I discovered Horizon West Regional Park late in 2021, after moving to southwest Orange County. I’m grateful to have a hiking destination so close to home... so grateful, in fact, that I do volunteer trail maintenance there in my spare time.

HWRP, at over 200 acres, is one of Orange County’s larger “natural spaces”. Over the past year, some of that acreage has been transformed into restrooms, a playground, and picnic shelters. A family-friendly, natural oasis, of sorts, has been created just out of sight of the bustling Hamlin Town Center nearby.

West Orange County was once covered with a mix of orchards, pine plantations, farms, and pastures. The farms and citrus orchards faded away over the years, as real estate developers bought the agricultural land and transformed the countryside. By the time the north half of Horizon West was built out, no large wildlife, such as deer or black bears, were to be found in the area.

After the construction of the SR 429 tollway, Orange County purchased several square miles of land, including about 640 acres north of Lake Hartley. Some of the smaller wildlife was able get out of the way of the bulldozers, and found a new home within the county-owned acreage.

The construction and fencing of the 4-lane Hamlin Groves Trail in 2019 has prevented some wild animals—gopher tortoises and coyotes, in particular—from wandering outside what is now the perimeter of Horizon West Regional Park. Meanwhile, the park’s terrain has gradually reverted to typical Florida upland scrub, dotted with a few small lakes. This provides an environment in which many Florida-native plants and animals can thrive once again, if they’re given a little TLC.

Although the park’s urban amenities receive the most attention, its greatest value may be as a place where one can turn down the mind’s speed control for a little while. The older I get, the more I value inner stillness. Besides the obvious health benefits, a quiet mind tends to notice tiny but bright wildflowers, small wildlife, and other things that I’d otherwise miss entirely! Described below are many of the things I’ve observed over several years of regular visits.

It’s worth remembering that Horizon West Regional Park is unique among Orange County’s urban parks: It now has paved drives, sidewalks, modern restrooms, picnic shelters, and playgrounds—but all these new facilities adjoin a large parcel of natural space, the kind normally found in a rural park. Fortune has favored Horizon West, to have a park with so much natural space and this number of modern amenities!

Wetlands and Vegetation of Horizon West Regional Park:

There are many natural wetlands in Horizon West Regional Park. The main body of water is Lake Hartley, at the park’s southern boundary. That lake has two elongated “arms” (basically, small finger lakes) which lie west of the main lake. An unpaved trail network follows the shoreline of Lake Hartley, its “arms”, and a couple of nearby ponds.

The park has several ponds north of Lake Hartley. The circular “south pond” just east of the center arm of Lake Hartley, and the smaller “west pond” east of the Enclave at Hamlin neighborhood, are so close to the lake that their water level is nearly constant all year.

The ponds farther north, closer to the park entrance, receive no water from Lake Hartley and are therefore quite shallow, except after very wet and stormy summer seasons.

There’s a fair amount of biodiversity in the park’s plant species, though many of the species are non-native to Florida, and a few are invasive—including some of the vines that climb the native oak and pine trees, and compete with the tree foliage for sunlight.

Several Florida-native oak tree species are found within Horizon West Regional Park, as well as all three of the native pine species. Sand pine trees are the dominant conifer species in the northwest corner of the park. Elsewhere, there are fewer numbers of longleaf pines and slash pines. There’s even a lone Eastern red cedar overlooking the entrance pond.

The northeast quarter of the park features a dense, 15-acre forest inhabited mostly by old-growth sand live oak trees. These surround a shallow (normally dry) pond, and a smaller but deeper “sinkhole” pond. There’s a dense understory of saw palmettos surrounding both ponds, which will defy the boldest of bushwhackers. I ought to know. Take my word for it, and stay on the marked trail!

Farther west of the dry pond, there are fewer palmettos. The oak canopy is so dense, in fact, that much of the understory lacks vegetation. Where one would normally expect grass, it’s common to see widespread clumps of powder puff lichen. Wild liatris is often seen along the trail late in the year, and small blue dayflowers appear on the margins of the forest throughout the season.

Aside from wildflowers, the most colorful shrubs in the park are American beautyberries. A number of native beautyberry shrubs have been planted along sidewalks and in medians in Hamlin Town Center, outside the park—but beautyberries are more numerous and more easily seen within the park—especially in the “Beautyberry Trail” network.

