Groveland, FL

Groveland is a small but quickly growing city in south Lake County, about 10 minutes west of Clermont where State Road 50 meets State Road 19. Its population more than doubled between 2010 and 2020 as new neighborhoods spread across former groves. Most people come to live here or pass through heading west, but its lakes, dark skies and hard history make it worth knowing in Central Florida.

Things to do in Groveland

Lake David Park, beside a 44-acre lake downtown, is the community centerpiece, with two boat ramps, a fishing pier, a skate park, picnic areas, an outdoor amphitheater and a footbridge through the wetlands. In 2023 Groveland became the first certified International Dark Sky Community in Florida, with lighting rules that keep the night sky darker than in most Orlando-area suburbs. Lake Louisa State Park and the Clermont Chain of Lakes are a short drive east. Groveland is also tied to one of Florida’s most notorious civil rights cases: in 1949 four young Black men, known as the Groveland Four, were wrongly convicted by an all-white jury; the state pardoned them in 2019 and a judge exonerated them in 2021.

Getting to Groveland

SR 50 runs east through Clermont toward Orlando and west toward Mascotte, SR 19 heads north toward Howey-in-the-Hills and Tavares, and SR 33 runs south toward Polk County. Orlando International (MCO) is about 38 miles away, usually close to an hour by car. The SR 50 corridor through Clermont is congested at rush hour, so allow extra time heading east. Clear, dry winter nights are best for stargazing.