City parks provide a nearby place for families in urban areas to get out in nature to walk a trail or have a picnic. Parks managed by Florida’s cities and towns tend to be more focused on outdoor recreation for families with younger children. The above locations are some of Florida’s finest city park destinations.
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Resources for finding city parks
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Best City Parks in Florida
These urban gems are some of our favorites around the state.
Alligator Lake Park In the city once called Alligator, Alligator Lake has long been a gathering place. Loop it on a levee on a spectacularly showy hike beneath moss-draped cypresses.
Angus Gholson Nature Park Above the Apalachicola River, the community of Chattahoochee hides a natural treasure in its deep ravines—a park named for its native son, botanist Angus Gholson.
Bear Creek Nature Trail A patch of wild in a sea of suburbia, Bear Creek provides nearly a mile's worth of exploration atop sandy bluffs in a shady creekside hammock in Winter Springs.
Bear Cut Preserve On the northern end of Key Biscayne, a set of sandy and paved trails lead out to a boardwalk overlooking fossilized coral reefs and downtown Miami in the distance. 
Bill Frederick Park Inside the City of Orlando, the urban Bill Frederick Park has a wild side, too, with more than 2 miles of trails to meander through scrub forest and along Turkey Lake.
Bonnet Springs Park Offering a bounty of outdoor and nature activities along with museums and public spaces, Bonnet Springs Park is an urban gem in the city of Lakeland, a top destination statewide for family nature fun.
Boyd Hill Nature Preserve An oasis of natural landscapes in St. Petersburg features a nature center, bird of prey aviary, and 3.5 miles of hiking through several distinct habitats.
Caspersen Beach Park The southernmost beach in Venice, Caspersen Beach is best known for its bounty of fossil shark's teeth, which people scoop and stoop to dig out of the sand.
Cassadaga Fairy Trail Let your imagination take wing on one of Florida's most unusual footpaths, a walk in the woods blending art, enchantment, and nature.
Clam Bayou Nature Preserve Along an environmentally significant estuary of Boca Ciega Bay, Clam Bayou Nature Preserve offers well-established trails with several overlooks and a kayak launch
Panama City Beach Conservation Park String together a set of well-maintained trails to hike loops of up to 11 miles through this vast protected area of woodlands and wetlands in Panama City Beach. 
Dickson Azalea Park At one of Orlando's oldest parks, the lush ravine protected by Dickson Azalea Park provides a scenic walk along Fern Creek any time of year.
Dorothy B. Oven Park Only seven acres in size, Dorothy B. Oven Park is a Tallahassee city park developed on a former nursery established by one of Florida's earliest camellia growers.
George McGough Nature Park Introduce the kids to nature at George McGough Nature Park in Largo, where they can feed turtles, watch hawks, and bound along a bouncy accessible trail through a coastal forest.
Green Turtle Hammock Nature Preserve On a wild sliver of Upper Matecumbe Key, footpaths wind through a rockland tropical hammock where a rocky crevice emits sulfur fumes and signs warn of crocodiles. 
Harry P. Leu Gardens Fifty acres of formal gardens hug Lake Rowena in this historic display of botanical diversity in Orlando. 
Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens For a surprising diversity of habitats and hilly terrain, the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens is a hidden treasure for hikers and a bonanza for botanical delights
Joan M. Durante Community Park A bayfront park on Longboat Key with boardwalks meandering through mangrove forests plus wide shell paths traversing a native upland hammock. 
Jupiter Riverwalk Fronting the eastern shore of the Intracoastal Waterway for more than two miles, the Jupiter Riverwalk is a scenic urban walkway connecting hotels, dining, and natural areas.
Kings Bay River Walk Discover a variety of unexpected perspectives on coves, springs, and the expanse of Kings Bay along a marked walkway stretching around downtown Crystal River.
Lafayette Heritage Trail Park Hike, bike, paddle, or fish along the well-marked trails of Lafayette Heritage Trail Park in a deeply wooded landscape east of downtown Tallahassee.
Lake Lotus Park At Lake Lotus Park in Altamonte Springs, the 1.7-mile trail system along Lake Lotus and the Little Wekiva River floodplain provides a great respite from surrounding suburbia.
Mayor Carl T. Langford Park A maze of paved trails provides an urban hike through hammocks of ancient live oaks and natural green spaces at this City of Orlando park. 
Mead Botanical Garden Established as a camellia showcase, this public garden has a nature trail first built in 1956 to explore natural habitats within a 47-acre urban forest.
Moccasin Lake Nature Park Savor a sliver of native habitats preserved in the heart of busy Clearwater under the cloak of a shady forest when you visit Moccasin Lake Nature Park and its environmental education center. 
Morningside Nature Center Since 1970, Morningside Nature Center has been Gainesville's flagship nature park, protecting the largest stand of longleaf pine savanna remaining within city limits.
Oakland Nature Preserve An accessible boardwalk through marshes to Lake Apopka pairs with an extensive network of upland trails for up to 3.5 miles of hiking at Oakland Nature Preserve.
Palatka Riverfront Park Re-imagined to showcase the beauty of the St. Johns River, Palatka Riverfront Park offers a quarter-mile riverfront walk with panoramic views. 
Pinecrest Gardens Established in the 1930s as a tropical tourist attraction, Parrot Jungle, this tropical forest in Pinecrest has deep roots, if you will, showcasing both native and exotic tropical species. 
Punta Gorda Linear Park A greenway through the heart of historic Punta Gorda, Linear Park provides an unexpected corridor of nature.
Alfred A. Ring Park Featuring a dense slope forest along Hogtown Creek with old-growth trees and rare wildflowers along Appalachian-style ravines, this is a scenic hike in the heart of Gainesville.
Smyrna Dunes Park At Smyrna Dunes Park, this 2.4-mile hike scenic coastal hike is largely along an accessible boardwalk, with side trips off to the sea and inlet via more rugged approaches.
Sunken Gardens One of Florida's oldest roadside attractions, Sunken Gardens is now a county park showing off more than a century's worth of botanical bounty in St. Petersburg.
Sweetwater Wetlands Park A gem for Gainesville, Sweetwater Wetlands Park offers a unique perspective on Paynes Prairie.
Turkey Creek Walk A clear tannic stream draining 67 square miles of forests in the sandhills encompassed by Eglin Air Force Base, Turkey Creek is the centerpiece of a linear boardwalk in Niceville.
Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve Immerse in the beauty of an expansive coastal estuary at Withlacoochee Gulf Preserve in Yankeetown to take in the panoramic views.