Atop Florida’s most ancient of landscapes, the Lake Wales Ridge, the Ridge Audubon Center at Babson Park has a mission of interpreting the uniqueness of the plants and animals that call this island of biodiversity home.
Their family-friendly nature trails provide an interpretive walk around the center, identifying plants that you may have never otherwise encountered on a hike. This is also a stop along the Great Florida Birding Trail.
Resources
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Overview
Location: Babson Park
Length: 0.3 mile
Trailhead: 27.841383, -81.533717
Address: 200 N Crooked Lake Dr, Babson Park
Fees: Free
Restroom: When the building is unlocked
Land manager: Ridge Audubon Society
Phone: 863-638-1355
Trails are open dawn to dusk daily. A trail guide with map is available at the trail kiosk. Pick it up so you can note the rare plants along the route.
If the building is locked and you would like to see the nature center, check with a volunteer by calling 863-635-5667. It is usually open Oct 1-Apr 30 by request and during events and meetings.
Directions
From SR 60 in Lake Wales, drive south on Scenic 17. Or from US 27 south of Lake Wales, follow CR 640 east to SR 17 in Babson Park. Ridge Audubon Center is at the intersection of SR 17 and Crooked Lake Rd in Babson Park.
Hike
Starting in front of the nature center, the Ridge Audubon Trail has 26 interpretive stations that identify key plants of the Lake Wales Ridge.
A narrow string of ancient islands, now hills within the Lake Wales Ridge, are topped with rare and unusual species like the scrub hickory and scrub plum.
Look for these and others as you rise up from scrub habitat into the sandhills and back down again.
The identification markers and interpretive brochure let you put a face on rare native plants that you might have only heard of before, like garberia and Britton’s beargrass.
Behind the center, follow the Lake Trail to where it ends above the college sports fields, with a view of Crooked Lake. Additional plant interpretation is along this very short path.
Hopefully, the Center will be open or a volunteer may drop by if they see your car in the small parking area.
Inside, there are exhibits and literature pertaining to the natural and cultural history of the Lake Wales Ridge.
Explore More!
Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
Nearby Adventures
Crooked Lake Prairie At Crooked Lake Prairie, the dunes of the Lake Wales Ridge meet showy prairie grasslands along the eastern shore of Crooked Lake. 
Tiger Creek Preserve Edward Bok's "Jungle," a deeply folded landscape between Tiger Creek and Patrick Creek south of Lake Wales, is protected by The Nature Conservancy as Tiger Creek Preserve. 
Lake Wales Ridge Scrub Jay Loop An easy loop trail traverses scattered prairie ponds within a dry ecosystem suitable for one of the state’s most endangered birds, the Florida scrub-jay. 
Lake Wales Ridge Big Bay Trail Traversing sandhill, pine flatwoods, and bayhead habitats, the Big Bay Trail offers a one mile loop with an optional 1.7-mile spur trail featuring two primitive campsites. 
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