Exploring Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park in Florida

Holy cow Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park is an incredibly beautiful state park! We arrived towards the beginning of February not expecting many flowers to be blooming, but turns out we are in Florida…where ANYTHING is possible!

No trail map to share with you all here. We pretty much just wandered aimlessly throughout this park and managed not to get lost, so I imagine that will be the same case for you!

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FLOWERS EVERYWHERE

Unfortunately all the photos I post today are not really in any particular order because as I said, we didn’t really follow one specific path. There are so many side trails and beautiful vegetation at Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park that we just kind of hopped from one row to another.

There was a small fee to get in ($6 per vehicle) but totally worth it to be wandering in this living fairy tale!

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REDS, PURPLES, AND PINKS

Yea, I’ll be honest I didn’t really memorize all the names of the different plants as we toured the plethora of flowers. However, the array of colors was on displayed even in the month of February! I can’t imagine how beautiful it most be in Spring or Summer!

*WARNING – FIRE ANTS*

FYI, if you are a native to the southern states you may be more situational aware than I was, but watch out for fire ants. While trying to make a pan of a beautiful pond, I managed to step in a fire ant mound and was immediately told by the ants I was not welcome.

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BEAUTIFUL PATHS

Among the beautiful vegetation, it is obvious that the property is well taken care of and it adds to the overall beauty of Alfred B Maclay Gardens State Park. We timed this visit perfectly it seemed as it wasn’t busy at all and there was a slight breeze on this warm 70ish degree day.

Butterflies were happy to jump from flower to flower and the pedals from the trees were almost raining down on us as we passed underneath them. It was quite the experience.







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PERFECT WEDDING VENUE

As we wondered around this park, we noticed a bunch of chairs set up along a gorgeous blue pond lined with perfectly trimmed hedges and greenery. Want a perfectly beautiful wedding venue? Apparently this place does allow for it, granted I imagine the prices match the beauty you get with it.

Oh, and check out this ridiculously long tree branch (above). This tree must be a best friend to the local squirrel population.

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TIPS AND TRICKS?

Bring a camera and a big memory card, you will need it. There is also a beautiful place along the lake to sit and relax and just take the area in if you get a chance. I have no idea if this place is hopping during the warmer months, but if it is anything like our visit, you will have a nice relaxing experience.

FYI, the bathrooms we found were a bit interesting as they are built into the previous household’s living quarters. The women’s restroom was on the side of the main house (complete with a bathtub). The men’s bathroom looks to be attached to an old workshop of sorts. Both fully functional, just a unique relieving experience.







OTHER FLORIDA ADVENTURES

6 Fun Things To Do at Walt Disney World’s Epcot

Exploring Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park

Exploring Lake Louisa State Park

Campground Review of Clerbrook Golf & RV Resort

Hillsborough River State Park

Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park

NOTE FROM THE WRITER

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Also be sure to check out Deanna’s food blog, The Harvest Skillet, when you get the chance! A lot of awesome and healthy recipes to use there!

Adventure On!