Natural Features of HWRP

West Orange County was once a mix of orchards, pine plantations, farms, and pastures. The farms and citrus orchards faded away over the years, as real estate developers bought up the agricultural land and transformed the countryside into suburban neighborhoods. By the time the north half of Horizon West was built out, all of the large wildlife, such as deer and black bears, had moved south or west to find new homes.

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 divided county-owned acreage to the north from the new Horizon West Regional Park site on the south. Meanwhile, the remnants of citrus orchards gradually disappeared. Those orchards reverted to typical Florida upland scrub, dotted with a few small lakes and shallow ponds. This provides an environment in which many Florida-native plants and animals can thrive once again, if they’re given a little TLC.

On a mobile device such as a phone, the map displayed on the home page can be used as a navigation guide to the many species of wildflowers, trees, and shrubs found along the trails. It also shows the position of the many gopher tortoise burrows in the park. Each small red diamond symbol on the map is the location of an active tortoise burrow.

Although there are just under 200 active burrows in the park, some burrows have more than one entrance—and tortoises often dig a second burrow if they’re in the mood to do so. An informal estimate of the park’s gopher tortoise population is 100 to 120.