Recreational Sites

Bicycling

The Green Mountain Scenic Byway is unique in that the roadway itself is a popular recreational resource. The Byway is an international destination for touring and competitive cyclists and is one of the most heavily used cycling routes in Florida. It is also extremely popular with motorcyclists, car clubs, and Sunday drivers who are drawn to the Byway’s rolling hills and gentle curves.

http://www.floridafreewheelers.com/index.php

West Orange Trail

The West Orange Trail is a 22-mile world-class rail-trail, which travels through the communities of Winter Garden and Apopka just minutes from Orlando. Some things to see on the trail are a xeriscape/butterfly garden about a mile east of the Oakland Outpost, the Winter Garden Historical Museum and beautiful views of Lake Apopka. The trail also provides access to Clarcona Horseman’s Park, with an equestrian staging area for their visit. Eventually the West Orange trail will be a part of the 200 mile planned regional connection known as the Lake Apopka Loop.

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/guide/regions/eastcentral/trails/west_orange.htm

The South Lake Trail

The 4-mile South Lake Trail connects to the 22-mile West Orange Trail at the Killarney Station Trailhead, which is located on the Byway in Oakland. The trail then connects to the 5.5-mile Lake Minneola Scenic Trail to create a 30-mile system of paved trails. A 1.5-mile spur connects the trail system to the National Training Center in Clermont. A 14-mile connection to the Van Fleet Trail is planned.

Montverde Greenway Trail

The Montverde Greenway trail was built in 2004 by the Town of Montverde with the help of the Green Mountain Scenic Byway Committee and a Recreational Trails grant from the Office of Greenways and Trails. It is a paved bicycle and pedestrian trail that is a little over a half mile and was built on part of the old Tavares and Gulf Railroad track line. In the future the Town of Montverde plans to connect to a larger trail network.

National Training Center

The National Training Center (NTC), located in Clermont, Florida is a 300-acre complex and a world-class experience for athletes of any level. It’s the only training center to house athletic facilities with a hospital and university. The athletic facilities include a state-of-the-art fitness center, aquatic center, track and field complex, cross-country course, multi-purpose athletic fields, and a softball/baseball quadraplex. The NTC is dedicated to making a difference in the health and well-being of individuals and teams at any athletic level. It’s the ideal place to train! The NTC is located in Clermont, Florida just west of Orlando.

http://www.usat-ntc.com/

Geocaching

Geocaching is a relatively new sport thanks to the GPS ability to pinpoint the exact location of an object. The government had the opportunity to ban selective ability but chose not to. Thus began many conversations between GPS enthusiasts as to how to utilize this new tool. In 2000, one enthusiast, Dave Ulmer wanted to test the accuracy by hiding a navigational stash in the woods. He called the idea the “Great American GPS Stash Hunt” and posted it in an internet GPS users’ group. The idea was simple: Hide a container out in the woods and note the coordinates with a GPS unit. The finders would have to locate the container with only the use of their GPS receiver. The rules for the finder were simple: “Take some stuff, leave some stuff.” Within three days, two different readers read about his stash on the Internet, used their own GPS receivers to find the container, and shared their experiences online. And so began the sport of Geochaching! http://www.geocaching.com/ Happy caching!