Lakeport

ABOUT THIS PLACE

It sits just south of the Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation and it lives off the lake. In the railroad years it was called the fish capital of Florida and the fishing is still why most people come. Harney Pond Canal Recreation Park has boat ramps, picnic ground, restrooms and a bike path. Vance Whidden Park, known locally as Curry Island, has primitive camping, a launch for kayaks, canoes and airboats, and the old cattle dock that Lykes Brothers used to ship Florida cattle to Cuba, which is the single most surprising thing about this quiet stretch of shore. The Fort Center Trail carries interpretive panels on the archaeology of the people who lived here long before that and on the Seminole Wars. Old Sportsman's Village has ramps and bank fishing. More trailheads onto the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail open here than at any settlement nearby. The Sour Orange Festival is held on the third Saturday in January, and the sour orange pie is the reason for it. Several fish camps take overnight guests and supply guides