Winter Garden, Florida: Plant Street, the West Orange Trail and Lake Apopka

Winter Garden grew up on the south shore of Lake Apopka, where early settlers farmed citrus and vegetables. In 1996, its downtown was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Downtown

The Garden Theatre opened in 1935 as a single-screen cinema, reopened in 2008 after a restoration, and today is owned and operated by the city. The Winter Garden Farmers Market runs every Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Downtown Pavilion on South Lakeview Avenue.

The West Orange Trail passes right through town. Orange County Parks runs its 22 paved miles from the Orange-Lake county line through Killarney, Oakland and Winter Garden, across US 441 and through downtown Apopka. It's open sunrise to sunset.

Lake Apopka

The St. Johns River Water Management District calls Lake Apopka the state's fourth-largest lake. On the North Shore, the district's Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive is an 11-mile, one-way route through the wetlands. Check the district's Lake Apopka North Shore page for the days and hours it's open to cars, and for any closures. In town, Newton Park sits on the shore, with a boardwalk and a boat ramp.

Horizon West, and the city line

Nearby in southwest Orange County, Horizon West is five mixed-use villages and a town center in unincorporated Orange County, a plan the county adopted in 1995. Before you rely on any city rule, look up the home on the Orange County Property Appraiser's site. Its Municipality field shows whether the home is inside Winter Garden or unincorporated, which decides who reviews permits and which code applies.

Before you tour

  • Downtown rules. In the Historic Downtown Architectural Overlay, set up in 2010, the city's Architectural Review and Historic Preservation Board advises on new construction, demolitions, renovations and upgrades.
  • New construction. If you buy a new home from the builder inside a community development district, Florida requires the contract to disclose that the district may levy taxes or assessments on top of county taxes. On a resale, ask the seller and read the tax bill.
  • HOA. Florida requires an association's disclosure summary before you sign a contract. Read the architectural rules too if you plan a pool, fence or addition.
  • Flood. The city says its engineering staff can usually provide a property's base flood elevation. Compare it with the home's elevation certificate, and check the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center.

Getting around

From City Hall on Plant Street, it's about 16.5 miles to Lake Eola in downtown Orlando by SR 50 and SR 408, 17 miles to Disney Springs by CR 535, and 26 miles to Orlando International Airport by Florida's Turnpike and SR 528. SR 429, the Western Beltway, runs from Apopka south to I-4 in Osceola County. We measured these on OpenStreetMap, so test the drive at the hour you'd make it.

Selling a Winter Garden home

Start with a written price opinion from a local agent within one business day, not an automated estimate. If you've already moved away, we can run the sale with video walkthroughs, local prep you can see in photos, and a closing you can sign remotely. Request your price opinion.

Buying in Winter Garden

See Winter Garden homes for sale, then start a buyer consultation to compare downtown and newer communities side by side. We'll cover the written buyer agreement before your first tour, in person or by live video.

Ackley Platinum Group is a team at Coldwell Banker Realty, with our office on Park Avenue in Winter Park, and the Ackley family has been in Central Florida real estate since 1984. This page is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules and maps change, so check the current source for any property.