What a great place to see the native wildlife and plant species. During my walk along the trail, I…read moresaw so many birds, turtles, and alligators - it's definitely a place to take photos. Besides hiking, the park also offers biking, bird watching, and horseback riding, plus guided tours. Check out the visitor center, you'll see live fishes and baby alligators, as well as taxidermy displays of the local wildlife. You'll also learn how this wetland functions as an advanced treatment for Orlando's reclaimed water. I thought it was super informative!

Truly a hidden gem! It's free to visi and they offer free tram rides on the weekends. It's sooo…read morevast and beautiful, there's so much wild life to see. On my hike we saw tons of alligators, birds, bunnies and turtles. Even got to see baby owls. There are miles of trails and a board walk. Went at 8am on a Saturday and there weren't too many people out but as we were leaving the groups were picking up. There are benches along some of the trails and picnic tables and bathrooms near the entrance.

Keys go back in time when there was no electronics, tvs , cell phones etc and see how people lived…read moreas one ! If you love historic things, this is a cool place to check out in Christmas , Fl. I came here with my daughter's class on a field trip and while the adults loved it, I don't think it's for kids under 6. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable but not as understanding that kindergarteners attention spans are a lot shorter and using big words and making them stand through presentations that are not of interest is the reason I gave this a 3. 5-6 years who see farm animals are going to want to run and see them and they get overly excited so I was kind of mind blown that the tour guide couldn't realize that . There were some cool activities that the littlest enjoyed like filling water pails and cleaning laundry the old way and also make candle sticks . I think this is a cool place for bigger kids and adults for sure.

20 out of 10! Wow this place is absolutely relaxing and enjoyable! A great place for the family!…read moreI learned of this out door museum years ago. I fell in love with it. It's been years simce we have returned buy we finally came with our family a few days ago. Tje weather was absolute perfection! Breezy, sunny with a hint of cloudiness. Nice cool weather, in the low 70's. I planned to come here and have a BBQ with my family. They have grills there. After enjoying some food we decided to walk around and enjoy the scenery of history itself. Experiencing how many lived long ago. Travel back in time with your family and learn about life in the early 1900's. Walk through the houses from back in the day. House of the rich, poor amd middle class. Fun and educational for the family, especially for the kids. Why not plan a picnic or a BBQ with the family, friends or just you and your honey. Either way i guarantee you will have a nice relaxing day. I love it there. One thing I do miss though is the gift shop they use to have. But other then that you could spend hours there! They also have a tennis court there as well. And you can rent out 1 of the 3 gazebos they have there depending on how large your party is. Each gazebo holds a different amount of people. So go and visit this beautiful outdoor museum. Enjoy a peaceful day with the ones you love. I know i will return.

The playground is so much fun. My daughters ages 3 and 6 had a great time on the climbing…read morestructure, slides, and swings. I especially enjoyed the "double swing" where you can swing with your toddler/infant. We attended a birthday party here and the pavilion was extremely close to the playground which made it easy to go back and forth. Also around the corner from the playground is a little stage on the edge of the woods that the children liked pretending to perform on and there were benches for people to sit and enjoy their show. Lots of trees for shade as well. Highly recommend!

Beautiful park. Quiet, peaceful, and shaded! We love taking the kids here! Definitely recommend.read more

Overlook Park is located on Lake Jessup near the southern end of the beltway bridge. Lake Jessup is…read morenotable for being the home of over 13,000 alligators giving it the highest concentration of alligators in Florida. The park is surrounded by two sulfur springs of historical significance, one to the east and one to the west that give you the feeling as if you are on a small island. The three acre park has a pavilion with several picnic tables and a grill. Throughout the park are large oak trees covered in moss that provides a shaded canopy from the sun. Around the water's edge are Cyprus trees with their interconnecting roots, also known as Cyprus knees, that stick up out of the ground. As you look out towards the water, you can see a newly reconstructed boardwalk popular with local fisherman. I especially enjoyed the wildlife at the park which is home to osprey, various Florida wading birds, and the alligators of Lake Jessup. This is an especially picturesque and peaceful park with a rich depth of area history.

If you like the sound of the highway as you gaze across the St. John's you…read moreMight like it. There is no trail. A nice long boardwalk over the river. Right now there is an algae alert so wouldn't recommend fishing

This playground has a lot of great features. It is fenced in. It has nice artificial turf…read more(excellent for crawling babies). It has a fair amount of shade and a lot of picnic tables. It has two regular swings and two baby swings. It has a "little kid" and a "big kid" playground. It has bathrooms on site. The cons are that it can be difficult to keep an eye on all your children if one wants to be on the big playground and one on the little. Worse than that is that the big kid playground is a little TOO big. It has a lot of openings a child could fall out of that are quite high. Thankfully the third story doesn't have an opening, but I have seen older kids climb up the outside of the large enclosed slides all the way to the top. It was extremely scary! There are warnings for bees but I am yet to see any.

This is an updated review from me. I used to bring my nieces and nephews to Friendship Park, now…read moreI'm bringing my own kids. The park has toddler swings as well as regular swings, making it great for children of all ages. Since my last review, everything has been repainted and cleaned, and the improvements are noticeable. There are restrooms on-site and plenty of shaded areas. The entire playground is fenced in. It does get pretty busy during the day time on the weekends, as many birthdays occur here. Also, the church across the street uses the parking area on Sundays so parking can be limited during that time.

