Guides · Clermont, Florida
The Best Things to Do in Clermont, Florida
Clermont is a hill town in a flat state, a place where the old citrus economy failed and the landscape got more interesting for it.
The View From Above
Start with the thing everyone else starts with, because it still works. The Florida Citrus Tower, built in 1956, remains the bluntest way to understand this town. You ride up, you look out, and you see the truth: the groves that paid for this tower are mostly gone, replaced by rooftops and green swaths of preserved land. It outlived the industry it celebrated, which gives it a strange, honest power. The view is the point. So is the irony. Clermont’s signature landmark is a monument to something that no longer exists, and that makes it more interesting, not less.
The Lakes Are the Real Show
The hills are the novelty, but the lakes are the daily life. Waterfront Park sits on Lake Minneola and does what a town park should do: swimming, fishing piers, a playground, and enough room to just stand there and watch the water. It’s rated 4.7 from over 4,200 reviews, which in the age of angry internet people is close to a consensus. On a good day, you’ll see why. On a crowded weekend, you’ll still see why, just with more sunscreen involved.
For a quieter version of the same idea, Lake Hiawatha Preserve is the local’s move. It’s smaller, wilder, and rated 4.8, the highest score on this list. The trails are unpaved, the vibe is less manicured, and you’re more likely to see a heron than a jogger with a podcast. Bring bug spray. This is Florida.
Get On the Water, or Get On a Machine
If you want speed, Luxe Jet Ski & ATV Rentals Orlando sits right on the waterfront at 100 3rd St and carries a perfect 5.0 rating from over 3,200 reviews. That’s a statistical anomaly. Jet skis on Lake Minneola are loud, fast, and occasionally terrifying, and the people who do it seem to love every second. If you’d rather keep the engine on land, they do ATVs too. Either way, you’re trading the hike for the throttle.
Catboat Escapes, Inc. is the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s a charter operation, rated 5.0 from 939 reviews, and it’s the kind of thing you book when you want someone else to handle the boat, the route, and the thinking. Fishing trips, sunset cruises, that sort of thing. The address is on Cypress Cove Lane, which sounds like a place where the water is calmer and the pace is slower. That’s the point.
The State Park Is Worth the Drive
Lake Louisa State Park is technically on US-27, which means it’s on the way to everywhere and easy to skip. Don’t skip it. It’s 4,500 acres of hardwood swamps, pine flatwoods, and a chain of lakes that actually look like lakes instead of retention ponds. The rated 4.7 from 3,600 reviews undersells it. You can hike, paddle, swim, or camp, and you can do all of it without hearing a highway. It’s the closest thing to wilderness in this part of Lake County, and it’s right there on the main drag.
The Weird and the Wonderful
Presidents Hall of Fame is exactly what it sounds like and nothing like what you expect. It’s a wax museum dedicated to U.S. presidents, housed in a roadside building on Hwy 27N. It is not ironic. It is not a joke. It is a place where you can stand next to a wax Ronald Reagan and feel genuinely confused about what year it is. Rated 4.3 from 549 reviews, it’s the kind of attraction that survives because people keep telling their friends “you have to see this.” You do.
Showcase of Citrus is the opposite of the wax museum in every way. It’s a working citrus operation at 15051 Frank Jarrell Rd that has pivoted into an attraction, with a 4.5 rating from nearly 5,000 reviews. You can take a tram ride through the groves, and you can buy actual citrus, which feels almost archaeological given how little of it is left around here. It’s a reminder that the crop didn’t vanish entirely. It just got smarter.
Revolution Adventures is off FL-33 and it’s the answer to the question “what do we do with the kids for three hours that isn’t a screen?” It’s a 4.7-rated outdoor activity park with 1,274 reviews, which means it’s been tested by a lot of families. Expect mud, sweat, and the specific joy of watching a teenager navigate a course that looks easier than it is.
When the Weather Turns
Clermont gets rain, and it gets heat. Sky Zone Trampoline Park on S Hwy 27 is the indoor backup, rated 4.4 from 1,385 reviews. It’s a trampoline park. You know what it is. It’s for the days when the lake is a lightning risk and the trails are soup. It does the job, and the kids will sleep well afterward.
The Clermont Arts & Recreation Center is the quieter indoor option. It’s a municipal facility on S Hwy 27, rated 4.6 from 374 reviews, and it’s where the town goes for classes, gym time, and community events. It won’t make a vacation highlight reel, but it’s a useful piece of infrastructure, and it’s a good sign that the town invests in its own people.
The Neighborhood Parks
You don’t come to Clermont for the neighborhood parks. But if you live here, or if you’re staying in a rental, they matter. Palatlakaha Recreation Park on 12th St is a solid 4.7 from 493 reviews, and its neighbor, Park Palatlakaha Playground, gets the same score from 401 reviews. They’re connected, they’re free, and they’re exactly what a parent needs after a long drive. Hancock Park on Hancock Rd is a 4.3 from 375 reviews, which is fine. It’s a park. It has grass and probably a bench.
The Math of the Town
Clermont has 44,984 people and a median age of 42.4. The median home value is $368,600, which is not cheap, and the median rent is $1,774, which is not cheap either. The unemployment rate is 5.9 percent, slightly above the state average. Here’s the number that matters: only 558 housing units out of 18,718 are held for seasonal or recreational use. That’s about 3 percent. This is not a vacation town. It’s a town where people actually live, work, and raise kids, and the attractions reflect that. There’s no mega-resort. There’s a trampoline park, a state park, a wax museum, and a lot of water.
The “Choice of Champions” slogan, adopted in 2014, is a reference to the National Training Center that opened here in 2001. It’s a triathlon and endurance sports hub, and it explains why you’ll see so many people running hills that make no sense in Florida. The hills are the reason. The groves are gone, but the elevation stayed, and the athletes found it.
The Bottom Line
Clermont is not a hidden anything. It’s a mid-sized Central Florida city that lost its main industry and rebuilt itself around lakes, hills, and the people who like both. The Florida Citrus Tower is the monument to what was. Lake Louisa State Park is the monument to what remains. Everything else — the jet skis, the trampolines, the wax presidents — is just the noise of a town that kept moving.
Go for the view. Stay for the water. Skip the bumper sticker.
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