Sebring promises peaceful escape
Our guide offers a welcome respite from the city’s hustle and bustle.
Eighty-six miles south of Orlando, you’ll find a different kind of Central Florida. One with a slower pace and fewer people that you just might find yours to be the only car on the road, a feeling rarely experienced in this part of the region.
If you’re hankering for a quick weekend getaway, the Sebring area might be just the ticket. Downtown Sebring is situated along Lake Jackson, its streets lined with quaint shops and the very-Florida combination of towering palm trees and 100-year-old live oaks that seem to be more moss than tree.
Just a bit south of Sebring is Lake Placid, an eclectic town boasting everything from a clown school, to a booming art scene and some of the best lakes for water sports in the country. Lake Placid is also home to the Caladium Fields — acres and acres of colorful caladium plants celebrated with their own festival every July. Just north is Avon Park, a town brimming with beautiful lakes and orange groves.
Dining
When in Sebring, you must eat alligator. And if you’re going to eat alligator, you might as well eat it at a restaurant that also features karaoke, line dancing lessons and a mystifying tropical-islandmeets-Central-Florida-swampland vibe. Cowpoke’s Watering Hole is just that place. Visitors rave about the fresh seafood and lively atmosphere.
For a more relaxed experience, try Faded Bistro & Beer Garden in downtown Sebring. Dine under the globe lights at this open-air eatery that boasts an 1800s-era bar that once held the weight of Ulysses S. Grant’s elbows. The elevated fare has vegan options but certainly caters to the carnivores with dishes like honeyglazed pork chops and the extremely decadent black angus tenderloin and lobster mac ’n cheese.
To satisfy a sweet tooth, Maxwell Groves in Avon Park cannot be missed. Enjoy a cone of orange ice cream while relaxing in one of the many rocking chairs on the front porch of this charming country store. You can’t leave without picking up a tray or two of locally-grown oranges to take home.
Nature
Hiking might not be your first thought when it comes to Florida activities, but the Sebring area is home to some seriously beautiful trails. The Wildflower Wayside Shrine Trail in Avon Park gives visitors a chance to learn while exploring the unique ecosystem of this corner of Central Florida. Shrine boxes along the trail honor the endangered plant species found in the scrublands, and visitors are encouraged to leave behind journal entries of their experience.
Cyclists will want to head to Highlands Hammock State Park, where you’ll find a 3-mile paved loop and a 6-mile off-road trail. You can’t explore the park’s trails or boardwalk on wheels, but there are bike racks available for storage so you can hit the rest of the park by foot. Locals say you can’t visit “The Hammock” with-