Shadow Bay Park is a rare slice of florida's natural landscape. Formerly known as Lake Cane Marsha…read morePark, Shadow Bay Park is a 111 acre natural area preserve and park tucked into Southwest Orlando. Despite being surrounded by busy roads and urban development, the park protects a rare and biologically rich remnant of Florida's ancient sand pine scrub ecosystem, preserving a small piece of old Florida in the middle of the city. The park straddles an ancient shoreline associated with the Lake Wales Ridge, one of Florida's most important areas for rare and native plants and animals. Its diverse landscape includes rosemary scrub, xeric oak scrub, longleaf pine forest, wetlands, and four ponds, creating a variety of habitats for wildlife. It is one of the last remaining urban scrub habitats in Orange County and provides an important refuge for several rare and endangered native species. Shadow Bay Park is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, a statewide network of more than 500 wildlife-viewing sites. The northern portion of the park, especially the trails between Lupine Pond and Woodland Pond, offers some of the best birding opportunities. Depending on the season, visitors may spot Blue-headed Vireos, House Wrens, Eastern Phoebes, Yellow-throated Warblers and Indigo Buntings. The ponds attract Limpkins, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers and Mottled Ducks, while Glossy Ibis and, occasionally, American Bitterns make appearances. Keep an eye on the sky for Ospreys and Cooper's Hawks, both of which nest within the park. I enjoyed exploring the trails throughout the park. A paved walkway and separate unpaved footpaths wind through the landscape. In the sandy trails through the rosemary scrub, you can find rare plants such as scrub lupine and threatened gopher tortoises. During migration season, you may see species such as Magnolia Warblers, Ovenbirds, Eastern Wood-Pewees and Baltimore Orioles pass through the oak area of the park. In addition to wildlife watching, the park offers plenty for active visitors and families. These include basketball and pickleball courts, softball fields, a fitness path, fishing areas around Shadow Bay Pond and a playground. The Lake Cane Tennis Center has been part of the park since 1986, when Orange County partnered with MG Tennis to operate the facility. Over the years, it has grown into a major Central Florida tennis destination and tournament hub. What I appreciate most about Shadow Bay Park is that it preserves an important part of Florida's original landscape while the surrounding communities continued to grow. It is a rare ecological refuge hiding in plain sight. Come for the trails, birding, wildlife, recreation or just for a peaceful escape from the surrounding city. This is a park worth exploring.

I absolutely love this public park. It has an excellent layout, a fantastic location, and is one of…read morethe most complete parks in the area. The playground is fun and feels safe for kids. There's also a pier where you can watch turtles and fish, which my children absolutely love every time we visit. If you enjoy being active, there's a scenic trail that's great for walking, running, or biking. The park also features basketball and baseball courts, picnic shelters for BBQs and birthday parties, clean restrooms, and plenty of parking spread throughout the different areas, making it easy to access everything. The real highlight of the park, though, is its tennis complex. Even though I don't personally use it, it's clearly the centerpiece of the park, with more than 10 tennis courts, excellent facilities, kids taking lessons, and tournaments happening regularly. If you're a tennis fan or looking to get into the sport, this is one of the best public places in the area. Overall, it's a fantastic park for families, sports lovers, or anyone looking to spend a relaxing day outdoors.

Inaugural year of Lake County Pride at Ferran Park, Eustis, FL. It's always great to show love and…read moresupport the community. Glad to see that Pride events are still growing and people are still coming out to support despite current government situations. Love is Love and Pride is for EVERYONE!

Ferran Park felt like a calm little refuge on this foggy morning, even if Lake Eustis was mostly a…read moresuggestion somewhere beyond the gray. The Christmas decorations gave the whole place a warm lift, especially the lit tree glowing through the mist. With the bandshell looking sharp and the grounds in excellent shape, it was easy to settle into the rhythm of the wide, smooth walking paths and just enjoy the quiet. You can tell the lake views are usually the star here, and on a clear day the sweep of that massive water must be something to take in. Today wasn't that day, but the park itself carried the moment just fine, offering space, light, and a bit of holiday charm to brighten the morning of my Eustis exploration. [Review 1624 of 2025 - 2201 in Florida - 25172 overall]

Love this place, I drove by so many times and decided to actually stop in and I am so glad that I…read moredid!! The center has so many cool locally made exhibits, and taxidermy pieces! The trails are beautiful and well kept. I will be back!! We need more places like this

Friendly staff and volunteers: Many reviews mention that staff and volunteers are helpful,…read morewelcoming, and contribute to a good visitor experience. * Kid-friendly / educational aspects: There are components (touch tables, specimen exhibits, etc.) that are good for children.

