Day Trip

Vacation Rentals Near Spook Hill

In Lake Wales, about a 35-40 minute drive southeast of Lakeland rentals.

About Spook Hill

Spook Hill in nearby Lake Wales is one of the country's oldest known gravity hills and the only recognized magnetic hill in Florida, even earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. Drivers pull up to a painted white line, shift into neutral, and watch their car seemingly roll backward uphill, an optical illusion created by the surrounding landscape. Local legend ties the effect to a Native American chief who battled a giant alligator on the spot. It makes a fun, free, only-in-Florida stop, and a Lakeland vacation rental keeps this quirky roadside curiosity within easy day-trip reach to the southeast.

Highlights

Florida's only recognized magnetic hill and one of the oldest gravity hills in the U.S.Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (2019)Free, quick optical-illusion experience: stop on the line and shift to neutralWrapped in local legend about a chief and a giant alligator

Visitor Tips

→Follow the painted white line and on-site instructions to set up the illusion correctly.
→Go in daylight and watch for other curious drivers doing the same thing.
→Combine the stop with nearby Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales for a fuller day trip.