I've paddled the Emerald Cut a few times now. Initially I didn't like the idea of paying to launch…read moremy own paddleboard. However, it's only $10 now that I have my own life jacket (saving me additional cost of $5 to use one of theirs, as required). Well worth the low cost for some soul-enriching, communing with nature. I have never made a reservation. I normally arrive around 10:30, most recently on a Friday. Parked for free on Baptist Camp Rd. Just a bit of a walk from there with my inflated paddleboard, but I don't mind the extra exercise. You can unload your stuff closer, if preferable. There are port-a-potties available. You can count on there being a line in the check-in office. Various recreation supplies are available there for purchase. The process moves reasonably enough. A reservation will guarantee your entrance, however, and possibly aide quicker personal info collection. I always plan to do the Emerald Cut in roughly 3 hours round-trip, allowing myself several stops to enjoy the surroundings. You do run into (quite literally at times) novice paddlers along the way, which can be a bit tricky, yet not a real nuisance for me. In general, there's friendliness along the waterway. Slighty rowdy, party vibes in some spots, but also opportunities for solace and zen in various nooks. Encountering wildlife, fragrant elderberry, and other captivating flora along this stretch is always gratifying. It's a popular recreation destination for good reason.

Many tourists don't realize Florida is home to stunning crystal-clear spring rivers--perfect for…read moreswimming, kayaking, and tubing aka "hidden gems". My Hubby and I love kayaking, so we booked an excursion months in advance for Rock Springs through TripAdvisor. Our Tour Operator was Get Up And Go Kayaking located at Kings Landing in Apopka, FL. I LOVE saying Apopka ;) The good news: Apopka is a quick 1 hour drive from Orlando. Make sure you don't miss the turn to King's Landing, because the entrance is located on a narrow dirt road. You must drive past Kelly Park (which fills up fast). There is a Park Ranger located here who will guide you to King's Landing. As you get closer and if you see a parking spot, grab it! Check in is located in the Cabin like office where you will have to sign a waiver. If you do not want to take a clear bottom, guided Kayak tour, you can either rent or BYO Kayak versus taking a semi private, clear, guided kayak tour. NOTE: ONLY use their Sunscreen/lotion which is provided at no cost. It protects the wildlife and the Springs. We wanted the full experience as we have previously enjoyed renting clear Kayaks. Our guide for the morning was: Megan, who was fantastic! Full of energy, information and helpful tidbits about the Springs and its human and wildlife inhabitants. Our group was small and capped at 10. We paddled through both narrow and open stretches, and stopped to swim in the warm, crystal-clear water. One highlight was a banyan tree with an 8-foot natural "jump hole"--such a cool experience! It was a serene, memorable day, and fun fact: this is the very spring featured in the Visit Orlando commercials! Yeah, definitely take a day away from crowded Orlando to relax and enjoy Mother Nature! You will Thank Me ;)

My kids love the splash pad. Appreciate that there is some shading on the playground, though wish…read moreit lined up a bit better with the benches. My son also plays t-ball on the fields here and loves it! Don't miss the skate part on the opposite side of the building from the playground. There is a little free library at the entrance! It would be nice if the outside doors into the bathrooms, closer to the splash pad, weren't always locked. It sucks to walk all the way around and through the building with wet kids. Only bad experiences we've had have been a couple times when teachers bring their daycare kids to the playground and they overrun it. Have had issues with older kids cussing and speaking inappropriately -the caregivers pay very little attention to them. They seem to come out at the end of the day while waiting for pickup.

One of the best public basketball courts in America. Great rims and great nets. The roof on top…read morecovers the whole court. I love this court

Beautiful park with a nice playground. The park itself has all kinds of things like a soccer field…read moreand more. It's huge but we only went to the playground area. There's a few benches and picnic tables. It's clean with pretty surroundings.

Chain of lakes Park turns out to be a very large Park. I did…read morenot see any area that was pet friendly. There is an area with playgrounds for the kids. There's an area where they have multiple soccer fields. There's an area where they have multiple baseball fields and practice areas. There's also a public bathroom over by the soccer fields. The walking trails here are paved path and they loop all around the park. Park as miles of walking path. In the back area of the park you will find a pretty tall observation tower which you can get a really good view of the native Florida railway. There's also a few Bridges going over lakes which are prefabricated metal bridges that are fun to walk over and stare into the water. I went on a fairly rainy day and the wildlife was mostly all birds. I saw regular ducks and a lot of different waterfall that I'm unfamiliar with. I also spotted an alligator who was floating around one of the main lakes.

What a nice little Park located in one of the neighborhoods of Avalon Park. It is Well shaded with…read moreplenty of trees and they have a basketball court and a children's play area. They also have benches strewn about strategically so if you want to kick back for a minute, you have that option. It has a nice little walkway around the park that was enjoyable to walk upon. While it is not an overly large park, for a neighborhood park, it is very nice. Parks are essential for a community. We need a place where neighborhood can gather and relax and unwind. We need a place where we can embrace trees and walk upon grass. This is the kind of Park where you will have kids literally grow up in. When does children grow up into adults, they will have fond memories of this particular park. I will give this park five stars.

I was in the area with the grandchildren so we stopped at the park to enjoy some play time…read morein-between shopping. It's a private neighborhood park that is loaded with wonderful shade trees and lots of space to run around. It had some play equipment that was well maintained and a cement walking path with benches placed throughout.

This is a bit off the beaten path, but it is a nice enough place to get some walking in and feel…read morecloser to nature or to even ride your horse. It has a small parking lot and is overall, a nice enough place.