Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, FL
Note: This content was originally updated in 2008, so some details may have changed. I've searched high and low for the original pictures, but could only find the ones below. Please keep in mind, these images are low resolution due to the camera I was using at the time. These are memories and locations that I want to share, and were taken from my old blog to this new one.
Hey everyone! After two months without camping, I was experiencing some serious withdrawals! I recently spent a weekend at Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring, Florida (about an hour and a half from home), and it was absolutely beautiful!
CAMPING
If you're looking for more private campsites, this may not be the best spot—though I didn't check out the primitive camping for tents, which might offer more seclusion. This park is perfect for group camping, but even on our own, we had a great time. The people we met were very friendly.
Our campsite
Another campsite
Last campsite I'm showing
Update: We've visited Highlands Hammock State Park twice and really enjoyed it each time. During our first visit, our campsite was a bit too small (our mistake), but the second time we stayed on site 102, which was perfect for our 36 foot 5th wheel.
Highlands Hammock State Park offers a variety of amenities and activities for you to enjoy during your stay:
Trails: The park features nine scenic trails for you to enjoy nature. I captured some amazing pictures of different flowers, cool tree stumps, and even a great image of an alligator.
Tram Ride: We took an hour-long tram ride to the back of the property, an area which is off-limits to people just exploring. It was pretty neat being able to see baby gators in the wild! You have to purchase tickets for the tram ride, but when we went years ago, it was very reasonable.
Museum: You'll discover the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) at the park's impressive museum. I think this is where I learned all about the CCC.
Dining: There's a charming restaurant and mini-store on-site, serving an all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Again, it was a very reasonable price back when we went, hopefully they still offer this.) They also have a cozy fireplace for cold days and grill various foods, including a Friday night fish fry.
Evening Activities: Don’t miss the Saturday night fireside interpretive talks. I've been to several Florida State Parks where they have interpretive talks (free), and they were really fun to go to, and they taught me some things that I never knew about.
Recreation: The park includes a couple of playgrounds, a volleyball net, two shuffleboard courts (though they could use some maintenance, and they very well could have gotten them updated at the time of this post), and two horseshoe pits.
Facilities: The bathrooms might need a bit of cleaning, especially in the evening after a busy day, but the park has laundry facilities, which is very convenient.
Be aware that the park can get quite crowded on weekends, so plan accordingly. When we visited, it was fully booked with not a single site available.
The bottom line, we really enjoyed ourselves. Bring your bikes. There are lots of places to ride them.
