circle b bar reserve

We had a great morning wandering around the grounds.We saw a ton of animals, and walked the loop around the marsh. It would be a tad nicer with a few more signs to tell you where you are, got a bit turned around.It would have been cool to see the bobcats, but not this morning.The bald eagles were awesome to see and several herons were super close. The armadillos were cute too.A wonderful place to spend some time. Go early before it gets too hot if you are doing the loop. Not much shade.

What an absolut great place to visit. There is no entry charge to the reserve and you get to visit a truly magical world. Take your time to walk around the lake and spot the alligators and the many different birds. It will hopefully take your breath away as much as it took ours!

So glad a local couple told us about this place. Excellent walking paths for wildlife viewing. We saw many, many alligators of all sizes as well as several speciies of birds (Great Egret, Great Blues, Red shouldered hawk, Ibis, Anhinga, Osprey), racoons, and a great variety of plant life. A nice interpretive centre, slightly geared to children, but worth the stop, regardless. Plenty of parking (even though it was quite busy on Saturday afternoon), washroom facilities, good map. All of this, and it was free! What a terrific resource. Would definately return.

A local Floridian recommended this fairly new nature reserve to us for hiking and bird-watching. WOW! This is a 1,200 acre reserve on Lake Hancock just south east of Lakeland. You enter the reserve from Winter Lake Road. It's FREE! Plenty of picnic sites. easy parking. Bathrooms...includes a very well done indoor nature discovery center that is open 9-4 Tuesday through Saturday and noon -4 on Sundays. The park itself is open dusk-dawn. There are several fairly well marked trails. A trail guide lists distances and features to help you plan your day. Trails from easy to moderate. No bathrooms on the trails...so be prepared. You will see amazing wildlife, birds, gators and more, Wear good shoes and sunscreen. There are a few benches along the way to rest. Bring water, binoculars, camera. Bike riding is permitted. Strollers can be used. Trails are mostly dirt, quite natural in state. A two-mile walk might take over two hours as you will stop and observe and enjoy the birds, gators, nesting, water, etc. Take your time. The discovery area has several rooms to explore, an indoor climbing tree for the kids, and a fox den to crawl into. There are workshops and monthly activities. We will make this a regular place to visit and enjoy. Great find! FREE

Liked everything. not to be missed. Big alligators to see in the wild,many types of birds armadillos,bobcat. Fabulous visitor cent.

Visited the Circle B in February for the first time and loved it! The trails are easy to walk and there's enough room for other walkers or bicyclists to pass safely. There were no trails closed when we were there so we just wandered freely. We saw an armadillo right after we got out of the car. They're such strange looking creatures. We also saw alligators, a raccoon, and lots and lots of different types of birds. I saw (from a distance) a bald eagle perched near a nest. Don't be disappointed if you don't see what you wanted to. Wild animals don't make appointments. Take your time and soak it all in when you visit the Reserve. If you rush through your walk, you won't see as many animals. Lake Hancock is beautiful and there's a dock you can walk out on with a covered gazebo and benches. Some of the trails are shady and some are not so keep that in mind if it's hot weather. There are picnic tables near the parking area, but I didn't see any along the trails. Probably to keep people from feeding the animals. If you like to leisurely walk and take in nature you'll love this place. It's a good place to take pictures - beauty all around.

Depending on the time of year, there are a multitude of birds to be seen. Of course the alligators in Lake Hancock are always there. At times the trail along the lake is closed because of alligator mating season and females with hatchlings. It is a wonderful place just to meander under the trees or out in the prairie. Be sure to look for the eagles.

By far one if the best nature reserves in Florida ! I try to visit weekly for the sunset on the " Wading bird way" trail. After a long work week just to walk out there( bringing along my dslr and wide angle lens of course!) just look out over the banana creek marsh and watch the sun disappear leaving a behind an orange, pink, and yellow painted sky . It is a thing of beauty after all you've seen is people for the past week . A must do if you're just a passer-byer looking to relax and take a stroll or a nature enthusiast looking to study the different species or observe the glory of nature itself.

This reserve is an outstanding place for the whole family . Encompasses over one thousand acres of various types of terrain . We visited again the other day and followed the path which allows you to see alligators . We saw 20 or more alligators of all sizes in addition to a wild boar , eagles , red shouldered hawks and armadillos . For the northerner , the huge live oak trees are something else to behold .

We went here on the advice of friends. Within 20 minutes we saw an armadillo, Red tail hawk, Bald eagle, and lots of alligators. We took a 45 minute walk along "Shady Oak" to "Alligator Alley". Saw at least a dozen different birds, raccoons, and so on. There were a lot of people, but very respectful of the surroundings.

Not well publicized, yet a truly fascinating place. the greatest part is that it's free to the public. The reserve has miles of trails that are very easy to navigate. From the moment you enter the facility you will start to experience the numerous sightings of wildlife that you will find. Armadillo's are in great abundance, along with other mammals, birds, and alligators As for birds, you will see every species imaginable. Beautifully colored cranes and storks of every variety and size imaginable. We saw nesting cranes and a nesting American eagle. In the same area, soaring in the skies and roosting in trees were so many vultures you couldn't count them all. The turkey vultures are very interesting to observe. Turtles were also quite numerous. Then there are the alligators. The reserve is primarily a wetland that is bordered on one end by a large lake. According to rangers, there are thousands (Plural) of alligators residing in the reserve. And these aren't the gators you are apt to see in displays, these are some of the largest wild alligators you could ever imagine. When we were there, they were very docile and unmoving. You had to look carefully to locate them because of their excellent camouflage. Every curve and turn brings something new. Thank you for great friends in the Florida government making such a place available to everyone.

A great place of see and photograph Florida wildlife, water flow, and flowers. Be mindful for snakes and big gators. You will have a safe time as long as you are respectful.Lovely spot for a picnic, stroll and education. They have an education center that is fun and several programs for children.

Incredible bird viewing.It's free, but well-kept with informative staff and newly-built facilities and easy walking trails.Many species of birds to see - bald eagle, blue heron, etc.Spot the gators sunning themselves and the armadillos along the paths.

Don't just hike the trails, explore the visitor's center, take a class, sit on a bench and just listen. Bring your camera for all the flora and fauna, especially the eagles and alligators!

Circle B is a place that doesn't know what it wants to be. They claim it's a wildlife sanctuary, yet they allow people to ride bikes down the dirt trails. They claim it's a family gathering place, yet they put up signs saying you shouldn't make noise on certain parts of the trail and expect families full of little kids to honor them. They claim it's a place to see nature, yet they close one of their main trails for months out of the year because they're worried about someone getting too close to a gator.They remind me of the quote from North Dallas Forty: "Every time we treat it like a game, you tell us it's a business. Every time we try to treat it like a business, you tell us it's a game."This place doesn't know what it wants to be and thus it's not satisfying as anything.True, it's free, but I think charging admission would make it a better place to visit as it would allow them to hire people instead of using volunteers, which there are never enough of.