Alligator Lake Park
Park
707 acres7.4 mi of trail
James H. Montgomery TrailCapybara TrailWillow Pond TrailOld Canal Trail+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Excel23 · CC BY-SA 3.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Lake City
Lake City has 987 acres of parks, 79 for every 1,000 residents
10% of Lake City’s land is conserved, about 920 acres. The biggest trail networks: Alligator Lake Park (7.4 mi). 8.7 miles of mapped trail cross Lake City, 0.6 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns · #75 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
10%
920 acres · of 14.5 sq mi of land
Trails
8.7 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
987 ac
79 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
78%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.6 mi
2.3 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
4 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Lake City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake City is ahead of 85% of U.S. towns, #75 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; park acres per resident rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake City’s overall grade.
Conserved land10% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land79 acres of park per 1,000 residents (987 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home78% 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 85%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 88%
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 Alligator Lake Park, with 7.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Annie Mattox Park
Park
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 11 parks & preserves
Alligator Lake Park707 acres · 7.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLake Montgomery Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsHalpatter Park3 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Campbell Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsSouthside Sports Complex159 acres
DirectionsAnnie Mattox Park9 acres
Wilson Park8 acres
DirectionsRichardson Community Park7 acres
Young's Park7 acres
DirectionsMemorial Park2 acres
DirectionsIsabella Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
920 conserved acres
10% of Lake City’s land. Who manages Lake City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County862 ac
Town or city52 ac
U.S. Forest Service6 ac
Local Recreation Area · 842 acLocal Park · 72 acNational Forest · 6 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alligator Lake Park and Recreation Area Local Recreation Area | County | 681 | Open |
| Southside Recreation Complex Local Recreation Area | County | 159 | Open |
| Youngs Park Local Park | Town or city | 15 | Open |
| Lake City Southside Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 13 | Open |
| Richardson Community Park Local Park | Town or city | 10 | Open |
| Lake Montgomery Park & Boat Ramp Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Annie Mattox Recreation Park Local Park | County | 9 | Open |
| Osceola National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 6 | Open |
| Columbia Aquatic Complex Local Park | Town or city | 5 | Open |
| Lake Desoto Memorial Park Local Park | County | 3 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
11 places to go in Lake City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Lake City
Rotary Children's PlaygroundIn Wilson Park
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Lake City
4 boat launches without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Lake City
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 8.0 mi
James H. Montgomery Trail2.5 mi
Capybara Trail1.2 mi
Willow Pond Trail0.9 mi
Old Canal Trail0.8 mi
Eagle Trail0.4 mi
Deer Trail0.4 mi
Possum Trot Trail0.4 mi
Bobcat Trail0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
2.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
30Baseball
11Basketball
9Tennis
7Soccer
1Football
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →6 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
T. G. Henderson HouseBuilding · listed 1973
About itHotel BlancheBuilding · listed 1990
About itColumbia County High SchoolBuilding · listed 1993
About itHorace Duncan HouseBuilding · listed 1993
About itLake Isabella Historic Residential DistrictDistrict · listed 1993
About itLake City Historic Commercial DistrictDistrict · listed 1994
About itWhen to get out
April is the best month for walking in Lake City
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) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 66 | 70 | 75 | 81 | 87 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 88 | 82 | 74 | 68 |
| Rain (in) | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 2.9 |
November is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 7.5 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lake City →
Next door
Lake City and its neighbors
Lake City has the most mapped trails of the 3 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 City | 10% | 0.6 | 79 | 78% | A |
| Watertown | under 1% | 0.1 | under 1 | 19% | D |
| Five Points | under 1% | 0.1 | 10 | 41% | C− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Lake City
Where can I hike in Lake City?
The longest trail networks: Alligator Lake Park, 7.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake City is conserved land?
10% 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 City’s trails?
Alligator Lake Park and Southside Sports Complex don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lake City?
2.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of painted or protected lanes and 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Lake City?
72,430 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 992 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Lake City have?
Ahead of 85% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #75 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 City 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 →