Southern Florida is peppered with small communities that perch beside wide, quiet lakes, cut off from the resort crowds by marsh, ranchland or simple geography. We have gathered 25 of the most secluded, each offering room to breathe, dark skies and a back-porch view of water rather than traffic.
Our picks sit at the end of levee roads, behind sawgrass walls or atop unexpected hills, yet they remain rich with fishing holes, bird habitat and local color. Travelers who crave still mornings and cicada nights will find plenty to love in the towns that follow.
25. Lakewood Park – Shady Backroads and Old Florida Vibes Near Vero Beach
Lakewood Park may have over 12,000 residents on paper, but it feels far smaller thanks to its winding oak-shaded roads and modest canal-side homes. Long stretches of pine scrub and saw palmetto break up the landscape, keeping even nearby neighbors out of view.
Afternoons often pass without the sound of a car, replaced instead by hawk calls and breeze through the palmettos. The vibe is a blend of ranchland calm and coastal distance—Old Florida untouched by tourism.
Its secret lies in its layout: a patchwork of quiet cul-de-sacs, shell roads, and tucked-away trails that insulate it from the rest of St. Lucie County.
Where is Lakewood Park?
Lakewood Park sits just west of Indian River Drive, between Fort Pierce and Vero Beach in northern St. Lucie County. Despite its proximity to the coast, thick greenbelts and agricultural tracts isolate it from urban noise.
Most visitors zip down I-95 without noticing the community at all, and those who turn off often find themselves slowing down without quite meaning to.
24. Palmdale – Sand Pines and Scrubland on the Edge of Fisheating Creek
Palmdale has no town square or rows of storefronts—just a scattering of homes, a family-run store, and the whisper of wind through sabal palms. With under 300 residents and no traffic lights, it feels more like a pause in the road than a destination.
The community’s hush comes from its surroundings: pine flatwoods, cattle pastures, and the dark waters of Fisheating Creek, where ancient cypress trees lean into blackwater bends.
Time moves differently here, stretched by sunsets and the croak of herons, giving locals a rhythm in sync with the land.
Where is Palmdale?
You’ll find Palmdale in western Glades County, about halfway between Lake Placid and Moore Haven on US 27. Its only landmarks are a canoe outfitter and a tiny cafe that closes before sunset.
The closest big-box store is thirty minutes away, and every direction leads to wildlands, making Palmdale a true backroad retreat.
23. Indian Lake Estates – Forgotten Grids Facing Crooked Lake
At first glance, Indian Lake Estates looks like a lost suburb—a grid of overgrown lots, silent streets, and scattered lakeside homes. But it’s precisely this emptiness that gives it its hush and mystique.
Dozens of empty parcels stretch between houses, giving the whole area a ghost-town feel despite a small community of residents who treasure the quiet. The golf course, once busy, now feels like a secret kept by ospreys and turtles.
It’s the kind of place where streetlights are few, fences are rare, and the stars come out strong at night.
Where is Indian Lake Estates?
This unincorporated community lies on the eastern shore of Lake Weohyakapka in Polk County, just off State Road 60. It’s a halfway point between nowhere and nowhere else—roughly equidistant from Lake Wales and Yeehaw Junction.
Because it was originally developed in the 1950s but never fully built out, it now exists in a strange and peaceful in-between space.
22. Clewiston Highlands – Elevated Farmland and Windswept Quiet
Just east of Lake Harbor lies Clewiston Highlands, a barely marked patch of raised farmland and long gravel drives. There’s no signage or town center—just wide horizons, sugarcane whispers, and the occasional blue heron in flight.
The elevation here is modest, but it’s just enough to give the lake breeze a lift and to reveal dusky skies unspoiled by light.
Homes are few, far between, and often tucked behind long lines of eucalyptus or citrus trees. It’s a place where you can live a mile from a neighbor and never hear their dog bark.
Where is Clewiston Highlands?
Located in southern Hendry County, this quiet patch sits on the eastern edge of the Everglades Agricultural Area, just south of State Road 80.
