This post may contain affiliate links, where I receive a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you. Please read my Affiliate Disclosure for more info.
Unexpected travel finds are among the greatest of all. Right? Especially during times like these when they’re a handy day trip away from home.
You set off to explore the great outdoors and happen upon a gem that’s been there all along and you never even knew about it.
That’s what happened when we visited Lake Placid.
That’s Lake Placid, Florida, not New York.
If you like wall murals, lakes, plants and soaking in small-town charm, you’ll be intrigued by this Lake Placid, nicknamed The Town of Murals and The Caladium Capital of the World.
That’s because it’s home to most of the world’s caladium farms.
Murals, Murals on the Wall
Lake Placid is tucked away over in Highlands County, in what’s known as Florida’s Lake Country, just south of Sebring, the county seat, along U.S. Route 27.
So we drove into this central Florida town, with a population of about 2,000, not knowing anything about the murals until we started noticing them everywhere.
I mean they’re everywhere. There are almost 50 murals in the downtown area. I’m only including pictures of a few since there are too many to post, but if you go you’ll see them.
We literally pulled over to look at this beautiful mural of a huge field of caladiums growing in rows under a blue, blue Florida sky. It’s painted on the side wall of a garage in the downtown area.
The day we stopped by, there was an old red pickup parked in front of it. It looked like part of the drawing, called Caladium Fields, by artist Thomas Freeman.
Here’s Annabel standing in front of it.
Take a casual stroll along North Main Avenue and you’ll run into so many more wall murals.
Like these beautiful murals between two buildings at Lake Placid Noon Rotary Park.
It’s hard to tell where the painting stops and reality begins in many of the murals.
This little park is home to two sets of murals. One features a couple bird watching and the other is called Layers of Time.
The murals show local happenings and history.
Lakes Everywhere
Lakes and citrus groves seem to pop up around every turn in the area.
In fact, the greater Lake Placid area has 29 named lakes, including Lake Istokpoga, Florida’s fifth largest lake.
Here’s Lake Clay, one of the many local lakes.
Did You Know …
A few more facts about this southern town:
- Lake Placid hosts an annual Caladium Festival every July;
- It’s home to Toby’s American Clown Museum and School, which lays claim to being the only American clown museum in the world.
- Reader’s Digest named it America’s Most Interesting Town for 2013.
- It has a winery, Henscratch Farms Winery, on where else … Henscratch Road.
Unexpected travel finds are the best.
Especially when they’re in your own neck of the woods!
No Comments