Weeki Wachee Preserve (also given as Weekiwachee Preserve) is an 11,206 acre preserve in Hernando County, Florida. The preserve is located at 2345 Osowaw Boulevard in Spring Hill, Florida. The preserve offers recreational opportunities including hiking and bike trails, fishing, birding, hunting and boating for hand-launched non-gasoline engine crafts. [1]
The site is known for its population of black bears. It is Site 69 on the west section of the Great Florida Birding Trail. [1]
The preserve was previously used as a limestone mine until 1995 when it was acquired by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Hernando County provided funds to help SFWMD to obtain the land through their Environmentally Sensitive Lands Program. [2] Between 1995 and 1996 a total of 7,136-acres were purchased for 15.1 million dollars. The additional 4,070-acres were obtained between 1997 and 2001. The limestone mines have since filled with water and are now manmade lakes. In 1997, the SFWMD proposed their "Plan for the Use and Management of the Weekiwachee Preserve." Originally, there was no fishing or boat launching of any kind within the preserve when it was first opened to public. Dogs were also not allowed in the preserve until 2020. Swimming was going to be permitted "only within a proposed beach and picnic complex." In the original plans but this complex was never realized. Swimming is now strictly prohibited within the preserve. In addition to the preserve's proposed recreational uses, SFWMD wanted to use the area for environmental research.
Hernando County is a county located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 194,515. Its county seat is Brooksville, and its largest community is Spring Hill.
Bayport is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hernando County, Florida, United States. The population was 43 at the 2010 census.
Spring Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hernando County, Florida, United States. The population was 113,568 at the 2020 census, up from 98,621 at the 2010 census. Spring Hill belongs to Florida's Nature Coast region and is in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area. It is east of Hernando Beach, southwest of Brooksville, and north of Tampa.
Weeki Wachee is an unincorporated community and former city located in Hernando County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the community has a total population of 16. The 12,000-acre (4,900 ha) Weeki Wachee Preserve and the Weeki Wachee Springs park are located in the area. The park includes water rides, animal shows, mermaid costume shows, and manatee watching. The communities of Weeki Wachee Gardens and Spring Hill are nearby.
State Road 50 runs across the center of the U.S. state of Florida through Orlando, with its termini at SR 55 at Weeki Wachee and SR 5 in Titusville.
The Nature Coast is an informal, unofficial region of the U.S. state of Florida. The broadest definition of the Nature Coast includes the eight counties that abut the Gulf of Mexico along the Big Bend Coast defined by geologists: from west to east, Wakulla, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Levy, Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco counties. The name "Nature Coast" was originally devised as part of a marketing campaign to promote tourism in Levy, Citrus, Hernando, and parts of Marion and Pasco counties.
First acquired in 1977, Big Lagoon State Park is a 705-acre (2.85 km2) Florida State Park located on the northwestern Florida coast, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Pensacola on Gulf Beach Highway. It encompasses the northern boundary of Big Lagoon as it snakes toward Pensacola Bay to the east. Wild Grande Lagoon and its minor tributaries lay within the boundaries of the park, as does the alligator-inhabited Long Pond, a man-made freshwater pond.
The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a 145,188-acre (587.55 km2) wildlife sanctuary is located west of Boynton Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida. It is also known as Water Conservation Area 1 (WCA-1). It includes the most northern remnant of the historic Everglades wetland ecosystem.
Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park is a Florida State Park consisting of Lignumvitae Key, Shell Key, surrounding submerged lands, and a parcel at the northern end of Lower Matecumbe Key. The islands are located one mile west of U.S. 1 at mile marker 78.5, and can be reached only by private boat or tour boat.
Rainbow Springs State Park is a Florida state park located on U.S. 41, 3 miles (5 km) north of Dunnellon, Florida. It comprises 1,459.07 acres (5.9046 km2) upland and 12.83 acres (51,900 m2) submerged. The most significant natural feature is the first-magnitude headspring basin, which produces up to 600,000,000 US gallons (2,300,000 m3) of fresh water per day, forming the Rainbow River. The looking-glass waters of Rainbow Springs come from several vents, not one large bubbling spring. The river itself supports a wide variety of fish, wildlife, and plants, many within easy viewing by visitors. In total, the park contains 11 distinct natural communities, including sandhills, flatwoods, upland mixed forests, and hydric hammocks.
Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by "mermaids," women wearing fish tails as well as other fanciful outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spring of the Weeki Wachee River. A waterpark, Buccaneer Bay, river boat rides, kayak and paddleboard rental are some of the other activities offered at Weeki Wachee Springs.
The Withlacoochee River or Crooked River is a river in central Florida, in the United States. It originates in the Green Swamp, east of Polk City, flowing west, then north, then northwest and finally west again before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico near Yankeetown. The river is 141 miles (227 km) long and has a drainage basin of 1,170 square miles (3,000 km2).
The Southwest Florida Water Management District is one of five regional agencies directed by Florida state law to protect and preserve water resources. Established in 1961, the agency operates and maintains several large properties and flood protection projects, sometimes with other agencies. The District's responsibilities have expanded to include managing water supply and protecting water quality and the natural systems — rivers, lakes, wetlands, and associated uplands. The district's stated mission is to protect water resources, minimize flood risks, and ensure the public's water needs are met.
Colt Creek State Park is a Florida State Park in Central Florida, 16 miles (26 km) north of Lakeland off of State Road 471. This 5,067 acre park nestled within the Green Swamp Wilderness Area and named after one of the tributaries that flows through the property was opened to the public on January 20, 2007. Composed mainly of pine flatwoods, cypress domes and open pasture land, this piece of pristine wilderness is home to many animal species including the American bald eagle, Southern fox squirrel, gopher tortoise, white-tailed deer, wild turkey and bobcat.
Garden Grove is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Florida, in central Hernando County. The ZIP Code for this community is 34604. As of the 2010 census, Garden Grove had a population of 674.
Annutteliga Hammock is a 570-acre (2.3 km2) park and preserve in Weeki Wachee, Florida, Hernando County, Florida's the Brooksville Ridge and protects groundwater recharge. It connects with the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area and offers trails for hiking and horseback riding. It is located at 11019 Centralia Road.
Terra Ceia Preserve is a 1,932-acre (7.82 km2) preserve located in Manatee County, Florida north of Palmetto. The preserve is maintained and co-owned by Southwest Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
Aripeka Sandhills Preserve is a protected area of 209 acres (85 ha) west of US 19 near Aripeka and Hudson, Florida. It is managed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District and was purchased on November 8, 2007, as part of the 7,136-acre (2,888 ha) Weeki Wachee Preserve. It is part of a group of conservation lands extending north to the Crystal River Buffer Preserve, helping preserve the southernmost coastal hardwood hammock in western Florida. The preserve includes dense hardwood swamps and piney sandhills. It is located at 18000 Aripeka Road.
28°30′04″N82°37′26″W / 28.5011°N 82.624°W