Winter Haven, between the lakes.
A local guide to Winter Haven's Chain of Lakes, downtown, Cypress Gardens history, family attractions, food, water-ski culture and the events happening right now — built for locals and visitors who want more than the theme-park brochure.
Start with what matters this week.
Start with the kind of day you want.
Winter Haven guides with a point of view.
Upcoming around Winter Haven.
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Go deeper than the event listing.
Things to do in Winter Haven beyond the obvious.
Winter Haven makes more sense when the Chain of Lakes, downtown, Cypress Gardens history and family attractions are treated as parts of the same city instead of unrelated stops. LEGOLAND may
Open guide →Where Winter Haven eats when the park day is over.
Winter Haven's food scene works best by geography and mood rather than a numbered ranking. Downtown has coffee, dinner, cocktails and breweries close to local events; the lake corridors add
Open guide →The Chain of Lakes is Winter Haven's real map.
Winter Haven says about fifty freshwater lakes sit within or along the city limits. Eight lakes form the North Chain and fourteen form the South Chain, connected in part by navigable canals.
Open guide →Cypress Gardens helped teach Florida how to entertain tourists.
Cypress Gardens opened in Winter Haven in 1936, decades before Central Florida became synonymous with giant theme parks. Its botanical gardens, Southern-belle imagery, Hollywood exposure and
Open guide →Water skiing grew up in Winter Haven.
The sport was invented elsewhere, but Winter Haven became one of the places that turned water skiing into a global spectacle. Cypress Gardens, Lake Eloise, generations of performers and a cu
Open guide →Downtown Winter Haven is where the city stops feeling like a highway corridor.
Central Park, the Ritz, locally owned restaurants, coffee, boutiques and recurring Main Street events give downtown a different rhythm from Cypress Gardens Boulevard. It is compact enough to
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