Only those turning off into the farm roads will find it, and even then, it takes a little luck to spot a house.
21. Nalcrest – Postal Worker Paradise by Lake Weohyakapka
Nalcrest is a retirement village built just for U.S. postal workers—and that specificity has created a quiet, tight-knit lakeside sanctuary. Residents travel by golf cart, wave from shaded lanais, and spend evenings watching waterbirds stalk the shore.
With no children and no through roads, the neighborhood hums with a low, steady rhythm—social but subdued.
Birdsong, not engine noise, fills the air, and neighbors become family over lakeside cookouts and shuffleboard games.
Where is Nalcrest?
Nalcrest is tucked away in southeastern Polk County along the eastern shore of Lake Weohyakapka. It’s reached via a series of unmarked roads off State Road 60.
This isolation, paired with its unique niche population, makes it one of the most peaceful residential enclaves in Central Florida.
20. Venus East – Cypress Glades and Hidden Hammocks Beyond the Pines
A cousin to Venus proper, Venus East feels even more removed. It’s a pocket of trails, tiny homesteads, and long dirt lanes that disappear into oak hammocks and glade pools.
The forest here crowds in close, muting the world beyond and sheltering each lot in cool, shadowed quiet. Locals grow orchids, keep bees, or simply watch deer wander out of the trees.
There are no stores, no signs, and no schedules—just a patchwork of people who love their quiet and the green that protects it.
Where is Venus East?
Venus East sits just east of the main Venus settlement in Highlands County, nestled between Fisheating Creek and the Arbuckle Tract of the state forest.
Access requires navigating a patchwork of narrow county roads and dirt spurs, which guarantees that no one arrives by accident.
19. Cypress Quarters – Shaded Refuge in Okeechobee’s Back Pocket
Though technically part of Okeechobee city, Cypress Quarters feels like a separate world. Massive shade trees tower over small homes and trailers, and canals wind through backyards thick with water hyacinths.
The quarter has a lived-in charm—weathered porches, garden beds, and pickup trucks parked beneath oaks. Everyone seems to know everyone, but outsiders rarely stumble in.
What keeps it quiet isn’t distance, but invisibility—hidden just enough that only those who belong ever find it.
Where is Cypress Quarters?
Cypress Quarters lies just east of central Okeechobee, bordered by railroad tracks, cane fields, and drainage canals.
Even though it’s minutes from the town’s amenities, it remains quiet due to its dense tree cover, lack of commercial development, and insulated road network.
18. Goodno – Cattle Crossings and Caloosahatchee Stillness
Goodno isn’t a town so much as a name on a map—an unincorporated cattle hub along the Caloosahatchee River. A few ranch gates, a grain silo, and a faded mail drop mark its presence.
Cattle outnumber people by the hundreds, and dust rises in the distance like smoke signals. The river here moves slow and wide, catching the evening light in golden silence.
Time forgets Goodno, and Goodno seems to prefer it that way.
Where is Goodno?
You’ll find Goodno in northeastern Hendry County, where County Road 78 parallels the Caloosahatchee River.
With no retail, no signals, and only a handful of ranches scattered along the levee, the area holds its hush like a secret passed down.
17. Felda – Bee Pastures and Backroad Beauty in Hendry County
Felda hums with the quiet of bees, citrus sprayers, and wind through endless rows of groves. Fewer than 1,000 residents tend the land or commute to Immokalee, but most wouldn’t trade the solitude for any city pace.
What defines Felda is space—broad fields, straight roads, and skies that stretch to the next county. Homes tuck behind rows of palms or disappear entirely from view.
There are no tourist signs here, just land that breathes and families who let it.
Where is Felda?
Felda sits along State Road 29 in central Hendry County, south of LaBelle and north of Immokalee.
Surrounded by citrus, bee farms, and sugar cane, it’s a long-haul drive from anything resembling a city. The remoteness is by design, not accident.
16. Muse – Pine Hammocks and Sand Roads in the Heart of Glades County
Muse is a scattering of homesteads and old farmsteads nestled among pine hammocks and oak thickets. Life here is quiet, slow, and deeply tied to the land—where mailboxes lean beside dirt tracks and neighbors wave from afar.
