Winter Garden

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 === lists the intercity bus companies serving the Orlando Metropolitan area from all parts of the state. The 1 Winter Garden Bus stop in front of the Winter Garden Regional Shopping Center serves as the transfer point between LakeXpress (Lake County) and Lynx Bus (Orange County): Lynx, (first/last stop) Winter Garden Shopping Center (SR-50 & Park Ave), ☏ +1 407 244-0808. Lynx operates public transportation for the Greater Orlando Metropolitan area in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties: $2/trip, $4.50/day pass. (updated Jun 2023) Link 25 Goes by the Greyhound Bus Station on 555 S John Young Pkwy. Passengers transfer between the 105 and the 25 bus along W Colonial Dr (SR-50) between Ferguson Dr and John Young Pkwy. Link 105 runs hourly from Orlando Lynx Central Station in downtown Orlando to W Colonial Dr (SR-50) & Park Ave at Winter Garden Shopping Center via West Oaks Mall. The route begins/ends at the Winter Garden Shopping Center at W Colonial (SR-50) and Park Ave. Link 812 NeighborLink (shuttle). Door to door service from Winter Garden Shopping Center, appointment required. Lynx does not operate cross-county services to Lake County in the west from Winter Garden. LakeXpress 50 (Lake County Transit), (first/last stop) SR-50 in front of Winter Garden Shopping Center, ☏ +1 352 323-5733. Bus 50 continues west from Winter Garden Shopping Center towards Mascotte via Clermont in Lake County on FL-Hwy 50. $1 for One-Way Fare, $3 for Day Pass. (updated Jun 2017) == Get around == Downtown is small enough to walk around. == See == 1 Winter Garden Heritage Foundation, ☏ +1 407 656-3244, museum@wghf.org. (updated Jun 2021) 2 History Research & Education Center, 21 E Plant St, ☏ +1 407 656-3244. Th-F 11AM–3PM. (updated Jun 2021) 3 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. (updated Jun 2023) 4 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. (updated Jun 2023) 5 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. (updated Jun 2021) == Do == 1 West Orange Trail. A 22-mile (35 km) paved trail going from Killarney, passing through Downtown Winter Garden, up to Apopka. 2 Oakland Nature Preserve, 747 Machete Tr, ☏ +1 407-905-0054. (updated Jun 2021) == Buy == 1 Winter Garden Farmers Market, Winter Garden Pavillion @ 104 S Lakeview Ave (S Lakeview Ave & Tremaine St in downtown), ☏ +1 407 656-4111. Sa 8AM-1PM. Award-winning farmers market that operates weekly year-round. (updated Jun 2023) 2 Winter Garden Regional Shopping Center, 14001-14221 W Colonial Dr (SR-50) (W Colonial Dr & Park Ave). Aldi Food Market, Anytime Fitness, Harbor Freight Tools, Dollar General, Pet Supermarket, Regional Bank, Gochi's Japanese, Kitchen, Little Caesars Pizza, Regino Bike Co, Servando Mexican Restaurant, Captain D's, etc etc. (updated Aug 2023) 3 Winter Garden Village, 3041 Daniels Rd. An outdoor shopping center containing numerous department stores and restaurants. (updated Jun 2025) == Eat == 1 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. 2 Mooncricket Grille, 14 W Plant St (near the junction of Plant St and Main St), ☏ +1 407 905-5325. (updated Jun 2021) 3 Urban on Plant, 132 W Plant St, ☏ +1 407 614-2765. M–Th 11:30AM-9PM, F 11:30AM-10PM, Sa 10:30AM-10PM, Su 10:30AM-9PM. (updated Jun 2021) 4 Plant Street Market, 426 W Plant St (Plant St & Central Ave, west of downtown core). M-Sa 10AM-7PM, Su 10AM-6PM. Local indoor artisan market with a variety of food vendors. (updated Jun 2023) == Drink == 1 Crooked Can Brewing Co, 426 W Plant St (South end of the Market Street Market Building towards Smith St), ☏ +1 407 395-9520. Su-Th 11AM-11PM, F-Sa 11AM-midnight. (updated Jun 2023) == Sleep == == Connect == == Go next == Apopka Orlando