Lakeland Area
Lakeland is a small city that is located halfway between the cities of Tampa and Orlando. It stands in an area that was originally densely inhabited by Native Americans, but much of the Native American population was wiped out following the arrival of the Europeans. Lakeland itself is not a very old town. In fact, the town of Bartow (the county seat of Polk County just south of Lakeland) was formed before Lakeland - it became the county seat of the at-the-time-new Polk County after the Civil War. Lakeland stayed as a small town until relatively recently it began to grow rapidly due to the encroaching Tampa and Orlando metro areas. The whole I-4 corridor has experienced explosive population growth as Tampa and Orlando became larger. Thus, today, Lakeland has a population of just over a hundred thousand people, and Polk County has a population of over six hundred thousand!
Despite the fact that the Lakeland area is heavily populated, there are still plenty of places suitable for outdoor recreation. The single largest such area is the Green Swamp. Located north-northwest of Lakeland, the Green Swamp is split into several big tracts of public land with many hiking trails, including the West Corridor of the Florida Trail. To the east of Lakeland, there is a number of hiking destinations on the Lake Wales Ridge, including Catfish Creek State Park, Lake Kissimmee State Park, and many smaller tracts. Millions of years ago, Lake Wales Ridge was the only part of Florida above water, and today, there are some endangered plant and animal species on this slightly higher area of land in central Florida.
Despite the fact that the Lakeland area is heavily populated, there are still plenty of places suitable for outdoor recreation. The single largest such area is the Green Swamp. Located north-northwest of Lakeland, the Green Swamp is split into several big tracts of public land with many hiking trails, including the West Corridor of the Florida Trail. To the east of Lakeland, there is a number of hiking destinations on the Lake Wales Ridge, including Catfish Creek State Park, Lake Kissimmee State Park, and many smaller tracts. Millions of years ago, Lake Wales Ridge was the only part of Florida above water, and today, there are some endangered plant and animal species on this slightly higher area of land in central Florida.