| Saddlebag Lake, Florida Saddlebag Lake Resort |
|
|---|---|
| — Retirement Community/Resort — | |
| Location in Polk County and the state of Florida | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Polk |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14 sq mi (36.3 km2) |
| • Land | 13.3 sq mi (34.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.7 sq mi (1.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 148 ft (45 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,350 |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 33898 |
| Area code(s) | 863 |
| FIPS code | 12-38950[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0285290[2] |
Saddlebag Lake Resort is a retirement village near the outskirts of Lake Wales, Florida in Polk County. The population is around 1,350. The park is not a CDR or Community. Instead it is part of Lake Wales, Florida though the town is 9 miles way from the park.
Saddlebag Lake Resort was founded in 1973, by two investors after trying to find a lake to fish in for the summer. The two brothers bought the land from the state of Florida. The brothers bought more than 100 acres from the state and invested in a Campground. The campground was nearly wiped out in 1976 from a flood. It wiped out the bottom part of the park. In 1979 the Campground became a resort. Many of the campsites were developed into house lots. There is a code saying that the houses should be no longer than 24 feet and no wider than 48 feet long and no higher than 12 off the ground. These rules came into place in 1982. Currently only around 10 houses remain from the old restrictions. In 1990 the park exceeded 1,000 residence in the park, In 2000 The park exceeded more than 2,000 residence living residence. After the economic downfall of the late 2000s the residence at SLR is now around 1,350 residence as of 2010.