Lake Wales is a city in Polk County, Florida. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,361 at the 2020 census.

The Lake Wales Ridge, sometimes referred to as the Mid-Florida Ridge, is a sand ridge running for about 100 miles (160 km) south to north in Central Florida. Clearly viewable from satellite, the white sands of the ridge are located in Highlands County and Polk County, and also extend north into Osceola, Orange, and Lake Counties. It is named for the city of Lake Wales, roughly at the midpoint of the ridge. The highest point of the ridge is Sugarloaf Mountain, which at 312 feet is also the highest natural point in peninsular Florida. Iron Mountain, the location of Bok Tower, marks another well known high point on the ridge, attaining an elevation of 295 ft (90 m). A northern unconnected extension of the Lake Wales Ridge exists in western Putnam County near the town of Grandin.