Exploring the World With Pokemon Go: Kissimmee Lakefront
Before I continue going through my Cross Seminole Trail Journey, I wanted to hit something in my backlog. The famed Kissimmee Lakefront is legendary among Central Florida Pokemon Go Players. When the game first launched, creatures that could be found basically nowhere else spawned in high amounts.
Its been a couple years since Pokemon Go launched, but I spent many nights at this famed location. I decided, after putting it off for some time, to at long last document Kissimmee Lakefront. To this day, it is still one of my favorite spots to play Pokemon Go. I’ll show you why.
Kissimmee Lakefront is an absolutely stunning park. I view it as a sort of travesty that I never found this place before Pokemon Go. On the northern shore of Lake Tohopekaliga, immediately south of Downtown Kissimmee, its not hard at all to find the park.
Even more convenient, the Sunrail has a station only a block away from here. Seriously, come check this place out even if you don’t play Pokemon Go. There are fields and sheltered areas a plenty. And I have not even shown the lake area yet.
I want to call special attention to the first photo. On many nights, I would run back and forth alongside crowds of Pokemon Go players following the rare spawns around the path that looped that field.
Monuments:
As moved farther along at Kissimmee Lakefront, the sky turned dark. I feared a storm, but then remembered that this was not the first time I had played Pokemon Go in such weather. Nor was it the first time I had dealt with Florida rain. I did not flee.
Instead, I reached the lake. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of those pictures in a moment. Instead, I want to point out that long before Pokemon, Kissimmee Lakefront existed for veterans and outdoor clubs. Such signs remain dotted all over the landscape.
Also dotting the landscape in the above pictures sits the technical entrance to the park. Out of habit, I always enter at the same spot. Technically the east side and move west as I walk around.
In the distance of bottom picture, you can spot the lighthouse. Don’t worry, I got a much closer view of that. But yes, this lake is large enough for boats. That lighthouse shines at night and gets some use. Speaking of large. Don’t go in that lake. You can’t see them in the picture, but plenty of alligators swam around, not even forty feet from me.
The Lighthouse:
I continued my journey through Kissimmee Lakefront with only one destination in mind. The lighthouse stood open and with few people nearby. An oddity let me tell you. Normally the area around it is packed with people.
Don’t worry about the sign in that top photo. Its simply a warning that snakes and alligators live in the area. Anyone who has lived in Florida for at least a year knows this.
Anyway, I made it to the lighthouse, continued catching all the Pokemon nearby. I can assure you that I had to take pictures between catching. This spot is just that good.
Just as I assumed, the weather cleared up. As a point of reference, the pictures in the last section and this one were taken only about five minutes apart. In Florida, the weather changes constantly and trying to predict it is pointless.
At the edge of walkway, behind the lighthouse, you can read a post about Lake Tohopekaliga. I’m a sucker for learning about the history all around me. Unfortunately, I do not have a high quality camera that can properly transplant what was written. But of course, you could just come to the park and read it for yourself.
The East Side:
Moving past the lighthouse, I walked to the east side of Kissimmee Lakefront. Though this area is much of the same as before, there is nothign wrong with that.
Thanks to the weather, the park was far emptier than normal. But do not be fooled. In part thanks to Pokemon Go, but equally thanks to many factors, this area is crowded at almost all time of the day. Evenings included in that by the way.
As you can see, the menacing clouds returned. Florida weather is many things. Predictable is not one of them. But I kept at it. I love this place after all.
Before I get too far ahead of myself though, one little spot of Kissimmee Lakefront that was different from the opposite end was the small swamp boardwalk area. I got a couple photos, but ironically, unlike the other areas I visited, this region was crowded. I try not to involve stranger in my blog pictures.
Wrapping Up:
My journey around Kissimmee Lake Front took me back down the park and towards where I started. But in both corners, I found plenty to see. More murals, more trees, some houses, and of course, more lake.
I passed the field where so many rare Pokemon appeared to me when the game first came out. Its nostalgic to remember those times. Of course, its only been a couple years since Pokemon Go launched and changed the world. Hell this blog wouldn’t exist if not for that.
Let’s take a moment and talk about the plaque commemorating the Native Americans who once lived in this region. I’m not gonna talk politics on this blog post, but its a story worth reading. I’ll leave it at that.
Hey look. A wild me from almost four months ago at the time when I write this. That shirt is in both Hebrew and English if you are wondering. Those are headphones in my ears. I never leave home without a pair. I like creating my own background noise.
Pokemon Go:
Now let’s get to the part some of you have been waiting for. Let’s talk about the Kissimmee Lakefront Pokemon Go experience. This is the place to play the game. The spawns are plentiful. Many things appear that are extremely rare in the wild otherwise. Even today, there are a few Pokemon that I have only found here such as Miltank. I catch multiple Feebas every time I arrive.
All in all, make sure to come here, both in Pokemon Go and outside of it. It cannot be stated enough just how incredible this park is. And there are few excuses not to. The place is extremely accessible lacking no major inclines that don’t have nearby ramps. One never is far from the parking lot if they need to leave suddenly.
And of course, if you don’t want to drive here, the nearby Sunrail Station is always a weekday option. Fun fact, that same station is used by Amtrak. If you come to visit Kissimmee that way, know you are not far from this spectacular place.
Despite all the walking, I only hatched one egg. This Heracross. In most parts of the world, this would be a great hatch. However, in Florida, notably South and Central, these things are everywhere.
I have many more blog posts in the backlog. Look forward to the rest of my journey down the Cross Seminole Trail next.