{"id":254109,"date":"2026-05-01T15:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/254109\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:50:08","slug":"10-amazing-old-florida-roadside-attractions-scenic-winter-park-boat-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/254109\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Amazing Old Florida Roadside Attractions: Scenic Winter Park Boat Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Winter<\/a><\/p>\n

passengers enjoy a sunny day on The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour. Photo by Roberto Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

THIS IS A QUINTESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE FOR ANYONE VISITING WINTER PARK OR THE SURROUNDING AREAS. It\u2019s easy, it\u2019s quick (about 60 minutes for the regular tour), and it\u2019s one-of-a-kind. Where else can you see Rollins students living their best life alongside gigantic historic mansions, alligators, canals, and the occasional otter? Nowhere else, that\u2019s for sure. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done all the boat tour iterations; the private tour with the then-company I worked for; nothing says company bonding like being stuck on a small pontoon boat for an hour with your overbearing boss and co-workers. We\u2019ve tried the holiday version, done at night on select evenings during the Christmas season, where hot chocolate was served on the dock and Christmas stories are told during a moonlit tour, complete with cookies and candy. And we\u2019ve done the tried and true (and honestly best in our opinion) traditional cruise that sets sail every hour from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. seven days a week.<\/p>\n

When visitors come to town, this is one of our first stops. It\u2019s quick, it\u2019s impressive, and they always love it. A few years back, we took our friends on the boat tour, and I decided to wear a hat that day; well it flew off when the boat picked up speed, and I assumed the worst-case scenario would be my hat falling into Lake Osceola. Boy was I wrong; it did not fall into the water, but rather into the back of the boat near the propeller, getting repeatedly soaked and chopped for the duration of our ride. I couldn\u2019t even wait around for the ultimate embarrassment of them finding I was the hat\u2019s owner. I hurried out of the boat and up the ramp as quickly as possible, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever scooted off a boat and up the dock faster.<\/p>\n

\"Adobestock<\/a><\/p>\n

A narrow canal connections two of Winter Park\u2019s famed lakes. adobe.stoc.com\/ Keith J Sfinx<\/p>\n

Established in 1938, The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour <\/a>offers visitors and locals alike a relaxed way to explore one of Central Florida\u2019s most picturesque communities. The standard hourlong guided cruise takes riders through the lakes and narrow canals that make up the Winter Park Chain of Lakes. The tour showcases the area\u2019s natural beauty, from local wildlife and lush vegetation to grand waterfront mansions and historic homes that line the shoreline. It also lets you peek into people\u2019s backyards, and gasp as riders don\u2019t duck soon enough before underpasses. <\/p>\n

Along the route, passengers glide past landmarks like famed Rollins College, Kraft Azalea Garden and the Isle of Sicily while learning about the history and character of the surrounding neighborhoods. The dock sits on Lake Osceola at the east end of Morse Boulevard, less than five minutes from Park Avenue, Winter Park\u2019s well-known shopping and dining district. <\/p>\n

Seating is first come, first served, though private tours and groups larger than 18 passengers can be arranged by phone. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 2 to 11. This classic attraction is only closed on Christmas Day. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"passengers enjoy a sunny day on The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour. Photo by Roberto Gonzalez. THIS IS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254110,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-254109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}