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Florida, United States
Photo: PIO Clermont, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Most of the area is rural, and forested, with major population centers in the college town of Gainesville (home to University of Florida and the Gators) and Ocala. The Villages are on the edge of this region.
The main city in Inland Florida, surrounded by theme parks and towns designed to appeal to tourists. University of Central Florida, like UF to the north, is one of the largest public universities in the U.S.
On the boundary of metro Orlando, this county is populated by small towns surrounded by lakes, including Mount Dora and Tavares, famous for seaplanes.
A large, quite densely populated county between the Orlando and Tampa metro areas. It's on the I-4 Corridor with its main city being Lakeland.
A large, sparsely populated region reaching Lake Okeechobee in the south, this is the most off-the-beaten-path region of Inland Florida.
By train
S. An AMTRAK route enters from the north, with stations in Jacksonville, Palatka, and DeLand on its way to Greater Orlando.
If you're exploring the greater inland region, a car is necessary, but in reality no matter where you go in inland Florida, it's hard to manage without a car, with the exceptions of Disney and Gainesville which both…
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Gainesville is in North Central Florida. It is home to the University of Florida, and Santa Fe College.
Kissimmee is a city in Osceola County. Kissimmee (pronounced /kiˈsimi/, accent on second syllable) is a popular Central Florida tourist destination because of its sunny weather, spring training baseball for major league clubs, and close proximity to Disney World.
Lakeland is the largest city in Polk County, Florida. It is home to Florida Southern College, which has the largest collection of buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright at a single site in the world.
Ocala is a city in North Central Florida. Here, rolling green pastures lead to crystal springs, gentle rivers and unspoiled lakes, and hundreds of horse farms gallop with thoroughbred natural charm and beauty.
For the broader urban area including suburbs and other nearby destinations, please see the Greater Orlando article. Orlando deserves its reputation as the theme park capital of the world, with an estimated 52 million visitors a year.
Sanford is a city of 61,000 people (2020) in Seminole County on the northern side of Greater Orlando, known as the "Historic Waterfront Gateway City". Sanford is home to Seminole State College of Florida and the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens.
The Villages is an active retirement community in sunny Inland Florida. With about 115,000 residents as of 2015, it is still growing and new homes are being built across three Florida counties: Lake, Sumter and Marion.
Winter Garden is a small town in Orange County, Florida, located just west of Orlando. It is a quickly expanding community that is becoming a hub for shopping and is also home to the West Orange Trail.
Winter Park is a city of 31,000 people (2019) in Florida near Orlando. Winter Park is often seen as a popular tourist destination for those visiting Orlando that want an escape from the typical tourist scene of the Orlando theme parks.
Ocala National Forest is in North Central Florida. It is the oldest national forest east of the Mississippi and contains the largest forest of sand pines in the world.
Osceola National Forest is in North Central Florida.
At Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, Florida, you can explore human innovation and cooperation; enjoy rides both thrilling and enchanting; relax and recuperate on the beach or the golf course; and discover an entire resort where children and adults can have fun—together. Planning a trip to Walt Disney World puts you in good company; it is the flagship of Disney's worldwide theme park empire and is, by far, the most popular theme park resort in the world.
Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida, composed of three theme parks, an entertainment district with nightlife and restaurants, a waterpark, and several hotels. Many visitors describe it as a place of fun, action, magic, excitement, humor, wonder, fantasy and attention to detail.
Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the Florida Heartland, near the northwest shore of Lake Okeechobee. It is one of several Seminole Tribe reservations in Florida.
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