sandy scrub hiking trail at Crooked Lake Prairie in Babson Park, FL

Crooked Lake Prairie

Situated on Polk County's only state-designated "Outstanding Florida Water Body," Crooked Lake Prairie is home of the less common northern harriers and kingfishers.

Crooked Lake Prairie is a 525 acre preserve in Babson Park. Due to it’s size, the preserve has 2 miles of sandy trails – 0.4 mile Lake View Trail and 1.6 mile Scrub Trail.

Hiking the Trails

Crooked Lake Prairie has the following 4 ecosystems: scrub, scrubby flatwoods, wet prairie and depression marsh.  It won’t take long for your to enjoy great views of Crooked Lake.

During your hike, be on the lookout for a wide variety of native plants including wiregrass, buttonbush, tarflower and Florida milkweed. You may also see a wide variety of animal life including wading birds, scrub jays, osprey, bald eagles, turkeys, coachwhip snakes and gopher tortoises.

LEARN & DISCOVER

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Crooked Lake Sandhill

Short hiking trail in Babson Park is home to sand skinks, gopher tortoises and eastern indigo snakes.

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