Apopka, FL

Apopka is a city in Orange County about 16 miles northwest of downtown Orlando, long known as the Indoor Foliage Capital of the World for its greenhouse nurseries. For visitors it is the jumping-off point for spring swimming, tubing, paddling and wildlife watching on the northwest edge of Central Florida.

Things to do in Apopka

Wekiwa Springs State Park, at the headwaters of the Wekiva River, is the best-known draw, with a clear spring for swimming and snorkeling and canoe and kayak routes downstream. The park closes to new cars when parking fills, so arrive early on summer weekends. North of town, Kelly Park, an Orange County park, has Rock Springs, where you can float an inner tube down the cool spring run; it also fills fast in warm months. On the north shore of Lake Apopka, the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is an 11-mile, one-way route through restored marshes, entered from Lust Road and open Friday through Sunday and on federal holidays. Birders have recorded more than 360 species there, and alligators and otters are common sights. In town, the Museum of the Apopkans, home of the Apopka Historical Society, covers local history.

Getting to Apopka

US 441 runs through the center of Apopka, and two toll roads, SR 414 (the John Land Apopka Expressway) and SR 429, connect it with Maitland, I-4 and western Orange County. Orlando International (MCO) is about 40 minutes away depending on traffic. Spring season peaks in summer, when the parks reach capacity early, while the cooler months from November to March are the most comfortable for the wildlife drive and trails.