Tiger Creek Preserve, a sprawling 4,980-acre mosaic of scrub and creek floodplain east of Lake Wales is now officially part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation’s Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail network.
The site, which is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, is open daily for hiking, birdwatching and general enjoyment of central Florida’s diverse plant and animal life. It is served by entrances on Pfundstein Road off Scenic Highway and Wakeford Road off Walkinwater Road. There are more than 10 miles of hiking trails.
The designation comes at a great time as temperatures begin dropping enough to attract people outdoors and migrating songbirds make their annual fall migration journeys that often include stopovers in Polk County.
The preservation of the land around Tiger Creek, a 6.8-mile winding blackwater stream that flows from the eastern edge of the Lake Wales Ridge into Lake Walkinwater at the headwaters of the Everglades, was the realization of a conservation dream that dates to the 1920s and the vision of Edward Bok, the founder of Bok Tower Gardens.
Tiger Creek Preserve is a good place to see such uncommon species as red-headed woodpeckers, scrub lizards, gopher frogs and northern bobwhites.
If you’re lucky, you might spot the tracks of a Florida black bear or a sand skink.
Fall is also a great time to enjoy a variety of striking flowering plants, such as the purple-spiked blazing stars.
For more information on Tiger Creek Preserve, go to Tiger Creek Preserve | The Nature Conservancy in Florida