There are no shops or schools, just long gravel drives leading to homes hidden beneath canopies of moss and shadow. Even the wind feels softer, brushing through the trees like a whisper meant only for locals.
Sunsets fall gently over palmetto fields, and nights arrive without the buzz of streetlights—just stars, frogs, and the occasional hoot of a barred owl.
Where is Muse?
Muse sits in northern Glades County, west of Palmdale and just south of the Highlands County line. The area is reached by County Road 720 and a maze of unmarked sand roads that snake through thick vegetation.
Surrounded by pastures and preserves, and with no commercial center to draw outside traffic, Muse remains one of South Florida’s most quietly kept secrets.
15. Fort Basinger – Ruins, Ranchland, and River Marshes
What remains of Fort Basinger today is quiet ranchland, a few restored homesteads, and the gentle bend of the Kissimmee River. But walk the trails or watch the sun fall over the pastures, and it feels like history hums beneath your feet.
Locals live on long stretches of land where cattle graze beside live oaks, and fences mark generations, not property lines.
There’s no main road, no traffic—just the occasional heron and the slow, winding kiss of the river.
Where is Fort Basinger?
Fort Basinger is tucked deep in Highlands County, west of Lorida along the banks of the Kissimmee River.
Access is by narrow ranch trails and farm spurs that vanish in wet season, making it one of Florida’s most genuinely hidden lakeside locales.
14. Bunker Hill – Pines and Pasture in Central Glades County
Bunker Hill is more a feeling than a place: gravel roads, sun-bleached mailboxes, and pine barrens stretching past the eye. Families here raise goats, citrus, or simply watch the sky change.
The isolation isn’t dramatic—it’s quiet, lived-in, generational. A few cattle trailers, a church or two, and then nothing but trees and cloud.
You could drive past the road to Bunker Hill a hundred times and never know what peace you’ve missed.
Where is Bunker Hill?
Bunker Hill lies in central Glades County, north of Palmdale and east of Muse, far from any structured grid.
Access is limited to shell and sand roads that dead-end into pastures or canal berms. This lack of infrastructure is exactly what keeps it so beautifully separate.
13. Brighton Highlands – Wind-Swept Prairie Near Seminole Lands
A neighbor to the Brighton Reservation, Brighton Highlands blends open range with a few scattered homesteads and trailers set beneath big skies. The wind here never seems to stop moving—shaking grass, turning heads, carrying quiet.
Most roads are sand tracks through cattle gates, and the occasional porch light is the only glow for miles. Evening brings coyotes, fireflies, and a stillness older than the fences.
It’s not a destination—it’s a way of being that suits those who crave solitude.
Where is Brighton Highlands?
Set just north of Brighton in Glades County, Brighton Highlands hugs the county line near the Lakeport prairie.
It’s reached by one narrow farm road from State Road 78 and otherwise surrounded by ranches and wetlands. That buffer creates near-total silence from the outside world.
12. Hicoria – A Tiny Patch Along US 27 That the World Forgot
Blink and you’ll miss Hicoria—a bend in the road where pines rise high and homes stay hidden down long dirt drives. Once a railroad stop, now just a whisper in the scrub.
The beauty here is subtle: long shadows, big stars, and trails that end at still ponds. The air smells of pine and citrus, and time spills slower than molasses.
A few mailboxes and fence posts tell you someone’s home—but they like their quiet, and you’ll feel it too.
Where is Hicoria?
Hicoria lies just north of Venus in Highlands County, barely marked along US 27.
It’s buffered by pastureland and old groves, and the only sign you’ve arrived is when your GPS says you have—and the silence confirms it.
11. Lakeport Prairie – Sawgrass Bluffs Beside the Canal
Lakeport Prairie is Lakeport’s quieter twin—an even more rural patch just outside the town center, where houses perch on small rises above the marsh. This is where herons nest, airboats sleep, and sunsets stretch across a hundred acres of sawgrass.
