Lakeland, located about 45 minutes east of Tampa and an hour southwest of Orlando, is a Central Florida destination offering family-friendly fun, stunning architecture, tourable farms and botanical gardens, and plenty of hiking and outdoor adventures in its parks and preserves.
Want to know what to do in Lakeland, Florida, for fun? Here are the best and most fun things to do in Lakeland, FL.
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18 Best Things to Do in Lakeland, FL (2026) - Authentic Florida
From botanical gardens and wildlife preserves to locally churned ice cream and Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, Lakeland is the unsuspecting Florida town that has a little something for everyone.
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Founded in 1967, Lakeland Community College was the first college in Ohio created by a vote of the people. True to our mission, Lakeland provides quality learning opportunities to meet the social and economic needs of the community, offering day, evening, weekend and online classes.
Lakeland is home to several colleges and universities. Lakeland Linder International Airport is in Lakeland as is the corporate headquarters of Publix, a supermarket chain. European-American settlers arrived in Lakeland from Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina in the 1870s.