Howell Branch Preserve is a beautiful park in Winter Park but it is more than just a place of…read morerecreation. This is an environmentally important preserve that contains Howell Creek which connects Lake Maitland with Lake Howell. The stream flows north to feed the St. John's River. In 2017, the City of Winter Park purchased 43.4 acres of wetlands and floodplain lands that bordered existing city properties and portions of Howell Branch Creek. All of the lakes in Winter Park drain to the creek in Howell Branch Preserve. The preserve serves the important function of capturing water overflow so it does not flood neighborhoods and it cleans the storm water before it gets to Lake Jesup and out to the middle of the Sr. Johns River basin. Howell Branch Preserve offers a peaceful escape with plenty of opportunities to connect with nature. Whether you're looking for a relaxing walk or a chance to explore local wildlife, this well-maintained and scenic spot provides an engaging outdoor experience. The 10.38 acre preserve has a finished park area surrounded by wetlands and natural habitat located on the north side of Howell Branch Road, west of Temple Drive. Amenities in the park include a large playground, boardwalk and observation deck overlooking the wetlands, fitness trail with exercise equipment that uses your own body weight to work out, a picnic pavilion, restrooms, and open lawn area for play or unstructured games. A gravel parking lot is available at the entrance to the fenced in preserve. The City of Winter Park owns another 50 acres parcel beyond the park. Plans are in the works to create trails so that people can hike to other city properties and even into Maitland. I love that Winter Park is committed to increasing parks in the city and to protecting important ecologically areas like this one that are critical to water health which impacts the entire environment. I can't wait to see how this area continues to develop.

Howell Branch Preserve is a gorgeous park hidden in Maitland. Turning the corner on Howell Branch…read moreDrive, the turn comes up so quickly so be ready for it. There is a fitness trail that surrounds an open field, and a dock in the back for watching the sun set. The playground rocks! There are three slides, a rock climbing wall, and the ground is the cushy fake grass. My one nit-pick is that there is gravel parking, which is not that nice to your shoes when getting back into the car. Overall, this is a park I can picture my family coming back to.

Maitland Community Park is a great park to check out if you are in or around Maitland, Florida…read more They have walking trails, basketball courts, tennis courts, a few pavilions, children's playground and generally a great vibe in this park. Parks are necessary within our communities. We need a place where we can gather in rest and relaxation and Maitland Community Park definitely is a great park. I would definitely recommend here.

Recently had our son's birthday party here and couldn't recommend the space highly enough. There's…read moregreat amenities featuring a shady (trees and canopy) play ground with swings, a tot lot, drinking fountains, air conditioned bathrooms located inside their recreation center, and so much parking. The price is reasonable and the large pavilion has fans and lights. Overall this is an outstanding place to host any celebration.

A pleasant enough park with a walking path, a few pavilions, a basketball court, a volleyball…read morecourt, a playground, a skate park, and more. The park is long and narrow, well utilizing the limited space it was given. It runs besides high voltage lines and on the other side is residential housing. On this visit, I will say that the park was relatively clean and appeared well maintained. The dog park was temporarily closed on this visit due to health concerns with the COVID-19 virus. The dog park appeared like it would be nice, with two areas, one for large dogs and one for small dogs. The only drawback was that it only had a porta-potty on the property. I am confident that this park serves this community well and again, I was impressed with how the design well used the space that it was given. If you are in the area, I would recommend a visit.

I love this park their are so many activities to do even a skate park!! I take my daughter to this…read morepark as much as possible she loves it they have a smaller playground for toddlers and also a bigger one for children!

El Dorado Park is basically just an open field with a small lake. It is part of the El Dorado…read morecommunity, which is a fifty-five years of age and up community. It is a bit hard to find, but I believe that this park is geared more towards the neighborhood. Again, there is not much to this park, it is more an open field, but it is a pleasant enough place to chill for a bit. I will give it four stars overall.

Nice small park in a neighborhood. There is not a lot to it, but it is still a pleasant enough park…read morewith a small parking lot and a children's play area. There is also a pleasant enough open field.

A tiny but adorable park in the middle of Audubon. Well there may not be much space for this park,…read moreit does have a quiet and peaceful air about it. They have a bench and a few small bird houses to look at. It really is just a place to sit quietly and enjoy the weather when it's nice. Overall: A- Although it's small it does offer a peaceful stop off during a walk or just for a little bit of quiet time when you might need a break.

