# 55 Highlands Hammock State Park

 Yesterday, Ronnie and I took an afternoon drive down to Sebring, Florida.  It's around 55 miles south of Davenport on Highway 27.  The weather was clear and sunny, perfect for visiting one of Florida's oldest state parks. 

First, we stopped by the Florida's Natural Orange Juice Visitor Center in Lake Wales.  They have a good exhibit of how they squeeze the oranges for juice, informative historical displays, souvenirs and free orange juice samples.

                                                                                  

We continued south on to Sebring.

Highlands Hammock State Park is located just outside the Sebring area.  Click on the link to learn more about this wonderful park.  It opened in 1931 and has many features built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).  Ronnie and I thought this would be a great place to enjoy another swamp up close and personal.  We didn't explore all of the park's trails but those we did walk, were fascinating.

This is the loop drive that connects with the trails and campground.

Cypress Swamp Trail offers a glimpse of the variety plants, birds and wildlife in this Hammock.

This is a popular trail because of the elevated walkway through the swamp.

There's only one hand rail..

We saw turtles, birds and a baby alligator.

This photo is from the Ancient Hammock Trail.  Some of the trees in this park are estimated to be several hundred years old.

Now if you look right in the center you can see a BIG gator.

This is the CCC museum in the park. It has some very interesting exhibits about the lifestyle and work environments of the CCC men.  The volunteer hosting there was well informed and he shared with us some of the stories he knew about the CCC men who worked on the Highlands Hammock State Park.

For dinner we stopped at The Sunset Grill in Sebring.  It was located right on Lake Jackson.  We enjoyed this view while we downed a cold beverage..or two. What a great day!  We enjoyed a walk in the swamp, had a lake view as we dined and all this on a gorgeous, warm, spring-like day.