Highland Hammocks State Park, Sebring, Fl.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Today Kitty and I drove from Okeechobee to Sebring, Florida to have lunch with Bob and Carol, our long time friends from Illinois.  Bob and Carol are vacationing in Florida this month and are happy to have dodged some of that miserable winter weather that has gripped much of the country this year.

After lunch, we decided to head to Highlands Hammock State Park just west of Sebring.  Highlands Hammock State Park has more than 9,000 acres of beautiful old-growth hammock cypress swamps.  Bob and Carol visited this park a few years ago, but this was the first visit for Kitty and me.

We took a stroll across the elevated boardwalk along the Cypress Swamp trail looking for some swamp creatures.

Here we are on the boardwalk.

L to R: Bob, Carol, Kitty, and Craig



This is the first section of the boardwalk.  It was an easy leisurely stroll through the swamps.

The Cypress Swamps

Two Turtles basking in the warm Florida sun.

The rest of the boardwalk was rather narrow with only one hand rail.  This part was a little tricky because the footing was a little uneven and the hand rail was low.  So, to hold on to the rail, you had to bend over slightly making it difficult to keep your head up looking for wild life.  Luckily, none of fell into the swamp!

Besides getting wet when falling off the boardwalk, we did not want to disturb any snakes that may be lurking in the dark murky water.  If you look real close in the center of this picture, there is a snake curled up on a clump of grass waiting for someone to fall in the swamp!  This picture was take with my cell phone camera, sorry it is a little fuzzy because the camera was focusing on the underbrush instead of the snake.

We also saw this baby gator resting on a branch by the waters edge.  It is a little difficult to see because he was a little too far away for a good picture.  His tail is almost touching the water.

This park also offers a tram tour, but that was not running when we were there.  They also have guided tours with a ranger, a Civilian Conservation Corp museum, plenty of hiking/biking trails, and a campground.  If you are in Sebring looking for an outdoor adventure, try the Highlands Hammock State Park.  The six dollar per car entry fee is well worth it for this outdoor adventure.