Where can you find Peppa Pig, Bok Tower and Frank Lloyd Wright? Polk County | Travel
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Between Tampa and Orlando is a remarkable land of shimmering lakes, of exotic gardens, vast ranches and wilderness safaris, of cities built from plastic bricks and of the largest concentration of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings.
This is Polk County, Central Florida’s sweet spot.
Brimming with possibilities for visitors, Polk County — anchored by the cities of Lakeland and Winter Haven — was a tourist destination long before the age of the theme park. In fact, it was in Polk County in 1936 that splashy entrepreneur Dick Pope conjured up Florida’s first theme park, Winter Haven’s Cypress Gardens, known for its water ski shows and Southern belles.
Although Legoland established residence on the site in 2011, the gardens and the water ski shows remain. Even the Southern Belles are still here, although in Lego brick iteration.
For kids, Legoland offers a kinder, less frenetic atmosphere than the Orlando variety. For adults, the park serves up a combination of nostalgia and innocent fun. If you ever get too old to revel in nature under Legoland’s massive banyan or too jaded not to be fascinated by Lego’s Miniland version of cities like Vegas and New York, you should probably get your will in order.
Adjacent to Legoland is now the world’s first Peppa Pig Theme Park, a tailor-made “training” theme park for the younger tourists. Themed around the beloved British children’s television show, the park is compact and approachable, a perfect attraction for toddlers and pre-schoolers.
As for water ski shows, in addition to the Legoland daily performances, the City of Winter Haven, the Water Ski Capital of the World, hosts one-hour water ski shows the third Saturday of the month on Lake Silver. Athletes that include members of the Cypress Gardens ski teams of yore continue to wow audiences during the free performances.
Theme parks make up only a small portion of the multi-faceted Polk County. Less than an hour from Legoland is the aptly named Lakeland, aka Swan City, so nicknamed because swans, descendants of a pair gifted the city by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957, populate Lake Morton, one of the town’s 38 named lakes.
Swans are not known to hang out in ugly places, and the Lakeland birds are no exception. The postcard-pretty city boasts promenades for strolling or biking and a historic downtown with a robust foodie culture that reveres restaurants such as Nineteen61, a highly lauded fine dining destination that serves up modern Spanish cuisine enhanced by a Latin American twist and a dash of Southern hospitality.
Steps from Nineteen61, a charming downtown and photogenic Lake Mirror is the 1924 Terrace Hotel. One of Florida’s first year-round inns, the Terrace has since its beginnings offered guess modern comforts and conveniences. Now part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection, the Terrace has been renovated to pay homage to its flamboyant art deco history while also providing all of the 21st century creature comforts.
A mile away is the campus Florida Southern College, listed by “Travel+Leisure” as one of the most beautiful campuses in America and a National Historic Landmark, in no small part because it is home to the largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. At Frank Lloyd Wright Way, the Sharp Family Tourism and Visitor Center serves as starting point for a variety of tours of Wright’s masterpieces.
In 1938, president Dr. Ludd Spivey, eager to set his college apart from the rest, approached Wright with the idea to create a truly unique campus from an orange grove. Wright complied with Child of the Sun, his vision of a truly American campus that would “grow out of the ground and into the light, a child of the sun.” Beginning with the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel — the angular focal point of the Methodist school’s campus — Wright would see 12 of his 18 envisioned structures take shape over the next 20 years. A 13th structure, Wright’s Usonian House, was later constructed according to Wright’s 1939 designs for faculty housing.
This hotspot for sophisticated architecture is also the fourth largest county in Florida in land area, with a plethora of parks, preserves, a safari wilderness and even a dude ranch, to boot.
Bonnet Springs Park, the county’s newest, opened in 2022 next to downtown Lakeland on the former longest railyard in Florida. Admission is free to the facility that brings nature, art, recreation, learning and music together in one special place.
Here you will find the Florida Children’s Museum, the Crenshaw Canopy Walk among the trees, a botanical garden, nature center, a 500-square-foot treehouse and Mable the Mosaic Owl, an interactive playground. A tram ferries you around if you get tired. After a day of exploration, repair to Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits Rooftop Bar to unwind overlooking the lovely surroundings.
Another winning combination of nature, history and art can be found at Bok Tower Gardens atop Iron Mountain, at 295 feet one of the highest points in peninsular Florida. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Bok, editor of “Ladies’ Home Journal” in the 1880s, was a truly nice guy who championed social causes and the environment.
After wintering near the Lake Wales Ridge in 1921, Bok was so bewitched he gifted the garden to the American people, who to this day continue enjoying its beauty and serenity.
The jewel in the gardens’ crown is the Singing Tower, built on the area’s highest elevation. Atop the 205-foot Art Deco marble and coquina tower is a 60-bell carillon that makes sweet music on weekends.
In 1929, Bethlehem steel executive Charles Austin Buck built his 12,900-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion, El Retiro, adjacent to Bok’s land, engaging the Olmsted firm to design the landscape of his winter retreat. Since Bok Gardens acquired the home in 1970, El Retiro has enchanted visitors with its grandeur and gardens.
From the peaceful carillon music and serene landscapes, head to the African savannah by way of Lakeland, home to Safari Wilderness Ranch, located within the Green Swamp, second largest wilderness area in Florida after the Everglades and headwaters for five Florida rivers.
Adventurers have the choice of several safari tours, including on camelback, ATV or kayak, to view herds of exotic animals that include red lechwe, Defassa waterbuck, zebra and more. After a day of game viewing, retreat to one of the nine glamping tents at the safari camp and spend the evening under the stars.
Polk County is also home to Westgate River Ranch Resort and Rodeo, a dude ranch and glamping resort on 1,700 acres overlooking the Kissimmee River. Take your pick from lodging that includes rooms, luxury glamping tents, luxe teepees and Conestoga wagons, all with private en suite facilities. Spend your days horseback riding, attending a rodeo and all that other cowboy stuff.
Ranches, safaris, lakes, gardens, theme parks, history and fine dining await in Polk County, Florida’s sweet spot. Time to pack.
For more, see visitcentralflorida.org.
Maria Sonneberg is a Grant-Valkaria-based travel and lifestyles writer.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Lakeland and Winter Haven draw guests with architecture, nature, Peppa
