With its winding curves and hilly undulating landscape the Sugarloaf Mountain Ride is a great drive for anyone looking for a change from Florida's level terrain. A regular drive northbound on Florida state road 441 may turn out to be an unforgettable road trip once you distance yourself from the city traffic and get to Lake Apopka. The scenery becomes more wooded and sparsely populated on the northern side of the lake but the best part of the drive is on the western side of the lake, along Old Country Road 561. Together with Old Country Road 455, this road makes a nice loop around Sugarloaf Mountain, complete with numerous twists and turns and rather steep inclines. After passing the town of Howey Height, you'll find yourself steadily coming up on Sugarloaf Mountain, atop of which you can enjoy the view of Lake Apopka and the Orlando skyline on the distant horizon. This trip will also take you by the Lake Apopka Restoration Area. For more pictures on this route see a web page by the contributor.

The biggest towns along this route are the start and end points: Apopka is the start point and the larger Ocoee/Pine Hills is the end point. There are also some little towns that you'll be passing through along the way. Depending on how many detours you end up venturing down on this road trip, you'll find some interesting pavement - or lack thereof. The main road is very well maintained, however there are several spurs that decrease in quality and wind up dead ending or turning to sand. There's hardly any traffic around the mountain, which gives you a lot of freedom to enjoy all the fun twists and curves!

Since this road trip is more of a country drive, there are not very many stops along the path. Once you get to the top of the mountain to enjoy the view, you'll find a house with a water cooler near the road providing free refreshments.