ORLANDO VACATION RENTALS, FLORIDA

Besides being home to enchanting theme parks, Orlando has another treasure in store, its national state parks, which give you plenty of reasons to enjoy the outdoors.

Put on your hiking shoes, grab a bottle of water and head out in the wilderness to explore and discover some of nature’s unique gifts. Situated in a quiet corner of the Iron Bridge, the Orlando Wetlands has a park with a 4-mile hiking/jogging trail. Besides the hiking/jogging trail, there is also an 18-mile roadway for biking. The park is open from 8 AM to ½ hour before sunset and is closed from October 1 to January 20. Another great place for hiking and biking is the Nature Conservancy Disney Wilderness Preserve, which has 7 miles of trails that range from a half-mile interpretive trail to a 4.5-mile hiking trail. It's open Monday through Friday in summer from 9am to 5pm; it's open daily from 9am to 5pm the rest of the year.

Situated between New Smyrna Beach and Kennedy Space Center, Canaveral National Seashore is just the place to be when you are looking for something more active to do. You can opt to hike through the several small loop trails or cover the entire 24 miles along the beach. For bikers there’s the 2.7-mile loop along tree-lined brick streets in the Lake Eola Heights and Lake Lawsona Historic Districts. A 3-mile ride in Lake Cherokee and Lake Copeland Historic Districts lets you pass through some of Orlando’s most beautiful neighborhoods.

Orlando provides anglers with a very good fishing experience. The Florida state fishing license might be required at some places. Most of them are fishing areas on banks, with adequate parking and boats available for rent. Anglers can fish in the Urban Ponds, which were created for those who love to eat their catch. Bear Creek, Barnett Park, Lake Island and Santiago are few of the lakes that were selected as Urban Ponds for the Central Florida Urban Fishery Project. Largemouth bass, black crappie, channel catfish and hybrid striped bass are found in Starke Lake, Turkey Lake, Shadow Bay, Kirkman Pond and Clear Lake, which come under a specific category of water-bodies as named by the Central Florida Urban Fishery Project.

Fishing in Florida requires you to have a fishing license, which you can purchase online or by calling the toll free number of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A fishing license is not required for anglers below the age of 16. You do need to buy either a salt water fishing license or a fresh water fishing license, depending on the kind of catch you are fishing for or the area where you want to fish.

Blue Spring State Park offers swimming and scuba diving in a clear 72° spring run. Tubing's a particular lure at this park, so jump into a big rubber tube and float down the waterway. Another state park for swimming is Wiveka, where you can immerse yourself in the waters of the Wekiwa Springs that pumps out an amazing 42 million gallons of fresh water daily. Disney’s Wide World of Sports is a gigantic sport complex where you can enjoy swimming along with a variety of other sport activities.

If you are here for scuba diving, do remember to register at the entrance station between the hours of 8 AM and 3 PM. This park is known throughout Florida for being a home to manatees; however, swimming or diving with manatees is prohibited.