FLORIDA PLACE TO EXPLORE
Circle B Bar Reserve
Polk County · Central Florida
A 1,267-acre former cattle ranch on Lake Hancock near Lakeland, and one of the places wildlife photographers in Florida go first.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
Polk County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District bought the old Circle B Bar Ranch in 2000 for 7.4 million dollars, using money from an environmental land fund voters approved in 1994. The 1,267 acres sit on the shore of Lake Hancock at the head of the Peace River, and the marsh at Banana Creek is the part everyone comes for. White ibis, roseate spoonbills, sandhill cranes and bald eagles work the water there, alligators lie on the banks in numbers, and bobcats, river otters and wild hogs all use the ground. The alligators are close enough and numerous enough that the trail called Alligator Alley earned the name honestly. About 3.5 miles of unpaved trail cross the reserve, with a paved connector running six tenths of a mile to the Fort Fraser Trail between Lakeland and Bartow. The Polk Nature Discovery Center opened in 2008 with 16,000 square feet across four buildings
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