Homes here are few, and roads are narrower still—levee tracks with no names and no end. Every turn leads to water, reeds, and the hush of a prairie that has seen generations come and go.
The locals keep it close, and the stillness keeps it sacred.
Where is Lakeport Prairie?
Lakeport Prairie flanks the northern edge of Lakeport proper in Glades County, right up against the Harney Pond marsh.
Only accessible by a handful of shell roads and canal berms, it’s a place where the levee is both highway and boundary—and beyond it lies only wild.
10. Lakeport, Glades County – Fishing Cabins Hidden Along Okeechobee’s Wild Northwest Shore
Home to roughly 200 year-round residents, Lakeport feels more like a camp than a town. Anglers launch at Harney Pond Canal, photograph roseate spoonbills in the marsh and trade stories at the tiny marina store.
Local income comes from airboat guides, bait shops and a handful of cattle operations that edge the wetlands. Most houses sit on acre or larger lots tucked behind sawgrass and cypress, so nearby rooftops disappear from view.
Night skies stay pitch black because the closest streetlight sits ten miles away in Moore Haven. That isolation gives Lakeport the hush that weekend fishers and retirees seek when they pitch up in one of its old pine fishing cabins.
Where is Lakeport?
Lakeport occupies the northwest shore of Lake Okeechobee in rural Glades County. Water, marsh and the Herbert Hoover Dike envelope the settlement, leaving only County Road 78 as a land route.
Most visitors reach it by turning off US 27 at Moore Haven and following the two-lane blacktop through sugarcane fields. The final mile narrows to a causeway that feels like a levee trail, underscoring just how tucked away the community really is.
9. Buckhead Ridge – Canal-Laced Peninsula on Okeechobee’s Northern Marsh
Buckhead Ridge counts about 1,500 permanent residents, but its wide canals and weekend homes swell the number slightly during winter fishing season. Visitors spend mornings trolling for crappie, afternoons paddling the rim canal and evenings comparing catches at the one-room tackle shop.
Small service businesses, fish camps and seasonal rentals bring most of the income, while nearby ranches and citrus groves supply additional work. The community sits on a peninsula bordered by canals on three sides, keeping casual traffic to a single ingress road.
Large one-acre lots and thick hedgerows create breathing space between neighbors. Even with Okeechobee city only a short drive away, Buckhead Ridge feels a world apart once the lake breeze starts rustling the cattails.
Where is Buckhead Ridge?
Buckhead Ridge lies on the northern marsh of Lake Okeechobee in western Okeechobee County. Waterways surround the subdivision, which adds a natural moat that limits expansion and noise.
From US Highway 441, visitors take the Buckhead Ridge Cutoff, a two-mile spur that ends at the bridge over the rim canal. Beyond that bridge the road loops through the neighborhood then stops at the levee, making every trip in and out a deliberate journey rather than a pass-through.
8. Taylor Creek – Quiet Eastern Shore Enclave Ringed by Open Pasture
Roughly 4,000 residents call Taylor Creek home, though many live on roomy parcels that stretch along the eastern lake canal. Locals launch bass boats at Lock 7, ride horses on nearby pasture trails and catch minor-league rodeos at the county ag-center.
Agriculture, especially cattle and sod farms, shares economic space with a few marina businesses and home-based contractors. The neighborhood backs onto thousands of acres of open pasture, so headlights disappear quickly after sunset.
Only one paved loop road connects the canal-front homes, and train horns from distant Okeechobee seldom break the quiet. Dark skies, minimal traffic and that buffer of grazing land grant Taylor Creek a rare sense of detachment despite being minutes from town.
Where is Taylor Creek?
Taylor Creek sits east of the Kissimmee River inlet on Lake Okeechobee’s shoreline. The lake’s rim canal borders one side while fenced ranchland guards the other, hemming the enclave in natural corridors.
State Road 441 provides the quickest access, yet drivers must weave through two miles of local roads before reaching any house. Those extra turns discourage sightseers and keep the settlement firmly in the quiet column.
