Why You Should Visit Located on the edge of Florida’s oldest and highest landmass, the Lake Wales Ridge, Tiger Creek Preserve is named after the pristine blackwater stream that forms the spine of this sanctuary. Almost the entire stream has been protected, as well as its surrounding hardwood swamps, hammocks, oak scrub, pine flatwoods, sandhill and longleaf pine/wiregrass habitat. Rare animals and plants live in the preserve—some found nowhere else on Earth. Download our Natural Events calendar.
Location
Central Florida, near the town of Lake Wales.
Hours
The preserve is open to the public during daylight hours.
Size
4,869 acres
Conditions
Tiger Creek Preserve has three hiking trails that are open to the public:.
The George Cooley Trail is a well-marked loop trail that goes through scrub, hardwood swamp, pine flatwoods and cutthroat seeps. At one point, it meets Patrick Creek. It takes 30 minutes to an hour.
The Pfundstein Trail is a long, sandy trail that allows access to the area called the "central highlands." It takes 2 to 6 hours.
Due to hurricane damage and high water in the area, the Jenkins Trail at Wakeford Road cannot be maintained and has been closed.
Contact Us For more information about visiting or volunteering, contact the preserve office at (863) 635-7506.
Directions From Babson Park:
Take State Road 17 south 2 miles and take a left on Murray Road.
What to See: Plants
Tiger Creek Preserve shelters an array of rare plants such as the scrub plum, pygmy fringe tree and Carter’s mustard.
What to See: Animals
The preserve protects sand skinks, gopher tortoises, the Florida mouse, indigo snakes and gopher frogs.
Why the Conservancy Selected This Site Tiger Creek Preserve is one of a system of preserves designed to protect what is left of the Lakes Wales Ridge ecosystem. The Lake Wales Ridge is the oldest physical feature of peninsular Florida and contains one of the highest concentrations of threatened and endangered plants and animals in the United States.
What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Conservancy conducts rare species monitoring, prescribed burning and hydrological monitoring at the preserve to maintain and improve habitat for rare species. It recently opened the Tiger Creek Center to educate the community about living safely in Florida’s flammable landscape.
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