Mackay Gardens And Lakeside Preserve
Nature preserve
77 acres2.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lake Alfred
49% of Lake Alfred’s land is conserved: 6,546 acres
The biggest trail networks: Mackay Gardens And Lakeside Preserve (2.1 mi). 16 miles of mapped trail cross Lake Alfred, 0.8 per square mile of land. 177 acres are parks and preserves, 24 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns · #46 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
49%
6,546 acres · of 21.0 sq mi of land
Trails
16 mi
0.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
177 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
82%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.0 mi
2.0 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
10
3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Alfred?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Alfred have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Alfred is ahead of 90% of U.S. towns, #46 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 Lake Alfred’s overall grade.
Conserved land49% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (16 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (177 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to home82% 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 90%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 93%
Water is 16% of Lake Alfred’s area (4 of 25 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 41%.
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 Mackay Gardens And Lakeside Preserve, with 2.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Lions Park
Park
21 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Central Park
Park
8 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Mackay Gardens And Lakeside Preserve77 acres · 2.1 mi of trail
DirectionsTwin Lakes Park129 acres
DirectionsLions Park21 acres
Central Park8 acres
Twin Lakes Park and Lake Swoope Boat Ramp6 acres
DirectionsLake Swoope Park1 acres
Gardner Park1 acres
Who protects it
6,546 conserved acres
49% of Lake Alfred’s land. Water is left out: Lake Alfred has 21.0 square miles of land and 4.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Alfred’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife6,076 ac
Joint321 ac
Town or city148 ac
State Conservation Area · 6,076 acConservation Easement · 321 acLocal Conservation Area · 131 acLocal Park · 10 acState Recreation Area · 8 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 321 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osprey Unit State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 6,076 | Restricted |
| Mackay Gardens and Lakeside Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 131 | Open |
| Lions Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Winter Haven to Lake Alfred Trail State Recreation Area | Town or city | 8 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Lake Alfred
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake Alfred
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lake Alfred
3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Lake Alfred
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
10 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.0 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tennis
3Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
John H. Evans HouseBuilding · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Lake Alfred
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) | 72 | 75 | 79 | 84 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 85 | 79 | 74 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 8.0 | 6.9 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
November is the driest month (1.8 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 8.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lake Alfred →
Next door
Lake Alfred and its neighbors
Lake Alfred has the second most mapped trails of the 4 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Alfred | 49% | 0.8 | 24 | 82% | A |
| Winter Haven | 2% | 0.5 | 4 | 46% | C+ |
| Auburndale | 2% | 0.5 | 11 | 42% | B− |
| Haines City | 1% | 0.3 | 2 | 37% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Alfred
Where can I hike in Lake Alfred?
The longest trail networks: Mackay Gardens And Lakeside Preserve, 2.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Alfred is conserved land?
49% 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 Lake Alfred’s trails?
Mackay Gardens And Lakeside Preserve and Twin Lakes Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake Alfred?
2.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.0 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake Alfred?
3,456 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Alfred or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 177 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lake Alfred have?
Ahead of 90% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #46 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 Lake Alfred 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 →