7. Lake Harbor – Sugar-Field Outpost on Okeechobee’s Southwestern Corner
With fewer than 60 full-time residents, Lake Harbor registers as a dot on older highway maps. Daytime activities revolve around sugar-field vistas, duck-hunting blinds and boat launches that slip under the Hoover Dike.
Seasonal cane harvests and a pair of pump stations provide the bulk of employment, joined by a modest charter-fishing trade. Cottages sit on acre lots screened by cane stalks that rise higher than the rooftops.
Even cell service can fade once the evening breeze rattles the cane, leaving only frogs and distant machinery. That combination of agricultural buffer and minimal population cements Lake Harbor’s place among Florida’s quietest lakeside stations.
Where is Lake Harbor?
Lake Harbor rests on the southwestern corner of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach County. The Herbert Hoover Dike forms a semicircle that blocks road noise and hides the lake, adding to the sense of isolation.
State Road 27 serves as the lone paved artery, and travelers must drive fifteen miles from Clewiston before the first Lake Harbor mailbox appears. Beyond that point, levee roads and harvest tracks replace asphalt, reinforcing the outpost atmosphere.
6. Lorida – Moss-Draped Hideaway on Lake Istokpoga’s Eastern Bank
Approximately 1,700 residents are scattered through Lorida, yet the village itself feels empty thanks to wide hammocks and long driveways. Anglers glide across Lake Istokpoga at first light, kayakers thread through lily pads, and birders watch snail kites from the tiny Bluff Hammock trail.
Fishing guides, citrus groves and a pair of roadside diners anchor the local economy. Most homes occupy multi-acre lakefront parcels shaded by live oaks that muffle any human sound.
Streetlights are rare and night-time traffic rarer still, preserving true darkness for stargazing. Those traits keep Lorida quietly tucked away despite lying only a short detour from busy US 98.
Where is Lorida?
Lorida lines the eastern shore of Lake Istokpoga in central Highlands County. Thick wetlands to the north and a wide band of pasture to the south sever through traffic, granting the lake its stillness.
Travelers exit US 98 onto County Road 621 and follow a winding two-lane route that dips through oak tunnels before arriving at the public boat ramp. With no major highway continuing past the ramp, visitors turn around the same way they came, which naturally limits numbers.
5. Istokpoga Shores – Bald-Eagle Territory in Highlands County
Istokpoga Shores claims roughly 500 residents, most living in cypress-shaded homes reached by gravel lanes. Bald eagles nest in pine snags overhead while fishermen cast for largemouth bass from backyard docks.
Apart from a volunteer firehouse and a single bait shack, industry is absent, so locals commute to Sebring or manage home offices in view of the water. Wetlands outnumber rooftops two to one, creating natural buffers that keep neighborly noise to a whisper.
An unofficial nightly ritual finds residents gathering on decks to watch fog lift off the lake and listen for barred owls. This sparse human footprint wards off light pollution and protects the hush that defines Istokpoga Shores.
Where is Istokpoga Shores?
The community occupies the western bank of Lake Istokpoga, five miles south of Lorida in Highlands County. Only one sand and shell road connects it to County Road 621, ensuring minimal through-traffic.
Visitors typically reach the area by following US 27 to Sebring then veering east along a series of farm roads into the pine flatwoods. Because those roads dead-end at the lake, the area remains a cul-de-sac for wildlife and residents alike.
4. Brighton – Lake Life on the Seminole Reservation
Around 600 people reside in Brighton, a loosely arranged cluster of family compounds on the Seminole Reservation north of Okeechobee. Residents spend weekends hosting traditional rodeos, guiding pontoon tours on reservation lakes and practicing beadwork that is sold in the small craft shop.
Cattle ranching, tribal government and eco-tourism shape the local economy, supplemented by a smoke-free gaming complex that draws day visitors. Homes sit far back from sand roads, and pasture lands separate clusters, creating expanses of open prairie between households.
No billboards, big-box stores or traffic lights intrude on the horizon, so sunsets arrive with nothing but meadowlarks for company. That prairie setting coupled with tribal stewardship ensures Brighton’s quiet continuity.
