Magnolia ParkA lovely 56-acre park located at 2929 South Binion Road in Apopka, deeded to Orange County in 1996. The park straddles the east and west sides of Binion Road.
On the eastern side of the park a half-mile paved roadway wraps around the heavily (Oak and Magnolia's) wooded perimeter. Amenities include four playgrounds, picnic tables, grills, pavilions, restrooms, basketball court, walking trails, volleyball, and 18 RV/campsites with electric, water and a dump station.
The western side of the park, adjacent to Lake Apoka, offers picnic tables, pavilions, restrooms and a free boat ramp. The Lake Apopka Loop Magnolia Park Trailhead is located at the northern point just beyond the parking area. The trail runs along the northern shoreline of the lake for more than 14 miles and forms the southern boundary of the Lake Apopka North Shore Restoration Area.
Magnolia Park information (PDF). |
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Western Side of Magnolia ParkThe western side of the park, adjacent to Lake Apoka, offers picnic tables, pavilions, restrooms and a free boat ramp. The Lake Apopka Loop Magnolia Park Trailhead is located at the northern point just beyond the parking area.
Lake Apopka is the third largest lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is located 15 miles northwest of Orlando, within the boundaries of Orange and Lake Counties. It's fed by a natural spring, rainfall and stormwater runoff.
Through the 1940s, Lake Apopka was one of Central Florida's main attractions. Anglers traveled from throughout the United States to fish for trophy-sized bass in Lake Apopka, and 21 fish camps lined the lake's shoreline.
The natural beauty belies the sad story of the lake, which has a history of more than 100 years of human alteration, beginning with construction of the Apopka-Beauclair Canal in 1888. In 1941, a levee was built along the north shore to drain 20,000 acres of shallow marsh for farming. The discharge of water, rich in nutrients from agricultural and other sources, produced conditions that created a chronic algal bloom and resulted in loss of the lake's recreational value and game fish populations.
Conservation and restoration efforts for the lake began in 1996 when Governor Lawton Chiles enacted the Lake Apopka Restoration Act. While conditions continue to improve the restoration has proved to be more complicated than originally envisioned.
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Lake Apopka Loop Trail (Mile 0) The Lake Apopka Loop Trail was proposed by the Friends of Lake Apopka almost a decade ago to boost appreciation for the suffering lake in Orange and Lake Counties. For now, the trail runs along the northern shoreline of Lake Apopka for more than 14 miles and forms the southern boundary of the Lake Apopka North Shore Restoration Area. When completed, the trails will eventually link up to the South Lake and West Orange Trails.
The first 4 miles of the trail are open to the lake, providing splendid views across the empty water. Alligators, herons, ospreys, egrets, eagles, hawks and other wildlife is quite common along the trail however noise created by the bike traversing bumpy terrain can often scatter wildlife.
The trail follows the top of a dike built around the northern side of the lake in the 1930's - 1940's. The dike allowed farmers to pump Lake Apopka water onto the muck lands where they truck-farmed for decades, and pump it back out again as the plants matured, creating white Zellwood corn, carrots, lettuce and other farm vegetables for market.
The system was engineered to use labor to cut the produce, toss it up to workers on a shaded platform truck driving slowly behind them who processed and loaded the vegetables into packing cartons. The cartons were then conveyor-belted off the back of the slow moving trucks into refrigerator trucks, which hauled the fresh vegetables straight to the freezer warehouse, all within 30 minutes of being picked. From there it was distributed directly to stores around the country. Today the farms are all silently gone, the land bought by the St. John Water Management group, but the canals, pumps, roads, bridges and dikes, and a lot of rusted steel remain.
With the exception of a paved 6/10th of a mile stretch beginning at the Magnolia Park Trailhead the remainder of the trail is unpaved and mainly composed of crushed cement, limestone and gravel, which varies in condition along the length of the trail. While it is hospitable for hiking and some biking, road bikes may have a difficult and uncomfortable journey. Hybrids and mountain bikes with wider tires will find the ride more comfortable. There is very little in the way of shade and comfort along the way, therefore bring along water, sunscreen, nourishment, bug repellent, cell phone, hat, tire pump and spare tubes. Restrooms and or porta potties, and shaded picnic areas are available at some trailheads.
Trailheads:
Magnolia Park on the eastern shore
North Shore
Clay Island on the western shore
Lake Apopka Loop Trail map (PDF). |
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Historic Pump House (Mile 4.0) |
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Magnolia Park and Apopka Loop Trail - End
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