The winter version of Lake Lakeland is the one that does not need an audience. The water is the same water, the docks are the same docks, and the only difference is that nobody else is there.
The water is flat in the morning because the wind has not picked up, and the air is 70 degrees, which is the exact temperature a boat morning is supposed to be. The boat ramps are empty, the trails are empty, and the only sound is the engine and the water. This is the version of a Florida lake that makes the trip worth it, and it is the version you cannot get in the summer.
The houses we manage that have a dock are the ones that make the winter trip work, because the dock is the front yard. A morning on the water, a coffee on the dock, an afternoon on the dock, a dinner in town, and a night on the dock. The lake is the whole point, and in the winter it is the whole thing.
Bonnet Springs Park is a 168-acre urban nature park on the edge of the lake, with live oak trails, a spring-fed creek, and a 2,500-foot canopy trail. In the winter it is empty, and a morning on the trails is the best free thing in the county. The Polk County Zoo and the Lakeland Museum of Art are the half-day options, both manageable, both worth a morning if you have small kids.
The local tip: the winter lake weeks are the only weeks of the year when the dock houses are not at their peak rate, which is the opposite of what you would expect. Book the dock house first and the week will take care of itself.
Send us your dates and whether you want a dock. We manage seven houses on and around Lake Lakeland and we will match you to the one that is the right distance from the water and the right size for your group.