Besides the wild horses, roaming peacocks and nine distinct ecosystems, now I have another grand excuse to head out to Florida EcoSafaris at Forever Florida. It’s called the Cypress Canopy Cycle (think reclining bicycle suspended from a network of high-tension cables.).
In other words, guests pedal their way through the treetops at heights of up to 25 feet. The hourlong excursion is a whimsical, winding journey over the pine flatwoods and through Turkey Slough, a gorgeous area of forested wetland that makes up Forever Florida’s conservation area. Overall, it’s about 4,700 acres worth of natural beauty.
That means, if you pay a visit, you’ll be surrounded by gurgling streams, forests, pastures, wetlands and wide-open spaces that are completely untouched and exactly what they were intended to be. If you’re lucky, you may also spot some of Florida’s natural residents along the way as you pass over the home of white tail deer and through the treetop habitats of woodpeckers, owls and countless other canopy residents.
Guests will also cycle their way over a pond housing George, a popular 13-foot gator that has called Forever Florida home for the last 60-plus years. Open only a few weeks, the innovative new attraction is the first of its kind in the United States and only the second in the world.
Forever Florida
4755 N. Kenansville Road, St. Cloud (an hour southeast of Orlando)
407-957-9794, ext. 1
www.foreverflorida.com