Florida Getaways 2008

water by Terry Tomalin LAKE APOPKA Silhouettes of tree branches emerge from the water on Lake Apopka at sunset. Apopka pops Florida’s second-largest lake gets back in shape I n its heyday, Lake Apopka drew anglers from all around the world in search of trophy largemouth bass. The water was so clear, old-timers say, that a ﬁsherman could literally pick the ﬁsh he wanted to catch. But agricultural runoff took its toll, and by the late 1940s, the water was murky and most of the ﬁsh camps that lined the lake’s shores had shut their doors. Fast-forward 50 years. Turnpike Lake The 30,000-acre lake, which some folks overlook while driving on Florida’s Turnpike, is still not back to its former prime, but restoration projects and new public access are again attracting visitors and boaters. So much so that folks are ﬁshing again, says Jim Thomas, one of the founding directors of the Friends of Lake Apopka, a group that, since 1991, has lobbied to bring the lake back. With little advertising and only occasional press attention, visitors keep arriving, thanks in part to the Oakland Nature Preserve, a restoration area that Thomas and other Apopka boosters helped create. “I don’t know how they ﬁnd it,” says Thomas, who leads regular weekend walks called “Nature Creeps” through the preserve. Thomas is a fount of information, and tells not only of the nature and history of the lake, but the decadeslong struggle to improve it. The Oakland Nature Preserve is in Oakland, an Orange County town of about 1,000 on the lake’s south shore just west of Winter Garden. The preserve was created to educate the public about the lake and allow for more public access. A view from the ﬁrst section of the ONP boardwalk, donated by the Ella B. Sadler Trust. 8 Floridians.VISITFLORIDA.com http://www.Floridians.VISITFLORIDA.com

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Florida Getaways 2008 Contents Shorts: Visit A Port or Airport Deals: Join a Museum Water: On Lake Apopka Suite History Circus City Listings: Florida Vineyards Ad Index Florida Maps Looking Back: On Old Florida

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