Fall is here, and with it comes lower temperatures. It's a nice time for a ride with the windows down.
And the trip's even better riding through the countryside in a convertible.
But you don't really need a convertible to enjoy the Ridge Scenic Highway. It is one of nearly 30 scenic highways designated on the Florida Department of Transportation's scenic highways website: www.floridascenichighways.com.
The Ridge Scenic Highway (the only scenic highway in Polk, and one of a dozen in the Central Florida area), was designated as scenic on Feb. 16, 2005. It's 39 miles long and meanders along the Central Florida Ridge.
It is sometimes referred to as the Lake Wales Ridge, named for the town that is in the middle of what used to be a sandbar and a stretch of islands millions of years ago.
Indeed, Bok Tower, one of the major landmarks along the ridge, marks one of the highest elevations in Florida at 293 feet above sea level.
The Lake Wales Ridge covers about 100 miles, and its white-sand outcroppings are visible from space. It covers Highlands, Polk, Osceola, Orange and Lake Counties.
The Ridge Scenic Highway covers only about two-fifths of the total Lake Wales Ridge. It is State Road 17, which was formerly known as U.S 27 Alternate.
It starts (or ends) just south of Frostproof at the intersection of US. 27, and eventually winds up in Haines City, where it meets with U.S. 17/92.
Along the way, riders will see Polk's historic communities:
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Frostproof, established in 1850. Motto: "The Friendly City." Wikipedia notes the name "was a marketing ploy to convince potential landowners that the town has never had, and never would have, a frost that could destroy the large citrus-driven economy. However, only a couple of years later, a frost during The Great Freeze of 1895 killed most of the citrus in Frostproof."
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Hillcrest Heights. Motto: "A neighborly Florida town." Home to the Hillcrest Lodge in the early 1920s. The lodge has hosted such guests as Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones and William Jennings Bryan.
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Babson Park. The elementary school dates back more than 100 years. Crooked Lake has been designated as an Outstanding Florida Water by the state of Florida.
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Lake Wales. Motto: "Crown Jewel of the Ridge." Founded in 1911. Bok Tower Gardens was dedicated in 1929.
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Dundee. Motto: "Doorway to the Ridge." There has been a post office named Dundee there since 1912, but the town was not incorporated until 1925. Stop to visit stores that make citrus candies, jelly and jam.