Outdoor Orlando



Your Disney hotel is a comfortable home-away-from-home, but it’s hardly Orlando’s finest destination. Central Florida is one of the U.S.’ most varied landscapes. These outdoor attractions will make those oft-trod and overrun theme parks look like your local mall, so long as you’re not too afraid of gators.


Boggy Creek: Airboating in the Central Florida Everglades



We don’t normally associate Central Florida with the Everglades, but over half of the state is packed with subtropical marshlands. Boggy Creek’s airboating tours allow the Disney crowd to experience Florida’s wilds without straying outside the Kissimmee bounds. Daily tours, according to the Boggy Creek website, showcase “wetlands, cypress trees, and wildlife,” including “alligators, turtles, and birds.” For the truly adventurous, nighttime boating tours offer the best chance to see gators in their natural habitat. Apart from the cool allure of the gators, the airboats themselves prove exciting: they skim the marsh’s surface at 45 miles per hour.

Visit: http://www.bcairboats.com/


The Wallaby Ranch: User-Friendly Hang Gliding



This Orlando mainstay claims to be “the first and largest aerotow hang gliding flight park in the world,” allowing its visitors all the thrill of unencumbered flight without an extensive training and testing period. Through their aerotow method and by using two-place hang gliders, Wallaby offers a relatively simple tandem flight experience. Even young children can safely participate in two-place hang gliding, bolstered by the ranch’s longtime instructors. The ease and accessibility that the Wallaby Ranch offers make hang gliding the perfect diversion from a park-heavy vacation.

Visit: http://www.wallaby.com/


Gators Fishing: Big Bass with a Local Dude



Large-mouth bass fishing is, by all accounts, Orlando’s most thrilling outdoor activity, and there’s no better way to experience it than on a private tour with a dedicated guide. Gators’ catch-and-release action takes place on metropolitan Orlando’s Lake Conway, where patrons can expect to see alligators, eagles, otters, and assorted other wildlife while hooking their bass. Though the tours are a bit pricey, the experience is well worth it; half-day adventurers can expect to interface with about 60 bass, while a full day’s fishing produces around 100. Also, Gators offers fiberglass reproductions of your best catch for your rec room wall.

Visit: http://www.gatorbass.com/


Ocala National Forest: That Big Green Splotch on the Map



Ocala’s website warns visitors (twice in close succession) to “Be Bear Aware!” This dictum is either enticing or frightening, depending on how much you like bears. For the bear aware, the forest offers a range of campground accommodations, from relatively luxurious cabins to “primitive” setups. For the pleasure of hikers, Ocala also offers a length of the Florida National Scenic Trail, which runs 67 miles through forests, boardwalk-plated swamps, and prairies, as well as the Yearling Trail, named for the classic movie filmed on the forest’s grounds. This massive preserve is a perfect natural respite from overdeveloped Orlando.

Visit: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/florida/recreation/index_oca.shtml

Silver Springs: “Nature’s Theme Park”



Situated near Ocala, Silver Springs is Central Florida’s natural alternative to Disney. Though the park houses traditional attractions like a carousel and a petting zoo, it’s designed to preserve the integrity of its landscape. Visitors will want to tour the grounds in glass bottom boats: they’re the best way to see the constant production of the namesake springs, which produce “550 million gallons of sparkling-clear water a day” according to the park’s website. The park also offers extensive wildlife habitats, including one of the world’s largest bear exhibits, the white alligator-housing “Big Gator Lagoon,” and the “Panther Prowl.” Sure beats another day with the Mouse.

Visit: http://www.silversprings.com/