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Lake Okeechobee Recreation Area

Cliff J. Betts Recreation Area

Also known as Lake Okeechobee Recreation Area, this waterfront park in Okeechobee offers expansive views of Lake Okeechobee from its shoreline and pier

Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail  |  Okeechobee
( 27.196013, -80.830520 )      

Known over the years as Jaycee Park, Lock 7, Lakefront Park, and Parrott Avenue Wayside, this waterfront recreation area offers expansive views of Lake Okeechobee.

Some of those are best seen from the Florida Trail, which passes through the recreation area. But you’ll also appreciate the lake’s most significant observation point, the 400-foot fishing pier that anchors this park.

Okeechobee Pier
The pier on Lake Okeechobee at Betts Recreation Area

Resources

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Overview

Location: Okeechobee
Address: 200 SR 78 West, Okeechobee
Fees: none
Restroom: near the pier
Land manager: Okeechobee County
Phone: 863-763-6950

Open 24 hours. No camping permitted. Leashed dogs welcome.


Directions

 
From the intersection of US 441 and SR 78 in Okeechobee, turn right on SR 78 and immediately make a left to enter the park. The entrance road goes up and over the dike, crossing the Florida Trail. On the opposite side, paved parking is on the left, and unpaved parking stretches for almost a mile along the lakeshore to the right.

Details

Renamed for a county commissioner who helped guide planning for county parks before his untimely death in 2011, this recreation area is one of the best places along the entire shoreline of Lake Okeechobee for visitors to see the lake.

While hikers can gain a lot of great vantage points along the Florida Trail while circling the lake, for folks who drive up to the recreation areas, the views aren’t generally as sweeping as this park provides.

Lake Okeechobee
Lake Okeechobee as seen from the fishing pier

This waterfront recreation area has improved greatly over the decades since we first started visiting it, when it was simply a dirt lot and the pier.

A relatively recent addition in the past five years is the infrastructure adjoining the pier that includes paved parking, picnic tables, and restrooms with potable water.

Lake Okeechobee Recreation Area picnic area
A nice picnic area adjoins the lake

The pier is for anglers, but even if you’re not here to fish, it’s well worth the walk out along it for views of the shoreline, where you will always see birds.

The sweep of the lake from the end of the pier is pretty sweet, too.

Lake Okeechobee shoreline
Lake Okeechobee shoreline as seen from the pier

Hiking

Hikers and cyclists will appreciate easy access to the Florida Trail / Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail on the dike up above the recreation area. Use the entrance road or the paved path behind the restrooms for access.

To the east, a paved segment of the Florida Trail stretches nearly 3 miles to Taylor Creek, offering great views and opportunities for birding on both sides of the dike.

Lake Okeechobee Recreation Area
Betts Recreation Area as seen from the Florida Trail

To the west, a paved segment of the Florida Trail curves around Eagle Bay to Okee-tantie, nearly 4 mile. This is one of the best spots on the lake for easily accessed birding.

We’ve spotted crested caracara, great blue herons, sandhill cranes, white pelicans, and bald eagles within a short walk of the trailhead. On the unpaved flats of the recreation area, sometimes flocks of gulls or skimmers come to rest.

Black skimmers Lake Okeechobee
Black skimmers congregate in a parking area

Explore More!

Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Florida Trail Okeechobee

Florida Trail, Okeechobee to Okee-Tantie

3.8 miles. On the sweep of Lake Okeechobee shoreline between Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River, expect some of the best birding along the lake as you walk along the dike

Okeechobee Battlefield

Okeechobee Battlefield Historic State Park

Okeechobee Battlefield State Park protects a part of the landscape where the Battle of Okeechobee occurred during the Second Seminole War on Christmas Day, 1837

Taylor Creek

Taylor Creek STA

Encompassing the ancient shoreline of Taylor Creek and man-made marshes, this wetlands park is a gem for birding and wildlife watching just north of Okeechobee.

Lake Okeechobee at Nubbin Slough

Florida Trail, Henry Creek to Okeechobee

8.6 miles. Along the north shoreline of Lake Okeechobee, this paved segment of the Florida Trail is one of its prettiest, offering sweeping views of the lake.


Official Website

Category: County Parks, South Florida, Water Management AreasTag: Birding, Dog-friendly, Family-Friendly, Fishing, FT Okeechobee, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, Picnic

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