands — hardwood and pine, tidal marsh, and salt ponds — with a 30-foot observation tower and walking trails, and it is a short trip from the park. Crystal River's manatees and Cedar Key are both close. Winter is decisively the season on the Nature Coast, with manatee season running November through March. Book well ahead for January through March.

from $69 $60/night

Timberline Glamping at Sarasota

4 Glamping Sites

Within Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, Florida—on the Sarasota County coast where the scrub-oak landscape, the South Creek paddling corridor, and Lake Osprey's warm-water swimming create the specific habitat mosaic that scrub-jays, gopher tortoises, and the bird diversity of a Florida state park's managed natural environment support in one of the most ecologically significant preserves on the Suncoast—Timberline Glamping at Sarasota provides four luxury safari tent accommodations on 10 acres at the edge of Oscar Scherer's trail network, combining the immersive park experience of a state park stay with the interior comfort of a 320-square-foot furnished tent that includes a king or queen bed configuration, air conditioning, a Keurig coffee maker, and a mini-refrigerator. Rates starting at $152 per night reflect the specific combination of park access and furnished comfort that the property provides in a market where Sarasota hotel rooms at comparable rates offer less natural experience and considerably less square footage of outdoor living. Four safari tents—available in Deluxe configuration (king bed and two sets of bunk beds) and Double configuration (two queen beds)—accommodate single couples, families, and the range of group compositions that a 320-square-foot luxury tent can serve across the Sarasota glamping market. Interior furnishings include floor rugs, multiple lamps, high-quality bed linens, comfortable seating, heating and air conditioning units, electrical outlets for device charging, and the Keurig coffee setup with Timberline-branded mugs that makes morning coffee in a tent genuinely pleasant rather than an expedition logistics problem. Each tent's gravel-base exterior features two hammocks for tree-hung lounging, a charcoal grill with cooking grate, a wood fire pit, a picnic table, and string lights that create the warm evening ambiance that fire pit camping and glamping guests specifically seek. The pet-friendly policy—with an additional fee for furry companions—extends the welcome to the dogs and cats that Sarasota area travelers bring. Oscar Scherer State Park's ecology provides the glamping experience's natural programming. Lake Osprey—warm enough for swimming through the Florida season—provides open-water swimming and fishing access from the park's beach area, with largemouth bass and panfish in the lake's vegetation-lined shallows. South Creek, winding through the park's interior, offers kayak and canoe access (rentals available through the park) through a paddling corridor that the park's scrub-oak forest and freshwater marsh flank with the specific ecological transition that makes Oscar Scherer's natural character distinctive among Sarasota County's preserved areas. Fifteen-plus miles of multi-use trails through the park's pine flatwoods, scrub habitat, and marsh edges provide the hiking and biking access to Oscar Scherer's wildlife—Florida scrub-jays (a threatened species whose oak scrub habitat Oscar Scherer specifically protects), gopher tortoises, sandhill cranes, and the year-round diversity of the Sarasota County bird community. The park's scrub-jay population is accessible for wildlife photography along the scrub-edge trails with a consistency that serious bird photographers travel specifically for. Timberline Glamping at Sarasota operates year-round in Florida's mild Suncoast climate. The park's spring wildflower season, summer lake swimming, and fall bird migration create distinct natural seasons within a year-round operating environment. The Sarasota cultural infrastructure—the Ringling Museum, Sarasota Opera, Siesta Key Beach (routinely ranked among the finest beaches in the United States)—provides the day-trip programming from a glamping base that the park's natural setting complements rather than competes with. Reserve your safari tent, pack a paddling outfit for South Creek, and let Oscar Scherer State Park's scrub and creek ecology deliver what Florida glamping looks like when the nature experience is the point.

from $185 $161/night

Sun Resorts & Residences Buttonwood Bay

48 RV Sites, 13 Cottages

On the shores of Lake Josephine and Jackson Creek in Sebring, Florida—in the heart of Highlands County's bass fishing country where 25 fishable lakes within 10 miles, the Sebring International Raceway's 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, and Highlands Hammock State Park's ancient live oak hammock create the central Florida Highlands experience that the active adult 55-plus community and the bass fishing visitor have organized their Sebring identity around—Sun Resorts & Residences Buttonwood Bay provides over 485 full hookup sites with concrete patios and private picnic tables, two heated outdoor pools and a hot tub, a 210-foot fishing pier, a private boat ramp and boat storage, a 16,000-square-foot clubhouse complex, a fitness center, lighted tennis, pickleball, shuffleboard, and bocce ball courts, billiards, a library and arts-and-crafts center, mini-golf, walking trails, a dog park, laundry, game room, and a full calendar of organized activities in a 55-plus age-restricted resort whose Lake Josephine location and 25-lake bass-fishing corridor deliver the active retirement Florida that the Highlands County lakeside setting provides. Two heated pools. A 210-foot fishing pier. Twenty-five lakes within ten miles. The 485-plus full hookup sites with concrete patios and private picnic tables create the extended-stay infrastructure for the 55-plus resident whose Sebring commitment ranges from the winter snowbird season to the permanent Florida address that the Buttonwood Bay community supports with its year-round activity and governance calendar. The 210-foot fishing pier on Lake Josephine provides the dock access that the bass fishing culture requires for the daily morning cast without a boat, and the private boat ramp—alongside the fenced boat storage—serves the resident whose vessel stays on property for the daily Lake Josephine launch. Two heated outdoor pools, the hot tub, and the aquatic exercise programming create the water fitness and recreation infrastructure for the active adult calendar, and the 16,000-square-foot clubhouse's lighted tennis, pickleball, shuffleboard, bocce ball, billiards, library, and arts-and-crafts center fill the social and recreational programming that a community of this scale sustains through organized committees and planned activities. Sebring sits in Highlands County at 120 feet on the Lake Wales Ridge, in the central Florida upland community where the citrus and cattle agriculture of the Highlands plateau, the bass fishing lakes of the ridge's chain-of-lakes corridor, and the Sebring International Raceway's March 12 Hours of Sebring—the oldest sports car endurance race in the United States and the American round of the FIA World Endurance Championship—create the event and natural heritage that distinguishes the Highlands County inland experience from the coastal resort economy of the Gulf and Atlantic shores. Highlands Hammock State Park, 5 miles west of Sebring on SR-27, preserves one of the oldest and most pristine natural communities in Florida—the ancient live oak hammock's massive multi-century-old trees, the Civilian Conservation Corps' 1930s-era picnic shelters and ranger station, the tram tour through the cypress swamp, and the alligator observation that the park's managed wildlife habitat provides create the Highlands County natural experience most distinct from the bass fishing identity. Lake Istokpoga, 12 miles south, provides the 27,692-acre lake—one of Florida's largest—whose largemouth bass fishery sustains the tournament fishing circuit that Highlands County's bass fishing reputation is built around. Buttonwood Bay operates year-round in Highlands County's subtropical climate, with the peak season from November through April delivering the snowbird community's maximum social and activity calendar and the summer months maintaining the permanent resident population. Reserve your site at Buttonwood Bay and let the 210-foot fishing pier, the two heated pools, and the 25-lake bass-fishing corridor make the Highlands County 55-plus lakeside lifestyle the Sebring retirement address that Lake Josephine's shores provide.

from $44/night