Looking for a fun day trip from Orlando? Located only 35 minutes from downtown Orlando and 45-minutes from Disney World, Clermont is a beautiful town with rolling hills and picturesque lakes.
Founded in 1884, Clermont’s undulating hills and wide open valleys made an ideal location for citrus groves, and by the early 1900’s this small town had become one of Florida’s largest citrus producers. Multiple freezes in the 1980’s unfortunately damaged the groves so badly that growers decided not to replant, and the land was eventually sold and turned into subdivisions. Today, Clermont is an ideal place to enjoy waterfront activities, pick fresh fruit, hike nature trails, and enjoy a variety of shops and restaurants. Read on to discover some of the best things to do in Clermont!
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DINE AND SHOP IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN CLERMONT
The beautiful brick-paved streets of historic downtown Clermont give this town a timeless quality. Peruse a variety of shops or grab a bite to eat at Montrose Street Market, a bustling food hall with vendors serving everything from poke bowls to BBQ to burgers. One of our first stops once we reached downtown was the art walk, a pedestrian walkway connecting Montrose Street and Minneola Avenue. Colorful murals painted by local artists and depicting scenes of Clermont’s history and Florida’s natural beauty line the walkway and make for fun photo ops!
STROLL LAKEFRONT PARK
When we were meandering the streets after enjoying the art walk, Hannah spotted an ice cream shop, so of course we had to stop at Yummis Frozen Yogurt and Cafe. After the girls loaded their ice cream with toppings, we took our sweet treats down to enjoy the views at Waterfront Park.
Located along Lake Minneola, Waterfront Park offers a beach area, fitness trail, and picnic spots, and also hosts numerous festivals throughout the year. It is also home to Champions Splash Park, which is open seasonally and has a splash pad and playground.
RIDE TO THE TOP OF THE CITRUS TOWER
The Citrus Tower in Clermont opened in 1956 and quickly became a famous landmark in Central Florida. Standing at 226 feet high, it provides a stunning 360 degree view of the hilly and lake-studded countryside. Tickets to ride to the top cost $11/adult and $7/child (ages 3-12). The ground floor of the Citrus Tower is home to a coffee shop, where you can choose from a variety of lattes, teas, refreshers, and baked goods.
ENJOY A TOUR AND TASTING AT LAKERIDGE WINERY
Did you know that Florida has its own native grape? Muscadine grapes are native to Florida and the southeastern United States and are known as the “Superfruit of the South” due to their high antioxidant levels. Established in 1989, Lakeridge Winery and Vineyards makes numerous wines from Florida’s muscadine grapes, and they hold daily tours and tastings, as well as “Weekends at the Winery,” family-friendly events that include food, live music, and lawn games.
Every August, Lakeridge Winery adds grape stomping to their Weekends at the Winery, and we recently got to enjoy this event during our visit to Clermont. For $5, you get one minute to stomp grapes and extract as much juice as possible. The winner of each round receives a $10 gift certificate. It was a lot of fun, although there was a bit of an ick-factor stepping into the barrel with grape mush–check out Hadassah’s face in the picture below! The beautiful backdrop and live music created a very pleasant atmosphere, and after the grape stomp we enjoyed relaxing under the shade of the live oaks, playing lawn games, and taking a self-guided tour to learn about muscadine grapes and the history of the vineyards.
CONNECT WITH NATURE AT LAKE LOUISA STATE PARK
Originally marked as part of the Seminole Indian Reservation by the Treaty of Moultrie Creek in 1823, the land around Lake Louisa was never used as a reservation, but was instead settled by the Hammond and Bronson families and then purchased by the state of Florida in 1973, eventually becoming a state park in 1977. The park consists of three lakes — Louisa, Hammond, and Dixie — plus twenty miles of unpaved trails, and is home to a multitude of wildlife such as bobcats, gopher tortoises, and bald eagles.
Lake Louisa State Park is open daily from 8am to sunset, and the cost to enter is $5/car. Lake Louisa is the only one of the three lakes to have designated swimming areas. In addition to swimming, popular activities in this park include hiking, biking, fishing, kayaking, and horseback riding.
If you are interested in taking a tour, P3 Lake Louisa offers popular two-hour segway tours. Starting at $59, the tours cover three miles and guides provide information about the nature and history of the park. They also offer 90-minute guided horseback riding tours, which start at $69/person, and two-hour guided eco-paddle tours, which start at $59/person.
If you are interested in extending your stay, Lake Louisa State Park offers both primitive camping and glamping, as well as fully equipped cabin rentals. Rentals can book up months in advance, so plan ahead!
PICK FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AT SOUTHERN HILL FARMS
Just a short drive from Lake Louisa State Park is Southern Hill Farms, a family-owned farm that offers seasonal u-pick for a variety of fruits and vegetables, as well as u-pick sunflowers, a fun zone with carnival-style rides and games, and an amazing fall festival!
We go to Southern Hill Farms every spring for their u-pick events. Although the exact dates and produce available vary by year, their strawberry u-pick is usually December-March, and from March-May they have blueberries and Florida peaches, plus vegetables such as onions, zucchini, yellow squash, jalapenos, and green beans. This year was the first time they also had blackberries available for u-pick, and they were huge and delicious! Their u-pick events also include rides, games, and plenty of delicious food. We recommend trying their blueberry donuts and frozen blueberry lemonade!
In the fall, Southern Hill Farms hosts a lively fall festival complete with a fun zone, live music, wagon rides, a pumpkin patch, and mouth-watering apple cider donuts and pumpkin muffins! Tickets must be purchased online in advance. We highly recommend stopping by Southern Hill Farms for festive family fun if you are visiting Clermont during one of their seasonal events.
We hope that you get a chance to try some of the amazing activities that Clermont has to offer. If you are looking for other things to do near Orlando, you can check out our Central Florida page here!
Sarah
I am the main writer and website designer for Florida Unveiled. I love the parts of Florida visitors don’t often see: the tea-colored water that flows in cypress-laden rivers; the chorus of frogs after a hard rain; the rustle of palmetto as an unseen creature scampers by. Some of my favorite places in Florida are the Everglades, the Keys, Smyrna Dunes Park, Bok Tower Gardens, Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, and St. Augustine’s Historic District.
