Winter Garden is a small town in Orange County, Florida, located just west of Orlando. It is a quickly expanding community that is becoming a hub for shopping and is also home to the West Orange Trail. It is known for being an upscale suburb of Orlando and is frequented by locals for its attractive downtown area on Plant Street.
Understand
The town is on the shore of Lake Apopka, one of several large lakes surrounding Greater Orlando. To the east of Winter Garden are the inner suburbs of Orlando, as the town is on the eastern fringes of the metropolitan area, the center of which is 14 mi (23 km) away. Winter Garden was founded by Henry Harrel in 1857, and was called "Beulah" before receiving its current name. In 2019 its population was 46,000.
Get in
By plane
Winter Garden, like most of Central Florida, is served primarily by the Orlando International Airport (MCO IATA).
By car
The easiest way to get to Winter Garden from the Airport is the highway. Winter Garden is located next to two highways: Florida's Turnpike and SR 429. There is a network of Orlando highways in a somewhat grid-like pattern on which Winter Garden is a part.
By bus
- Lynx. bus 105 runs hourly from downtown Orlando just south of downtown Winter Garden along Colonial Rd. $2/trip, $4.50/day pass.
Get around
Downtown is small enough to walk around.
See
- 🌍 Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, ☏ +1 407 656-3244, museum@wghf.org.
- History Research & Education Center, 21 E Plant St, ☏ +1 407 656-3244. Th-F 11AM–3PM.
- 🌍 Winter Garden Heritage Museum, 1 N Main St, ☏ +1 407 656-3244. Tu-Sa 11AM–3PM. A small museum with several exhibits about the history of Winter Garden and the surrounding county. free.
- 🌍 Central Florida Railroad Museum, 101 South Boyd St, ☏ +1 407 656-0559, info@cfrhs.org. Tu-Sa 11AM–3PM. Shares the history of railroading in Central Florida through photos, exhibits, maps, signage, charts, historic railroad artifacts and more. The last room, the Ken Murdock Gallery, is only open on Saturdays. free.
- 🌍 Lake Apopka. The state's fourth largest lake, Lake Apopka is 12 mi (19 km) long and 10 mi (16 km) wide. It is a part of the St. Johns watershed. The lake was known in the mid-20th century for its bass and was a popular destination for anglers. However, human activities, including the construction of a levee in 1941 and the introduction of pesticides to the lake in 1980, caused significant damage to the local environment. During the 1990s work began to reverse this environmental damage, and by 2010 the condition of the lake had improved substantially. In 2014 a hiking trail near the lake was opened to the public.
- Winter Garden Farmers Market, 104 S Lakeview Ave, ☏ +1 407 656-4111. Sa 8AM-1PM. Award-winning farmers market that operates weekly year-round.
Do
- 🌍 West Orange Trail. A 22-mile paved trail going from Killarney, passing through Downtown Winter Garden, up to Apopka.
- 🌍 Oakland Nature Preserve, 747 Machete Tr, ☏ +1 407-905-0054.
Buy
- 🌍 Winter Garden Village. An outdoor shopping center containing numerous department stores and restaurants.
Eat
- 🌍 Chef's Table Restaurant, 99 West Plant St, ☏ +1 407 230-4837. M 4–9PM, Tu–Th 4PM–10PM, F–Sa 11AM–11PM, Su 11AM–9PM.
- 🌍 Mooncricket Grille, 14 W Plant St (near the junction of Plant St and Main St), ☏ +1 407 905-5325.
- 🌍 Urban Flats, 132 W Plant St, ☏ +1 407 614-2765, freshfunandhip@urbanflats-wintergarden.com. M–W 11AM–9PM, Th–Sa 11AM–10PM, Su 11AM–8PM.
- Plant Street Market, 426 W Plant St. M-Sa 10AM-7PM, Su 10AM-6PM. Local indoor artisan market with a variety of food vendors.
Drink
- Crooked Can Brewing Co, 426 W Plant St, ☏ +1 407 395-9520. Su-Th 11AM-11PM, F-Sa 11AM-midnight.
Sleep
- 🌍 Historic Edgewater Hotel, 99 West Plant St, ☏ +1 407 654-6921. A local Bed-and-Breakfast Hotel in the heart of Historic Downtown Winter Garden.
Connect
Go next
| Routes through Winter Garden |
Wildwood ← Jct N  S ← |
N  S |
→ Orlando → West Palm Beach |