Wildlife of Horizon West Regional Park:

The park’s animal life is surprisingly diverse, considering the habitat disruption caused by the real estate development mentioned above. Visitors hiking near the south trails occasionally see American alligators in the early morning and evening hours. Osceola wild turkey hens are often seen near the southeast parking area and surrounding acreage. They are rarely seen flying, but will readily do so when they feel like crossing to or from the county-owned prairie land north of Hamlin Groves Trail.

The park’s waterfowl is mostly found in the south ponds and Lake Hartley. Florida mottled ducks are often seen in the Lake Hartley shallows. In the shallower ponds north of the driveways, egrets and anhingas are the birds one normally sees.

Lake Hartley, the south pond, and possibly the west pond are naturally deep enough to support a permanent fish population. Long-term plans include a floating dock at the shore of Lake Hartley; it will be placed a few hundred feet south of the large picnic shelter/event pavilion, not far from the existing sidewalk.

I’ve seen many bird species during my hikes. The large raptors include great horned owls, Florida red-tailed hawks, and North American ospreys. Songbirds are even more plentiful. So far, I’ve spotted cardinals, coastal bluejays, tufted titmice, chipping sparrows, red-headed woodpeckers, mourning doves, Florida bobwhite quail, and Carolina chickadees.

The park’ mammal population includes small numbers of opossums, Eastern raccoons, Eastern gray squirrels, and Eastern cottontail rabbits.

Among mammals, the local apex predators are southeastern coyotes, which migrated to central Florida in the 1990s. Unlike wolves—which thrive where large prey animals abound—coyotes are smaller, and will adapt their diet to what’s locally available. It’s probable that the park’s coyote pack was established before 2019; unlike the wild turkeys, coyotes can’t fly over the north fence. I’ve observed coyotes sneaking westward out of the park at night, into the adjoining Enclave at Hamlin neighborhood, but those that do are usually back in their dens by dawn.

Coyotes normally avoid crossing paths with park visitors during daylight hours. However, they sometimes exhibit territorial behavior toward visitors walking their dogs. All dogs in the park should be kept on a leash, for their own safety.

Horizon West Regional Park will host an ever-increasing number of visitors over the next couple of decades. This trend may put more pressure on coyotes and other predator species. If that happens, smaller mammals, such as squirrels and rabbits, will become more numerous.

There are approximately 180 active gopher tortoise burrows in the park, mainly in open spaces, but the number of tortoises is lower—perhaps 100 to 120—because adult tortoises often use two burrows. Aside from the American alligators which prowl Lake Hartley, gopher tortoises are the largest reptile species in Horizon West, and the one most likely to be seen within the park during the warm season. Florida softshell turtles are occasionally spotted near the lake and the south ponds.

Gopher tortoises are shy, and are easily spooked. Visitors should avoid approaching them closely—and also avoid getting too close to the entrances of their burrows, since the entrances are vulnerable to collapsing underfoot in the sandy soil. This is the main reason the active burrows in the park are flagged, either with red plastic flags on wire stakes or by red ribbons tied to wooden stakes.

The other reptiles one sometimes sees on a dirt trail are snakes. The ones I see crossing a path are usually Eastern racers, which are harmless. However, there are also Eastern coral snakes and a smaller number of Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes.

The diamondbacks are the least numerous (In over 3 years of regular visits, I’ve only had one encounter), but they’re also the most dangerous: Diamondbacks do not always rattle when approached. On the day of my encounter, I ventured off-trail and nearly stepped on a coiled-up rattler! Luckily, it wasn’t perturbed. It was just waiting for its next meal to show up. Nevertheless, I hope not to see another one! Now I know why I see so few mice, squirrels, or rabbits at the park: They’re a favorite food source for diamondbacks. Many rodents are caught by owls and hawks as well.

Coral snakes, though venomous, won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. There hasn’t been a fatal coral snake bite in Florida for decades. In any public natural space, visitors are safer if they use common sense: Keep to the trail, and dress properly when exploring unpaved trails (Hiking shoes, not flip-flops). You can safely walk the trails with dogs, if they’re on a leash short enough to keep them on the trail and away from other animals.

Although the park has been a natural space for many years, the space hasn’t been maintained. In Florida, proper maintenance involves managing undergrowth with controlled burns or mechanical pruning. Since there are residential neighborhoods bordering all but the north side of the park, controlled burns probably aren’t an option. So, as I walk the trails, I clip out the wild grape vines and briars which overrun tree saplings, criss-cross the pathways, and trip unwary hikers. Such efforts, however small, help re-establish native grasses and trees which have struggled from competition with invasive vines.

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