The above images of orange crate labels celebrate the history of West Orange County as a source of citrus fruit to the United States. This webpage contains many resources to give you a feel for the local environment as well as important resources, such as schools, businesses, and utility companies, to help you relocate to Central Florida.

Parks and Recreation

    West Orange Trail, a 22 mile ling recreational trail is a refreshing, bucolic experience. Lorraine is a longtime advocate of this rail-trail. Call to schedule a bike tour to homes listed near the WOT, a good way to see the neighborhoods up close.

    Chapin Station 501 West Crown Point Cross Road, Winter Garden, is located on the West Orange Trail. This wonderful family destination includes two large playgrounds, basketball courts, tennis courts, and a beautiful garden called Bloom and Grow’s Path of Life, picnic pavilion and grills.

Oakland Nature Preserve

Oakland Nature Preserve is located on Oakland Avenue west of downtown Oakland is a 123-acre natural ecosystem including upland sand hills and a 3,000 foot long boardwalk through wetlands to the shore of Lake Apopka, a good place to spot some butterflies, alligators, and wading birds.

Tibet Butler Preserve and Vera Carter Environmental Center 8775 County Road 535 is a beautiful nature preserve with trails and an educational center with displays.

RD Keene Park and Boat Rampprovides public access to the Butler Chain of Lakes. It is located at 10900 Chase Road, Windermere.

     Newton Park Area 31 West Garden Avenue, Winter Garden, on the shoreline of Lake Apopka includes Farnsworth Public Swimming Pool, a large grassy area where the Orlando Philharmonic play once a year, a playground and boat ramp.

Golf
Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge offers two of the finest public golf courses.

Tennis
Lake Cane Tennis Center


Lakes
The Central Florida area has many beautiful lakes to enjoy. Some of the lakes are connected by rivers and canals and are called chains of lakes.  Waterfront homes are abundant. Please contact me to help you find your waterfront home. 

Below are a few pictures of just a few of the lakes. 

Lake Apopka




Butler Chain of Lakes



John's Lake

Business
    West Orange Chamber of Commerce

    Winter Garden Economic Development

Schools
    Orange County Public Schools
    Windermere Prep School
    Foundation Academy    
    Oakland Avenue Charter School


Towns


    Winter Garden  located on the southern shore of Lake Apopka is a charming town. Running through the center of old downtown, along Plant Street, is the West Orange Trail a former railroad track converted to recreational trail. People walk, bicycle, and rollerblade along this 19-mile scenic trail.  Restaurants and shops line the downtown where you can often hear live music in the evenings. The artsy town includes a music school, a dance school, and beautifully restored Garden Theater. Don’t miss the Spring Fever in the Garden Festival each April.  

    Windermere  named after England’s Lake Windermere is a small, elegant town surrounded by lakes. The lakes, part of the Butler Chain of Lakes (8 picturesque lakes connected by canals) are a wonderful boat ride. Windermere and its environs are known for luxury homes. 

        Oakland is a small, historic town located on the southern shore of Lake Apopka. The West Orange Trail (recreation bike/walk trail) runs through the picturesque town on its way to Lake County.  Huge live oak trees, un-paved roads, and Oakland Nature Preserve give it a distinctly natural feel. 


Utilities
    Progress Energy
    Telephone
    Cable TV/Internet

News
    West Orange Times
    Orlando Sentinel

TV Stations
    Channel 13
    WESH News

Shopping
Millenia Mall is upscale and beautiful. Located at 4200 Conroy Road, Orlando, it is the destination for luxury shopping.

Just down the road is Ikea, a popular European home-goods store with a nice restaurant.


Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves is the newest shopping district with separate stores and restaurants. It is located at 3251 Daniels Rd, Winter Garden.

The area around the intersections of Dr Phillips Blvd and Sand Lake Rd is a lovely shopping and dining area.

People from around the world, including locals go to Belz Factory Outlet Mall to shop for bargains. It is located at the intersection of Oakridge Road and International Drive. It has recently been rebuilt and is much swankier than it was a few years ago.

Dining
Downtown Winter Garden is a wonderful place to stroll, window shop and dine.

Chef's Table at the Edgewater is an intimate and elegant location for a date-night or small group event. This restaurant is getting wonderful reviews.

Arts
The Garden Theatre is Winter Garden's performing arts venue. This is a fully restored historic theatre.

Garden Music School offers lessons on many different instruments and voice.

Orlando offers a wide variety of arts and entertainment through several venues. Ticketmaster provides tickets for most large events.

Attractions
Walt Disney World
Sea World Orlando
Universal Studios Orlando