Where is Brighton?
Brighton lies on the northwest shore of Lake Okeechobee within Glades County yet under Seminole governance. It sits well off major corridors, bordered by ranchland on three sides and Lake Okeechobee marsh on the fourth.
Access is primarily via State Road 721, a two-lane route that sees more cattle trailers than passenger cars. Because the road terminates at reservation checkpoints, casual traffic is almost nonexistent, sealing Brighton’s seclusion.
3. Venus – Ranchland Retreat Between Lake Placid and Kissimmee River Marshes
Approximately 800 people are spread across the pine flatwoods of Venus, where five-acre mini ranches substitute for suburban blocks. Locals split time between horseback trails, blueberry u-pick farms and secret swimming holes along Fisheating Creek.
Agriculture dominates, with cattle, ornamental plants and apiaries providing incomes in backyard-scale operations. Towering slash pines and palmetto thickets form thick windbreaks that shield homes from one another.
The nearest traffic signal is twenty miles away in Lake Placid, leaving local roads delightfully empty. This buffer of forest and ranchland gives Venus a sense of remoteness rarely found so close to Central Florida’s resort corridor.
Where is Venus?
Venus sits midway between Lake Placid and the Kissimmee River marshes in southern Highlands County. State Forest holdings and large cattle ranches create a twenty-mile cushion from any municipality.
US 27 skirts the settlement, but interior roads remain sand or shell, discouraging casual detours. Most visitors arrive only for agritourism events, and they leave by sunset, returning the area to its habitual quiet.
2. Blue Cypress Village – Stilt Cottages Over Mirror-Calm Water
Blue Cypress Village is home to about 50 hardy residents living in stilt cottages perched over glassy water. Mornings begin with coffee on screened porches as ospreys dive for shad, and afternoons often involve cruising to the ghostly stands of cypress knees that line the shoreline.
Income comes from a combination of sport-fishing guides, a small lakeside lodge and maintenance work at nearby Blue Cypress Conservation Area. Homes are accessed by a single shore-hugging lane, and dense cypress groves prevent any expansion inland.
There are no streetlights, gas stations or mail delivery, which keeps nights as silent as the surrounding swamp. That mix of limited access and watery surroundings makes the village feel like Florida’s answer to a frontier outpost.
Where is Blue Cypress Village?
The village clings to the western shore of Blue Cypress Lake in far western Indian River County. A single county road winds for twenty miles from State Road 60 through cattle ranches and oak hammocks before reaching the lake. Because the road ends at the village, every trip requires a deliberate turnaround, eliminating pass-through traffic. Visitors most often arrive by boat from Fellsmere or by kayak via the St Johns Marsh, further highlighting the isolation.
1. Highlands Park Estates – Quiet Hills Above Deep-Blue Lake Placid
Highlands Park Estates hosts roughly 600 residents scattered along the steep bluffs that overlook deep-blue Lake Placid. Residents spend mornings hiking the hilly Archbold Preserve next door, afternoons water-skiing on the spring-fed lake and evenings sipping sweet tea under mossy live oaks.
Local livelihoods include small-scale citrus groves, home-based artists and a few guest cottages marketed to weekend climbers drawn by the unexpected elevation. Gravel lanes wind through one-acre wooded lots, with dense sand pines shielding each cabin from the next.
Because the neighborhood sits high above the lake on a dead-end ridge, only locals ever climb the final steep grade. This topographic perch and limited road network secure Highlands Park Estates the quiet crown among Southern Florida’s lake towns.
Where is Highlands Park Estates?
Highlands Park Estates overlooks the northern shore of Lake Placid, five miles south of the town of Lake Placid in Highlands County. Surrounding citrus groves and conservation tracts act as green belts that block future development and noise.
Access is via Highlands Park Drive, a winding climb from US 27 that finishes in loose gravel before the ridge crest. Since the road stops at the lake bluff with no outlet, the neighborhood enjoys the traffic patterns of a mountaintop cul-de-sac.
