The Polk County Zoo is the half-day option that makes a family summer week work, and the plan is the one that pairs the zoo with a lake afternoon.
The Polk County Zoo is the version of a family morning that does not require a plan. A manageable zoo, a real morning, and a lunch that does not require a reservation. The zoo is the thing that works if the group has small kids, and the one that makes the morning a morning instead of a day.
The afternoon is the version of the day that does not have to be planned. A boat on the water, a coffee on the dock, a nap at the house, and a walk at Bonnet Springs Park after the heat breaks. The 168-acre park is the version of a family afternoon that does not require a crowd, and the canopy trail is the thing that makes the walk worth it.
The family dinner is the one that does not require a reservation. Black & Brew does its family lunch, and the dinner is the one that is worth planning around, Cob & Pen or Nineteen61, and the move is to book it for the middle of the week. If the week includes a show at RP Funding Center, the dinner is the pre-show move and the house is the post-show one.
The local tip: the zoo mornings are the ones that work before the heat, and the lake afternoons are the ones that work after the heat breaks. Book the dock house first and the week will take care of itself.
Send us your dates and your group size. We manage seven houses in the Lakeland area and we will match you to the one that is the right size for a family week and the right distance from the water.