Orlando

Home of Walt Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, and other theme parks that attract many, many millions of visitors each year, Orlando is also one of Florida’s best places to get outdoors and play.

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Nearby: Apopka, Christmas, Clermont, Cocoa Beach, Geneva, Kissimmee, Lake Wales, Lakeland, Oviedo, Sanford, St. Cloud, Titusville, Walt Disney World

Best known for its theme parks, Orlando and its surrounding communities have a surprising diversity of character. Historic neighborhoods are shaded by ancient live oaks. Parks and gardens hug the many lakes. It doesn't take long to find a natural area nearby for hiking, biking, and paddling, or a spring for swimming. A growing network of bike paths extends across the region, providing day-long riding opportunities.

As residents of the Orlando metro for many years, we explored our backyard more than anywhere else in Florida. For backpacking in palm-shaded wilderness, head to the Florida Trail along the St. Johns River floodplain. For day hikes in the many regional parks and preserves, check out the trails we suggest in Five Star Trails Orlando, all within an hour of downtown.

With Florida's largest concentration of hotel rooms, you'll find something here to meet your family's budget. Before we moved to the metro, we stayed in - and can still recommend - unique lodgings like The Courtyard at Lake Lucerne and the EO Inn & Spa, downtown.

Camping? You'll delight in the woodsy campgrounds you'll find here. The trick at Wekiwa Springs State Park is reserving a space well in advance. You'll find cabins at Lake Louisa State Park, not far from Walt Disney World. Lesser known but nice for families are the well-shaded campgrounds at Kelly Park, Trimble Park, and Lake Mills Park. Inside city limits, Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake has RV sites, tent camping, and cabins.

Find the best deals on hotels in Orlando, Florida at TripAdvisor

Florida’s Best Urban Parks- When you live in a tightly packed space, you need somewhere green as your go-to place nearby. These are our top picks for parks in Florida's urban areas, chosen for their diversity of outdoor activities and/or their unique green spaces.
Gatorland- Gatorland is not just a historic Florida attraction but an immersion into what this part of Central Florida used to be, a cypress swamp full of critters.
Harry P. Leu Gardens- Fifty acres of lush formal gardens hug the shores of Lake Rowena in this urban display of botanical diversity in Orlando. The center of it all is the Leu House, purchased by Harry and Mary Jane Leu in 1936 – now a house museum – around which they developed their gardens.
In Hizzoner: Carl T. Langford Park- At the City of Orlando's Carl T. Langford Park, a maze of paved trails lead you through hammocks of ancient live oaks, out to an observation deck on an ephemeral pond, across a suspension bridge, and through vast green spaces where kids can play.
Lake Louisa State Park- As longleaf pine reaches for the sky, the rolling hills of Lake Louisa State Park near Clermont return to their forested roots. This undulating landscape - part of the Lake Wales Ridge - was once managed as a ranch, with citrus trees and cattle replacing natural habitats.
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park- Wet or dry: those are your choices for exploring Lower Wekiva River Preserve, either from a launch point at the old Katie's Landing along the Wekiva River, or from the southern trailhead along SR 46.
Mead Garden- A 47-acre urban preserve, Mead Garden is a pleasant place for a forested walk of less than a mile in Winter Park, hosting many special events under its canopy of oaks.
Orlando Tree Trek- Entering a 15-acre grove of pine trees with cables and wood strung up in the air, we knew this wasn't going to be like our normal hikes. Orlando Tree Trek is an aerial attraction, a canopy walk and ziplines for outdoor adventure.
Rock Springs Run State Reserve- You have a better-than-average chance of spotting a Florida black bear at Rock Springs Run State Reserve, a vast wilderness area in the Wekiva River basin. This is the one park where we've seen the most evidence of our native Florida black bear.
Tosohatchee WMA- Protecting more than 30,000 acres of the St. Johns River floodplain near Christmas, Tosohatchee WMA is a place to immerse yourself in the grandeur of old Florida and its bounty of botanical beauty
Wekiwa Springs State Park- A massive wilderness area on the edge of the Orlando metro, Wekiwa Springs State Park is centered on a first-magnitude spring that bubbles through fissures to pour forth a river lined with jungle-like vegetation.