Glades County sits along the northwestern shoreline of Lake Okeechobee, with more than 42 miles of lakefront. Lake Okeechobee is the nation’s second largest freshwater lake and plays host to a number of professional fishing tournaments each year.

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES                       
January    High:  74F    Low:  51F
 July        High:  91F    Low:  72F 

TRAVEL ACCESS     
Our primary access is via US Highway 27, two-and-a-half hours south of Florida’s Turnpike.
1 hour from Fort Myers
1.75 hours from West Palm Beach
2.5 hours from Orlando
2 hours from Miami
            
The closest major airport is Southwest Florida International in Fort Myers, approximately one hour away, with Orlando International Airport approximately three hours away Both airports are serviced by most  domestic and international carriers and offer ample ground transportation, including most rental car agencies.        
                        
ACCOMMODATIONS
Glades County is home to three motels and 12 RV parks and campgrounds.  A variety of accommodations are available, including hunting and fishing lodges, hotels, motels, bed and breakfast inns and lakeside resorts.

ATTRACTIONS & ACTIVITIES  
Fishing and Boating – Known as the “Speckled Perch Capital of the World,” Lake Okeechobee is renowned for its abundance of speckled perch (crappie), largemouth bass, catfish and bream. Marinas, bait and tackle shops and guide services are scattered along the shores of Lake Okeechobee and its surrounding waterways, including the Kissimmee River, Fisheating Creek and the Caloosahatchee River. The Okeechobee Waterway, designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, extends to the Gulf of Mexico via the Caloosahatchee River and to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lucie Canal.

Hunting – Lake Okeechobee attracts a large number of wintering ducks and is popular for duck hunting. Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area allow for large and small game, migratory game birds and turkey to be taken during the archery, muzzleloading gun, general gun and spring turkey seasons. At Silver Lake Preserve in Muse in Glades County,

Wildlife Watching – Abundant wildlife are found along the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, the Great Florida Birding Trail, Ortona Lock Recreation Area and Fisheating Creek, including the new Ft. Center Trail, Fisheating Creek, and Fisheating Creek Campground. Florida bird species found include sandhill cranes, crested caracaras, scrub-jays, egrets, herons, wintering waterfowl, burrowing owls, grasshopper sparrows and swallow tail kites. Visitors may also spot wild turkeys, bobcats, river otters, gopher tortoises and box turtles.

Chappy’s Outfitters in Lakeport offer expeditions on Lake Okeechobee by airboat. River Forest Yacht Center and the City of Moore Haven will be offering water taxi tours of Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River in the summer of 2009.

Canoing and kayaking - Many waterways around the Lake Okeechobee offer ideal conditions for non-motorized boating. Fisheating Creek Outfitters provides canoe and kayak rentals on Fisheating Creek, where wildlife is abundant. The Kissimmee and Caloosahatchee Rivers and Lake Okeechobee have recreation areas providing canoe and kayak launching areas.

Hiking, Cycling & Riding – The Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, part of the Florida National Trail, features a primitive roadway for hiking and cycling following levees and water control structures built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park offers more than 100 miles available for hiking, off-road cycling and equestrian use.

Other Attractions – Acres of Florida’s largest lizards can be seen at Palmdale’s Gatorama, also featuring crocodiles, monkeys, raccoons and birds. Visitors can visit the Brighton Seminole Casino, while the Ortona Mound Park in Ortona is the site of prehistoric canals and the remnants of five ceremonial mounds with hiking trails and interpretive kiosks.