Ferndale Preserve is located in what feels like the middle of nowhere. The park opens at 6:30 am…read moreand closes at 6pm. There are two trails currently open. One is .5 mile up to a high point and the other is a 1.6 loop. No dogs are allowed in the park or in the trails for their safety. Bathrooms are available at the entrance. The playground area is separated into two sections. The sections are age appropriate and super challenging and fun for children. The equipment is clean and has the appearance of being well maintained. The park is not shaded so I don't recommend coming in the middle of the summer. Fall, winter and spring will provide lots of fun.

I'm a sucker for a good nature preserve and this place is no different. I loved my experience here…read morethe trails were fantastic and the wildlife and trees were incredible. This place has a good trail system encompassing about two and a half miles with multiple cutbacks and side trails and they've even got a water access for fishing. The scrub forest was fantastic and this park is at a higher elevation than most area around it so the views were pretty cool especially looking down onto Lake Apopka. I loved my experience here, and they've got nice clean bathrooms in the parking lot available for your use.

Nice small park across the street from Snooky Park. It is a nice place to grab lunch or to just sit…read moreand watch the world pass you by. While small, it is tended with great pride and I am better for this discovery. We need parks and parks are a reflection of the community that they are in. This is definitely a pleasant park and I would recommend coming to check it out.

Beautiful historical park in Lady Lake. Wonderful place for photos!…read more I really enjoyed the garden. Great place to take a walk, watch the sunset.

My favorite park and neighborhood ! I love waking up and…read morestarting my day with a great jog or walk to reset and get my cardio in. Neighbors are so friendly and welcoming and there are beautiful butterflies, flying around, birds and cute duckies . I love the trail and sometimes I'll stop at the gastrobar and grab lunch before heading home. Such a perfect family friendly neighborhood.

I love Baldwin Park! I regularly drive here from about 20 minutes away because it's such an…read moreenjoyable walk. Obviously during the hotter months you might wanna sit this out or only come in the early or late hours of the day to avoid the scorching heat. The path around the lake is about 2.5 miles, and you will see walkers, joggers, and bikers of all ages. Walking in this neighborhood reinforces a strong sense of community, because you will see people sitting on benches, enjoying nature, bunny rabbits hopping around, wildflowers, and families taking photos in some of the more picturesque locations! Parking can be a bear, but if you have a little patience, you can usually find street parking or lot parking. And when you're done, you have the enjoyment of being in a walkable downtown area with lots of restaurants and shops.

While driving through Orlo Vista I spotted this park. It looked like a nice place to stop and…read morestretch my legs while I worked out my next destination. The name Orlo Vista is a blending of the city name Orlando and the word vista meaning a view. It was coined during Florida's land boom years when developers laid out the community just west of Orlando in the 1920s in a rural agricultural area. It turns out this park has a bit of a back story. While today it's a welcoming community park, it was once the site of the Orlando Game Club, an illegal cockfighting ring. Thankfully it is now a family friendly outdoor space that can be enjoyed by residents and visitors. Opened in 1974, the 40 acre Orlo Vista Park gave the growing unincorporated Orange County community a much needed place to enjoy the outdoors. The park continued to grow along with the community. In 1995, after support from local residents, Orange County invested in major improvements that expanded the park's facilities and enhanced the landscape. Those upgrades helped transform it into the park so many enjoy today. Now, Orlo Vista Park offers a recreation center, playgrounds, athletic fields, walking paths, picnic pavilions with tables and grills, basketball courts, fishing pier, and a community garden. I had a lovely summer evening stroll through the park where I saw many people enjoying all the park has to offer. It even serves as an official seasonal cooling center during periods of extreme heat. Orlo Vista Park is a great example of how a community can take a site with a terrible past and turn it into something good for the community.

Arlo Vista Park is not far off of Kirkman Road in a quiet residential neighborhood, but it is a…read morepretty large park.) There is a walking trail, tennis courts, a basketball court, a few pavilions, a children's playground, a fishing dock, and more. They even have vending machines here. This is a nice park and a great addition to the Orlo Vista neighborhood. If you are in the area, check this park out.

Some place special…read more The nice sign at the entrance of the park says "Someplace Special" and the sprawling park is indeed pretty special. All kinds of cool activities to do here. Some great and very well maintained baseball fields, a swimming pool, tennis courts, walking trails picnic tables, bathrooms, drinking fountains and even a dog park. Really something for everyone. One of the very nice things about the park is all the old trees that offer lots of shade from the blistering Floridian sun. A cool park to do a whole lot of cool things.

My son spent a few months participating in the swim team which meets at the pool at this park. The…read morepark is easy to get to with plenty of parking. It looks like it could use a little sprucing up by the city, however. The pool area is run down and often has chairs haphazardly laying around and the bathrooms can be downright gross. There is no shade around the pool except for one flimsy pop-up shelter that was destroyed in a storm and not replaced. The hot tub is nasty looking and has never been open as long as we've been coming. The pool itself often had a lot of debris in it and would use an overhaul as well. With all the growing Mount Dora is doing it would be nice to see them step it up and take care of their parks a little more. This park has a lot of potential but unfortunately it just isn't there yet.