Hiking with 5 children - yes, it is as fun as it sounds, lol.
We had a kid-friendly hike planned on February 12 so I asked Kuik and Amanda if I could keep the girls for the weekend. Trevor invited his friend Stephen, Trinity had Bianca and Libby, and Lisa and I were brave enough to head out to Altamonte Springs in 2 cars with 5 kids for a 1.3 mile hike at Lake Lotus Park. Hike #4 for us, Hike # 22 in the book.
Neither Bianca or Libby understood what hiking was, and my explanations weren’t helping. I had the 3 girls in my car, and Lisa had Trevor and his friend Stephen in her car. Lake Lotus Park is in Altamonte Springs. I-4 East to Maitland Blvd took us there. Maitland Blvd is Exit 90, so around Exit 87 I heard from Lisa wondering if we would ever get there and if I knew where we were going. Luckily I had just seen the sign that Maitland Blvd was coming up so I told her 3 more miles. Once on MB the park came up pretty quickly, only a few miles down. It was the weekend so we had to use off-site parking. We chose the parking lot that gave us walking access, pulled all the kids out and headed to the park. Libby was, as I predicted, cold within a block so I ran back to the car for a spare jacket I had brought just in case. The plan was to hike, then Lisa could watch them play in the park while I ran back for the coolers.
When we got across Maitland Blvd, a very busy road, a park ranger was waiting for us. He explained that if we had parked in the back lot we could have walked under the street through a tunnel, which is much safer, or ridden the tram. The tram guy drove up just then and asked if we’d been waiting for him, but I assured him that we had just chosen to walk. They encouraged us to use the tunnel when going back. We grabbed a trail map, hit the restrooms and started on the trail. Trevor and Stephen were carrying some of Trevor’s toy guns. The girls led the way, with Libby in the front.
Lake Lotus Park has a 1.3 mile trail system made up of a combination of dirt trails and boardwalks. The boardwalk trails elevate hikers above swampier areas and take a nice stroll across the adjoining lake. There is an observation room on the lake as well; inside are seats and pictures to guide you through the wildlife experience. Stephen pointed out Snowy Egrets and Sandhill Cranes. We took our hike picture on the lakefront boardwalk. I texted Amanda a picture of the girls around 10 am from the observation room – she couldn't believe we'd started so early, lol. Bianca conned Lisa into carrying her for the second half of the hike, and I got a good picture of that too.
We completed the hike in about 30 minutes and let the children loose on the playground. There are two playgrounds – one for smaller children (where all the equipment is shorter) and one for bigger children (with taller swings and slides). There is also an unmovable jeep and a big wheel tire.
The tram-driving Park Ranger approached us as the children played and asked if we’d like to see the beehives back on the trail. Trevor, Stephen and I did so Lisa watched the girls play while we headed back into the trail system. The Park Ranger led us to a 70 ft tree and pointed up – there was a giant beehive and we could see honey bees swarming around the hive. He then directed our sights about half-way down where a knot in the tree hid another hive that had been built in the hollow trunk. The original hive was the one up above, but it had grown so big that it split into two additional colonies – the one in the trunk and one further down the trail. The Park Ranger led us to the third hive which was as big as the first but not fully built, some of the hive was still opaque rather than golden. Trevor and the Park Ranger had a long conversation on honey bees, while Stephen showed other kids on the trail what we’d been shown. I couldn't believe how big the hives were - they were so far up and yet very visible to us. The Park Ranger said with binoculars we'd really have a good view. Something to think about for future hikes.
When we finished viewing the hives and discussing bees, the Park Ranger led us to a different part of the trail to see the markings of a resident Florida Black Bear. She has a young cub and does occasionally appear to hikers. She is not aggressive if she’s left alone and has lived in the park for years. She had another baby last year that has since been sent off on his own. Her claw marks were evident in several tree trunks – she claws trees to mark her territory, when she needs to move herself onto the trail, and when she’s climbing for food like honey. There are blackberry patches in the preserve that she strips clean within weeks of their ripening. The ranger showed us pictures of the bear on the bulletin board when we returned to the playground.
Surrounding the playground were picnic pavilions. None of them had been rented so we had our pick for our picnic. Libby and I went back to the cars for the food. While walking she told me that she loved hiking. We followed the ranger’s directions and used the underground tunnel – it runs alongside a running river. When we first walked into the tunnel Libby said “It sounds like it’s raining,” which is how we discovered the river. We walked to my car and I drove it back over near the tunnel. I left Libby in my car and walked back to get Lisa’s car. Then we loaded up with all the food and hiked back over to the picnic area.
Lunch was sandwiches – ham for most, chicken for me, and PB&J for Bianca – fruit (grapes, apples, bananas, and pears), chips and juice or water. We ate and then decided we needed to move on to the next activity, since it was now noon and Stephen had to be home by 4. We said the magic word – mini golf – and the kids followed us (from in front of us, lol) back to the cars through the underground tunnel.
Lake Lotus Park is a real treat for families - I highly recommend it with the easy trails, nice playground and ample picnic area. If you rent out a pavillion for a party you can drive in one car with supplies.
