Brooker Creek Preserve
Nature preserve
7,338 acres5.2 mi of trail
Wilderness TrailBlackwater CutoffEd Center TrailFlatwoods Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Gbklyn · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in East Lake
40% of East Lake’s land is conserved: 7,258 acres
7,297 acres are parks and preserves, 219 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Brooker Creek Preserve (5.2 mi), John Chesnut Sr. Park (3.3 mi). 14 miles of mapped trail cross East Lake, 0.5 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns · #42 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
40%
7,258 acres · of 28.6 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
7,297 ac
219 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
0.7 mi lanes · 13 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is East Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does East Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, East Lake is ahead of 91% of U.S. towns, #42 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of East Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land40% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land219 acres of park per 1,000 residents (7,297 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home75% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 91%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 94%
Water is 9% of East Lake’s area (3 of 32 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 36%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Brooker Creek Preserve, with 5.2 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
John Chesnut Sr. Park
Managed by Pinellas County
261 acres3.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Who protects it
7,258 conserved acres
40% of East Lake’s land. Water is left out: East Lake has 28.6 square miles of land and 3.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages East Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County7,255 ac
Town or city3 ac
Local Conservation Area · 6,955 acLocal Other or Unknown · 275 acLocal Recreation Area · 24 acLocal Park · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brooker Creek Preserve Local Conservation Area | County | 6,955 | Open |
| John Chestnut Senior Park Local Other or Unknown | County | 234 | Open |
| Lake Tarpon Management Area Local Other or Unknown | County | 40 | Open |
| East Lake Management Area Local Recreation Area | County | 24 | Open |
| Canal Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Anclote Islands Management Area Local Other or Unknown | County | 2 | Open |
Things to do
15 places to go in East Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in East Lake
7 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in East Lake
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Boat launches in East Lake
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in East Lake
2 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Trails & water
6 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 4.5 mi
Wilderness Trail2.0 mi
Blackwater Cutoff0.8 mi
Ed Center Trail0.7 mi
Flatwoods Trail0.6 mi
Pine Needle Path0.4 mi
Bird Path0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
13 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
9Soccer
8Baseball
6Tennis
5Basketball
3Football
2Beach volleyball
1Golf
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in East Lake
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.5 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.4 |
| High (°F) | 70 | 73 | 77 | 82 | 87 | 90 | 90 | 91 | 89 | 84 | 77 | 72 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 6.6 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 2.6 |
November is the driest month (1.8 in) and August the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 9.4 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in East Lake →
Next door
East Lake and its neighbors
East Lake has the second most mapped trails of the 7 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
Keystone24 miEast Lake14 miTarpon Springs5.7 miPalm Harbor4.9 miOldsmar3.2 miWestchase1.8 miTrinity1.1 mi
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Lake | 40% | 0.5 | 219 | 75% | A |
| Tarpon Springs | 20% | 0.6 | 20 | 92% | A |
| Oldsmar | 39% | 0.4 | 156 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Palm Harbor | 10% | 0.3 | 7 | 59% | B− |
| Keystone | 23% | 0.7 | 198 | 55% | A |
| Trinity | 1% | 0.2 | 4 | 88% | C |
| Westchase | 4% | 0.2 | 8 | 36% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in East Lake
Where can I hike in East Lake?
The longest trail networks: Brooker Creek Preserve, 5.2 miles; John Chesnut Sr. Park, 3.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of East Lake is conserved land?
40% of its land, against a typical 3% for a Florida town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on East Lake’s trails?
Brooker Creek Preserve and John Chesnut Sr. Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in East Lake?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.7 of painted or protected lanes and 13 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near East Lake?
44,621 acres of parks and open public land lie inside East Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 7,297 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does East Lake have?
Ahead of 91% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #42 of 638 in Florida. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from East Lake neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →