Colt Creek State Park is one of Florida’s newer state parks, being established in 2007 as the state’s 160th state park. It is located in Polk County, in Central Florida and is part of the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve.
The land was run as a cattle ranch for 60 years by the Overstreet family. Before that the park was used for lime rock mining, timber harvesting, citrus production and turpentining.
The 5,067 acre parcel of land was bought from the Overstreet family jointly by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Polk County Natural Resources Division.
It was purchased because of the important role the land plays within the Green Swamp floodplain, as the water from the property flows into four major Florida rivers: Withlacoochee, Hillsborough, Peace and Ocklawaha.
The lakes on the land look natural but actually formed recently in the 1990s. Rock mining activities went deep enough to hit the aquifer and the water flowed up and filled the pits.
On my first visit I went tromping off-trail deep into the park for miles and is probably my most memorable visit. In subsequent visits with my children, we mostly stuck to Lake Mac, which is the park’s centerpiece.
Activities at the park include fishing, hiking, paddling, horseback riding (gotta bring your own horse), birding, biking and now camping.
Camping is a somewhat new addition. When I first visited this park there was only special group camping (boy scouts and stuff like that), but now there are limited RV spots and tent camping. I would love to get some camping in before the park becomes overly developed.
Further Information
Location: 16000 SR 471, Lakeland FL 33809
Admission: $4 per vehicle
Hours: 8:00am – sundown
Website: Official Website
Phone: 863-815-6761
Doing it on the cheap…
$4 is for entry per vehicle is already super cheap. Still, the Florida State Park system has occasional free days. The best way to keep track of the free days is to either join their email list or to follow them on social media.
Canoes and kayaks can be rented for $8 for two hours and then $3 for each hour afterwards.
(updated 10/06/2019)
