Lake Apopka North Shore Wildlife Drive in Florida
Blog Post - August 5, 2022
The Lake Apopka North Shore Wildlife Drive is a great way to see alligators and all sorts of birds for free.
Apopka is located northwest of Orlando, Florida.
This is an 11-mile one way drive, bike ride, or walk that is open from 7am to 3pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Federal Holidays.
You have to exit from the drive by 5pm.
It takes 2 to 3 hours to drive through at a slow pace.
The maximum length for vehicles is 25 feet in length and no trailers are allowed.
The address is 2850 Lust Rd, Apopka, FL 32703.
As you pull up you will see a gated entrance. When the park is open, the gate will be open. There is also an overflow parking lot to park if you want to walk or ride your bike.
This is what the front gate area looks like:
Once you drive in, you will see a sign with the posted rules:
There is also a sign that has a map of the drive. They also have free flyers you can take that have the map in the flyer.
There is also an audio tour that you follow at https://www.sjrwmd.com/lans
There are 11 stations. 1 for each mile of the drive.
There is also a warning about alligators in the area and to keep your distance.
The sign warning about alligators was not wrong. We saw lots of alligators along with all sorts of birds.
This dirt road winding through this wilderness was beautiful. The reflection off the water was unreal.
It was so cool to see these alligators up close and in the wild.
As we reached the end of the drive, there was an exit gate that was closed.
As we got closer, the gate automatically opened for us.
Overall, this was an amazing experience. It was even better since it was free. We would highly recommend doing this drive if you are in the Orlando area. Apopka is about 45 minutes northwest of Orlando.
MAPS:
Lake Apopka North Shore Wildlife Drive Map
2850 Lust Rd, Apopka, FL 32703:
(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)
PRICING:
The Lake Apopka North Shore Wildlife Drive is free.
Price: $0
CHECKLIST:
These are the checklist items I recommend:
- Bring a hat to keep the sun off of your face
- Have a full tank of gas to do the 11-mile road
- Bring some water and snacks as it will take 2 to 3 hours to complete
