Gator watching
 

We'll have a visitor in a couple of weeks who would like to see gators while here. We live in Chitty Chatty and have seen a couple here and another just below us in Bradford, but only sporadically, maybe not often enough for someone visiting only a week.

Where are your favorite gator buddies, especially those you see frequently ... and preferably south of 44 near cart paths? INSIDE The Villages.

We'll leave them in "do not disturb" mode.

Gatorland where Larry lives.

:ho:

Saw a good sized one the other day in the pond just off the cart path near the Rohan Recreation Center.

Clarified my question to say INSIDE the Villages. No interest in buying a tour.

Saw a small one Marsh View #17, yesterday.

I'm not aware of any specific location in The Villages that alligators can be seen on a regular basis

I know not south but from Brownwood to Mulberry there are a good number of ponds along the path. We saw a least 1 gator a day out sunning themselves about 2 weeks ago. This includes Larry’s old hangout behind Brownwood.

You probably won't see one unless you go to Gatorland in Orlando. You could also stop at Costco nearby, another favorite attraction to Villagers.

It was a hint.......Famous Gators get "moved". :ohdear:

Saw a "biggun", about 6 feet long, on the 6th hole of Loblolly yesterday He was walking past the green to the adjacent pond...

I let him play through...

The nature trail at the Fenney rec. center also any of the ponds nearby along Fenny Way. If it's sunny and warm they will be out on the shore, if cooler you might only see their snouts in the water.

Every time we drive by Rohan, we see carts parked by that lake. There must be something to see there.

Gatorland is worth it for kids. You can get discounts being a florida resident.

another thought, airboat ride in Lake Panasoflokee. At end, they let you hold a gator.

Gator admiration
 

There is often one on the shore of the retention pond across the street from the Citrus Grove Postal station, and as mentioned above, the one at Fenney Springs is usually around as well.

On Exec golf course at McLin and Hendry there is a 12 foot gator residing the and usually a 6 footer. Best way to see if they are there is by looking for waterfowl - if you see waterfowl around the lake they are not there. If no waterfowl are along the lake, the gators are present.

Loblolly yesterday
 

We saw a big boy and several others on loblolly hole 8 yesterday. The big guy was scary. Just laying on the black tee box. I was pretty shocked to see him when we rounded the curve then he moved. Poor guy only had 3 legs. Left front was gone he had a hard time when he ambled away

There’s almost always a small one (sometimes more) at the Sharon Rose Wiechens Preserve off Moyer Loop past Belle Glade CC. When you get near the center of the walkway, look right into the grassland area of the inner pond.

Gator watching
 

Take them to Gator world....20 minutes away.

Played golf at Deer Island Wednesday and there must have been 25 - 30 small ones about 15" to 30 " and several large ones.
:popcorn::popcorn:

You might consider a visit to the "LunaSea Alpaca Farm. Fun time at the alpaca farm in Clermont. If you get the chance it’s a great place to spend a couple of hours and learn about Alpaca’s and Lama’s. You get to pet & feed them and it becomes quite obvious how well behaved the animals are and how well King & Lucy Lee treat the animals. There are other animals also.

Gator World is closed according their website.

Lake Apopka
 

Although it is outside The Villages it is well worth it…. Free… Lake Apopka 11 mile drive is amazing for gators and birds. It takes an hour to get there . You can get out and take pictures. Look it up.

Submarine races

That brings back youthful memories :)

A major reason why wildlife is wild life is they do not punch a clock or do the same thing everyday. I would suggest one of the wild life tours.
Truth what you see is not really wild life. They have learned the schedule of the tourists and that it means easy food.

Alligators and get out for pictures. They know you need to be 55 to live in the villages. They prefer meat that is not so OLD.

If you really want to see a gator up close and personal, jump into any one of our ponds and do the backstroke for a few minutes.

Gators
 

Lake Sumter. Park between Morse and the lake between dusk and dark. Take a big flashlight.

Alligators
 

Played Mangrove last week.saw two large gators sunning themselves. One was large(about 8 feet) the other was huge ( about 11 or 12 feet) and very wide.

People get WAY too close!!
Gators can move faster than you think, and you move slower than you used to. If you want to view gators close, go somewhere where you can do so safely (like Gatorland).

Gator Watching
 

The Lake Apopka Drive will definitely have a lot of gators for viewing. On our last trip there we counted 47 gators on that drive - either swimming or sunning. It is not that far away.

Gators and Birds
 

If you want to see lots and lots of nesting sea birds, and more gators than you can count, go visit Gatorland on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando. The sea birds nest really close up to the walkways.

There’s an admission. Seniors get a big discount. Check it out. It’s well worth the one hour drive.

Gator watching
 

I recommend the Sharon Rose Wiechens Preserve. I was there when my sister visited and we saw an alligator with a duck in it's mouth. It is a nice peaceful little walk and you will see more than alligators.

Lake Sumters Landing for gator viewing
 

Our favorite place to take our grandchildren is Lake Sumters Landing, on the boardwalk by the square with a bag of turtle/gator food (from a pet store)

http://creeksidepreservewebsite.com/...%20of%20humans.

While you said inside the gates, I'm going to recommend Lake Apopka. It has recordings along a drive. You can stay in the car or get out. SO MANY gators and birds. Everyone in our family enjoyed the trip.