A Highlands County Secret: 7-Lakes Area Provides Glimpse Of Pristine Waters

Vicki Pontius, county parks and recreation director, called the 846-acre, 7-Lakes Area the county's best kept secret.

Dave Douglass, pro bass angler guide and Highlands Today columnist, said the place is an excellent spot to shore fish and have a chance to catch a good-sized bass, because it doesn't get any fishing pressure.

Peter Anderson, park manager of Highlands Hammock State Park, oversees the 7-Lakes site, which was purchased and became part the nearby state park in 1997. He said the area is unique.

The park property is 2.3 miles south of the access road to the main park headquarters and on CR 635.

There are no trails, one partially submerged picnic table and no facilities except for an improved parking area. Fire roads are clear and hiker friendly.

The county has more than 110 lakes, with 39 public access areas and 190 miles of shoreline covering 48,000 acres.

Pontius lives near the park. Her daughters regularly fish the 100 or so acres of Blue Lake, which is located a couple hundred yards from the parking area, and is visible from the roadway.

The 7-Lake park site is the only chance for residents to explore a pristine lake in the county, since all other county lakes are either private or without public access, said Pontius.

Anderson said the spot remains a relative secret because of the lack of infrastructure or facilities.

The park manager hopes visitors will grab a blanket, sit on the grass and have a picnic. Park staff grapples with how to best improve the area.

On Wednesday, Sebring natives Andrew Crivello and Kevin Snelgrove were fishing and wading Blue Lake. The pair enjoys the peace and quiet of the park and Snelgrove bragged that he pulled a 12-pound bass, along with regular 5-pounders, from the shallow waters.

"The lake is like Swiss cheese," said Snelgrove, who regularly makes a loop around the shoreline. "There are deeper holes everywhere. Walk along till you have to back off, and fish those holes."

The pair often views wildlife, including, sandhill and whooping cranes, deer, hogs, turtles and a 7-foot alligator that they said follows and stalks them.

Part of the fenced-in parcel's allure is its unusual mix of topography.

"It's unique, in the way it's set up," said Anderson. There are lakes and scrub in one piece of property."

Clell Ford, lakes manager of Highlands County, said Blue Lake is an "unspoiled chance to see what lakes looked like before we got here - with no homes. The water quality should be magnificent."

Ford said the property is also special because it sits near the top of Highlands, or the Lake Wales Ridge. The ridge serves as a divide. Water to the east goes to the Kissimmee River and water to the west runs to the Peace River.

The park-owned property covers nearly all, if not every inch, of the watershed for Lake Blue, with water flow to the west.

Dorothy Harris, Highlands Hammock park specialist, said the 7-Lakes area is an underused portion of the 9,250-acre park that attracts 210,000 visitors a year. She said Blue Lake is one third its usual size because of an ongoing drought and the fishing is good since the lake is compressed.

During the busy winter season, only as many as about 25 visitors use the site on weekends, with many less visitors during the hotter summer months, said Harris.

Swimming is not allowed. Motorized vessels are forbidden. There is no boat ramp, though canoes, kayaks or a skiff are permitted. Fishing is by catch and release only. No horses are allowed. A state fishing license is required.

Visitors must register at park headquarters prior to visiting the site for security reasons, including wildfire possibilities, heavy equipment use, possible injuries or illness while on the property.