Sugarloaf Mountain

Florida's only real hills, in one loop from Clermont: the route rides CR-561 north along Lake Minneola, climbs Sugarloaf Mountain Road over the highest point on the Florida peninsula, follows CR-561A and CR-455 to Montverde and comes back on SR-50. It's 27 miles. Short stretches of US-27 and the run home on SR-50 are four-lane highway; the good part is in the middle. Road cyclists climb Sugarloaf in big groups on weekends, so weekday mornings are better, and watch for sand at the crossings.

Sugarloaf Mountain rises 312 feet on the Lake Wales Ridge near Clermont, the highest point on the Florida peninsula, and the roads around it are the only real hills in central Florida. From downtown Clermont the route rides around the west shore of Lake Minneola, where West Beach Park has a fishing pier and a dirt lot by the water, and heads north on CR-561, with a short stretch of US-27, a four-lane highway, between the two parts of 561.

Sugarloaf Mountain Road climbs over the top, and the route continues on CR-561A and CR-455, part of the Green Mountain Scenic Byway, to Montverde, then comes back to Clermont on SR-50, also four lanes. It's 27 miles, short, with the good part in the middle. Road cyclists ride Sugarloaf in big groups on weekends, so a weekday morning is calmer; watch for sand at the crossings, and stay on the county roads: some side roads turn to rough pavement.