Travelogue – Clermont, Florida

Rarely do you ever see rolling hills in Florida, but running down the spine of the sunshine state is Lake-Wales Ridge, a 100-mile white sand ridge that tops out at 312 feet, the highest natural point in the state called Sugarloaf Mountain…. Not to be confused of course with the other Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro.

About 10 miles south of here on the same sand ridge is a pretty little place called Clermont. We were there this past weekend for a swim meet at the National Training Center staying at an AirBnB a couple of miles from the historical downtown area.

Clermont was originally developed in the mid 1950’s as part of Florida’s citrus industry and large expanses of land were simply orange groves. Sadly the juicy days of Florida’s citrus boom are not what they were due to intensifying hurricane seasons, but more fundamentally falling citrus yields from citrus greening during the last 20 years.

Citrus greening is a plant disease caused by bacteria and spread rapidly through Florida in the first decade of this century increasing tree mortality, reducing the marketable yield and increasing production costs.

All of which has meant that Florida’s citrus production has declined from 300 million cartons produced during the 2003-04 season to just 22 million in 2022-23. The larger juice brands are now more likely to blend Florida’s crop with that from Mexico and Brazil. Take a look at the label next time you pick up a carton of Tropicana.

The changing climate, also being felt in Florida, will also continue to impact its citrus business.

Like many places a lot of the rolling hills that were covered in citrus groves are now houses and Clermont and the surrounding areas of Minneola, Groveland and Winter Garden have obviously seen vast population growth, but it is also because it’s a welcoming place to live, and just 22 miles from the Disney Parks.

There are lakes everywhere here, 11 in total the largest being Lake Louisa at 3,573 acres on the surface. All of the lakes feed each other and is connected to the Palatlakaha River, a water haven for outdoor sports enthusiasts.

The town on Clermont is situated in between two lakes and has a mix of restaurants, coffee places, shops and an art centre. There are also some historical sites maintained by the Lake County Historical Society.

On Saturday afternoon we strolled along Lake Minneola’s waterfront and braver souls than me were swimming, similar souls were drinking by the fishing pier at the Salt Shack.

There were two breweries in town, Clermont Brewing Company and Suncreek, the former serving a hoppy little IPA, which paired well with a few smoked pulled pork tacos.

The area of Clermont is nicknamed the Choice of Champions, which took me down a dark hole of finding out why, but it’s very outdoorsy and the aquatics centre is not the only destination for athletes in the vicinity. There are many year-round triathlons, plus many cycling and hiking trails around the picture perfect lakes and hills.

Standing at 226 feet tall in deference to the area’s citrus industry is the Citrus Tower. Built in 1956 there is an observation tower atop and although citrus groves can be picked out in the surrounding areas, it is also a great way to see the topography.

You can still pick fruit at Showcase of Citrus. Summer’s are quiet but winter brings oranges, tangerines and limes, whereas spring months hold more tangerine varieties as well as grapefruit and lemons.

Our AirBnB host was kind enough to leave a bottle of Lakeridge Vineyard wine out for us. This place has been on my ‘to explore’ list since we moved to Florida and the winery is 8 miles from Clermont. Unfortunately we never made it, but the website lists a whole range of events going on there at weekends, and they have free winery tours throughout the week.

The wine, called Southern Red, from the muscadine grape was bloody awful.

I was somewhat taken by the hills and lakes of Clermont, and there is plenty to do for a long weekend. I wish however I’d have visited when orange groves dominated the land as that would have been pretty spectacular.