In the Peace River Valley, Arcadia is a rural city about half an hour in from the Gulf Coast. Passing by just west of the city, the river is a big attraction for quite a few reasons. For one, it’s at the southern end of a paddling trail, coursing lazily through remote forests and cypress …
First appearing on the map in the 1880s, Alachua grew up on the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad. Sitting northwest of the much larger Gainesville, Alachua is the third-largest city in North Central Florida. I found a lot to love about Alachua, from its historic Main Street to pastoral farms, and the beautiful nature all …
About an hour inland from St. Augustine, Palatka is an historic city on a giant bend in the St. Johns River. At this point Florida’s longest and most famous watercourse suddenly widens as it turns north towards Jacksonville. I can’t get enough of the magnificent riverfront views in Palatka, and it’s no wonder that most …
Sitting next to the beloved Blue Spring State Park, Orange City was settled by Europeans in the mid-19th century. The name of course comes from citrus growing, although the thousands of acres of groves were lost in the Great Freeze of 1894-95. Orange City has a large historic district with a number of buildings dating …
For motorsports fans, this city in south-central Florida’s Highlands County needs no introduction. The name alone is synonymous with the Sebring International Raceway, home of the famed 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race. Sebring was founded in the 1910s by an Ohio pottery manufacturer who had a novel approach to urban design. The City on …
First settled in 1888, the city of Zephyrhills got its unusual name in the early 20th century. It’s what you get when you blend the area’s rolling hills with its warm zephyr breezes. Founded by Union veterans, for decades Zephyrhills was known mainly as a retirement community. But things had really gone into overdrive in …
About five miles in from the Atlantic shore, West Park is a residential city with a tiny footprint. I’m serious when I say that you could walk from one side to the other in a few minutes. In one of the most expensive metropolitan areas in the country, West Park is a relatively affordable enclave. …
On the Florida Panhandle’s Emerald Coast, this city is my idea of a dream beach destination. The shoreline on Okaloosa Island, with its sugar-white sands and twinkling clear waters, needs to be seen to be believed. On the gulf here you can choose between natural, undeveloped beaches, and all the fun of the Okaloosa Island …
In 1916, Oldsmobile founder Ransom Eli Olds bought up this land at the north end of Tampa Bay to build a planned city. Despite a huge marketing push, this was a financial disaster for Olds. His oil well never yielded any oil, and the proposed city of 100,000 had only attracted 200 people when he …
In the very northwest of Lake County, Lady Lake is a town with a population that has more than doubled since 1990. Part of that growth can be explained by The Villages. Set next door, this vast retirement community resembles a full-fledged city, and has a series of public districts that non-residents are free to …