Photograph Wildlife at Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive

Starting at the gate which opens directly at sunrise, you will travel through 11 miles of conservation area designed to help rebuild the ecosystem around Lake Apopka. Make sure you check the time of sunrise on the day you are going, because the gate literally opens exactly at the listed sunrise time. The drive also closes its gates one hour before sunset, and everyone must be out of the drive by sundown. You begin on one side of the refuge, and come out on a completely different end, make sure you have a GPS or phone to help you navigate back home. 

The drive has many pullover areas, because in most places the road is not wide enough for cars to pass. As you continue along the 11-mile drive you will start facing west and finish facing north, which provides great opportunities for lighting during all hours of the day. If you go in the morning, you are able to see gators in the water, lots of jumping and splashing fish, as well as osprey out for the morning hunt. 

In this conservation area there are 362 different species of birds, as well as gators, bobcats, turtles, coyotes, and otters. After your visit to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, you can take a short drive to Mount Dora, another historic place in Florida, there you will find lots of small shops and restaurants. 

The drive is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the rest of the week it is undergoing restoration and conservation projects.