Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail in Okeechobee County, Florida

Photograph: Torry Island FL LOST north01.jpg by Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Restored from the credited Wikimedia Commons file, normalized to the consistent attraction-card frame and converted to WebP by 1stFlorida.com. Portrait originals retain their complete composition over a softly blurred extension of the same photograph.

Okeechobee County attraction

Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail

Okeechobee County · Central Florida

A loop of a hundred and nine miles running right around Lake Okeechobee, mostly along the crest of the Herbert Hoover Dike.

ABOUT THIS PLACE

The dike was thrown up by the Army Corps of Engineers after the hurricanes of 1926 and 1928 drowned the farming settlements on the south shore, and it stands about thirty-five feet above the land. Walking or riding along the crest puts a person higher than anything else for miles, with the lake on one side and cane fields, pasture and small towns on the other. Most of the surface is paved, which makes it one of the few long-distance routes in Florida a road bicycle can use, and it forms part of the Florida National Scenic Trail; people first hiked it in the 1960s and the full loop was developed in the 1980s. Bicycles and leashed dogs are allowed and horses on some sections. Restrooms are at the community parks along the way. There is no shade and no drinking water on the dike, so carry both. Do not go into the water, and check for algae warnings before setting out. It costs nothing

GETTING THERE

Get Directions ↗Official place website ↗

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