Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida, located in the heart of the state's peninsula and part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven metropolitan area. The 2020 census counted 16,361 residents. Its defining geographic feature is the Lake Wales Ridge, an ancient sand ridge that runs through central Florida and includes some of the highest elevations in the peninsula, giving the area a gently rolling, oak-and-scrub landscape that sets it apart from the state's flatter coastal terrain.
The city is best known as the home of Bok Tower Gardens, a 250-acre sanctuary created in the 1920s by publisher and philanthropist Edward Bok, working with landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Its centerpiece, the Singing Tower, houses a 60-bell carillon and stands as one of central Florida's earliest and most enduring attractions. The gardens draw visitors from across the country and are a point of deep local pride.
Lake Wales' historic downtown reflects its early twentieth-century growth, with 1920s architecture and a revitalization effort aimed at preserving the district while adding urban-style housing and new businesses. Housing across the city spans historic in-town homes, lakefront properties, newer subdivisions, and the Lake Ashton 55-plus community, giving buyers a broad range of options.
Education is provided by Polk County Public Schools, with campuses in the city including Hillcrest Elementary, Janie Howard Wilson School, and Lake Wales Senior High School. Transportation centers on US Highway 27 and State Road 60, which connect Lake Wales to the region's highway network between Orlando and Tampa. For recreation, residents enjoy Bok Tower Gardens, the trails and scrub habitat of the ridge, lakeside parks, and the city's trailway, making Lake Wales a distinctive small-city choice in central Florida.