4 Stars for a barely-there park that brings joy in a few cute ways, but only really worth visiting…read moreif you live within a block or two. I have to give this little tiny plot of land some props. I don't know how it got designated an official park but it has a sign and everything! It is about the size of an oddly-shaped 1/4 acre lot. It's situated on a corner lot between homes and boasts on big and impressive osk. The thing that takes it from a 2-3 star to a 4 for me is the cute little extras. It has a brightly colored blue and yellow bench right in front of the big tree, as well as a funky sign that looks like an old traffic light. By the edge there are some smaller trees with bird houses that are custom built and named after prominent little eateries and businesses in the neighborhood. Each one is decorated themed to that business. It's really sweet and shows that someone (or a few neighbors) really love this little space. And that makes me love it a bit more too. Again, not a space to drive to (there's not a lot to it), but really cute little pocket park right in the middle of a neighborhood. Blink, and you'll miss it!

Hermits trail park is a nice little park for little kids to play on the pretty cool playgrounds…read more They also have a little pavilion. It has nice shade due to the trees and it is conveniently located.

This is a nice park! First things first: there are no bathrooms which is why it is four stars and…read morenot five. Otherwise it has excellent shade, various playground structures, baby and kid swings, and a small pavilion. I also like that the ground is the padded type for two playgrounds and the whole park is fenced in. The park is right off a busy section of 436 in Altamonte so it's a good thing it is fenced in. There are few parking spots next to the playground, otherwise there are more parking spaces if you follow the signs to a separate lot. If you're desperate for a bathroom, you'll still have to get in your car and drive down the street. My suggestion would be Panera or Walgreens.

I I have been coming to this park for a while now on Sunday's ! It's my morning routine. My husband…read moreand I love walking here because there is barely any people or dogs who walk the pond area early in the mornings. To me this is more of a dog park honestly because they have an area just for dogs, love that they separated the big dogs from the small dogs. There is a lot of benches to sit at, pavilions for shade as well as a playground for the kids. I love that they have the exercise stations for those who want to get a workout in while walking or jogging the pond. Only thing I had an issue is that the women's restroom doesn't have a trash can for feminine product disposal.

This is a beautiful city park, well-maintained and with plenty of room to run and play, with an…read moreimpressive amount of forest within the "large dog" off-leash area. However, the majority of us are not "allowed" here and it is dangerous. Let me explain. The first Saturday morning I went I fell in love immediately and met some nice people and dogs. Unfortunately, I have never had that experience again, and I now realize this was an anomaly. There is a group of locals who "own" the spot, mostly mid-40's to mid-60's men. They are not friendly or welcoming and their dogs are aggressive, clearly feeding off of the "subtle" vibes of their owners. The vibe with the dogs is more overt: no one else allowed here. The dogs will bark menacingly and chase off other dogs and constantly have their hackles up. The first time I encountered the group was on a Sunday, so I thought, "Okay, I'll just stick with Saturdays at this place." But the next Saturday they were there, too. Really bad vibes, had to leave quickly. I stayed away from visiting for a while, but I have to re-state that this is such a great dog park! So today, I wanted to try again, and I figured maybe a weekday morning at 7:00am would be safe. Nope! The crew was there like they live there. I was so upset but let my dog at least run the full fenced in area and go potty. Several dogs had already threatened him, hackles all up, the crew not saying a word to me as I walked past to bag my dog's poop. We left as quickly as we could (it's a BIG place), and two of "the crew" were also leaving with their three dogs. My own dog is a sweet Labradoodle; you know, one of those kind souls who is always smiling and who loves everyone and every dog? Well, as we were trying to exit, the pack of three dogs attacked my dog. The owner quickly called them off, but mine ran to me (he's 90 lbs) and was clearly afraid. I comforted him and we waited for the group to leave first. My dog seemed fine, and unhurt. However, I later found drips of blood on the back door of my car, once I realized that his ear was wounded at home. I am so furious. This is ridiculous. This public park does NOT belong to these horrible people and their violent dogs. I wish law enforcement would intervene, but I doubt it. I would not recommend visiting this park, although it is absolutely beautiful. It's a shame that people suck, train their dogs to suck, and ruin a lovely thing for others who have every right to enjoy it. My tax dollars, which are substantial, pay for this park, too. It makes me so angry that I will never be able to go back.