Posted on April 17, 2020
Who would have thought that beautiful hikes in Orlando, Florida is just next to your Vacation Rental Homes?
Hikes near your vacation rental.
Just a few miles outside of Disney World is the Tibet-Butler Nature Reserve. The Preserve showcases the 3.2 miles of hiking trails winding in 438 acres of natural wetlands, flatlands and scrub ecosystem of Central Florida. It offers vacationers and Florida Residents to get closer and get in touch with the Florida nature. If your vacation rental is along Hwy27 or Hwy192, you are just about 20 mins drive to this beautiful hike.
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As soon as you drive in from the main road you just follow the road, you will see park spaces and the brown building, the information center. The information center is where your visit starts. This place has clean bathrooms and the information room is a small air- conditioned area where you can see exhibits and learn the different ecosystems that you see in the park. There are few interactive activities that are fun for the kids to learn about Florida.
Outside the nature center are picnic tables and benches that you can rest while watching your kids and just a great place to take a break. Just before the trail head you will see Darwin, a big turtle that is native in Africa. He is big and had a very interesting look, so do not miss that.
On the day of our visit we hiked the whole trail and it took us about 1.5 hrs. We saw about 4 little turtles along Fallen Log Crossing trail eating grass. They are very cute. Trails were shaded and part of that was sandy and hot (Flower Loop). Osprey Overlook Trail has a long boardwalk over the wetlands and ends up at the beautiful, quiet and serene Lake Tibet-Butler.
The lake is full of water lilies, wetland tall grasses, wetland purple flowers, old growth trees on the sides of the lake and more. The Palmetto Passage is a little bit of a walk but a shaded and beautiful trail. Some sections of the trail in Palmetto Passage are rougher with tree roots and the ground is uneven, so be careful if you decide to take this route.
Overall, I would say Tibet-Butler was an easy hike. My favorite part was the boardwalk, because of the natural forest and trees with the hanging plants hanging on the tree branches, it looks amazingly beautiful.
This natural park is a great way to be away from busy theme parks and away from crowds. The bonus is, this place is just very close to the place where you might be staying. Check this map out! I highly recommend this place to everybody, with kids or without kids, old or young. I promise you, you will enjoy it.
