Biking The Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive

Friday, February 11, 2022 

Hi Blog!

After a great paddle on the Wekiva River, we decided to take the bikes out for a spin along the Lake Apopka Loop Trail. The multi-use trail is 34.4 miles around the lake, with 17 miles right along the lake shore. Unfortunately, the access point we hoped to use was closed for construction. However, we were advised we could reach the bike trail by driving the first part of the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. The Wildlife Drive is a one-way 11-mile drive that begins at Lust Road and ends on Jones Road. The drive is only open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays between sunrise and sunset.  Lucky for us it was Friday - at least we thought it was lucky.

We spent the first two miles on the Wildlife Drive in bumper to bumper traffic. As each car passed a gator, a large telephoto lens came out the passenger window. The car would roll forward an 100 yards and process would repeat.   We realized it might have been better to plan our bike ride for the days the road was not open for car traffic.

Here is what everyone was looking at:

Don't let the below image of the wide open road fool you. This was a photo of the bike trail. We thought you would appreciate this photo more than a long line of cars!

We learned that Lake Apopka is widely known for its bird population.  The list of birds found here continues to grow, with 362 species seen on the property. They include Anhinga, Bald Eagle, Black Vulture, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Glossy Ibis, Little Blue Heron, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red Winged Blackbird, Swallow-tailed Kite, Tricolored Heron, Turkey Vulture and White Ibis. Other wildlife found here include alligator, turtles, bobcat, otter, raccoon, snakes and coyote.   We must have seen most of these on our outing!

The marshes along the road make a great nesting area for Great Blue Heron.

The 20,000 acres that make up the Lake Apopka North Shore marsh, were once part of the lake itself. However, these valuable wetlands were separated from the lake in 1941 by a large levee designed to create land for muck farming. This decreased the size of Lake Apopka from more than 50,000 acres to just over 30,000 acres. Lake Apopka is the state’s fourth-largest lake and is fed by a natural spring, rainfall and storm water runoff. 

Lake Apopka was once considered Florida’s most polluted large lake. It suffered a century of abuse beginning in the 1890s.  The increase in phosphorus discharged into the lake led to a chronic algal bloom, and Lake Apopka’s waters turned pea green. The cloudy water prevented sunlight from reaching underwater vegetation critical to fish and wildlife habitat. 

The Wildlife Drive follows several of the old dikes that were used to drain the marshes for farming.

In 1996, Florida provided funds to buy additional agricultural lands north of the lake. Restoration of these farmlands to functioning wetlands has helped the cleanup efforts. The creation of a marsh flow-way system filters Lake Apopka’s waters by circulating lake water through restored wetlands. 

The pump house pictured below takes water from the lake and sends it back into the marsh.

A hungry Great Blue Heron watches to see if the pump bring any tasty treats into the canal.

We left our Jeep in the pump house parking lot. We had a choice go right and share part of the Apopka Loop Trail with the car tourists, or go left and pedal down to Magnolia Park. We chose left and pedaled down the open road.

Normally, we could bike five miles in about 30 minutes. However, the wildlife kept stopping us for photos. The anhinga love to perch on the side of the lake to dry their wings.

The ibis looks for tasty morsels in the shallow pools.

This triumvirate of ducks seemed to enjoy the calm waters.

As we made our way down the path, we always kept one eye out for the gators.

They seemed to content themselves with basking in the sun just below the path.

The water pumped into the marsh makes its way down to outflow pipes like this one.

 

It's not every day you see a blue heron by the side of the road. They usually are very quick to fly away as we approach.  This one gave us time to snap a photo before leaving in a huff.

We saw several pairs of osprey. Some were flying by with an afternoon snack, while others rested high in the trees.

The occasional palm tree provided a shady respite from the hot Florida sun.

As we turned away from the lake shore, we entered into the marsh. We stopped to admire this lovely little hammock.

As we reached Magnolia Park, we encountered a locked gate. The park trailhead and boat launch were closed for reconstruction. A couple of over-dressed road bikers just ignored the fence and carried their bikes around the barricade. We, in contrast, decided to make this our turnaround and made our way back to the pump house. The ride back allowed us to see things in a new light.

It's not often you see four anhinga in a single tree!

We were hoping that, by the time we got back in the Jeep, most of the Wildlife Drivers would be off the road. Unfortunately, it was just as crowded at the first two miles. We hope to come back and pedal more of the trail, but we'll make sure to come back when the driving road is closed.