Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park
Managed by Florida Department of Environmental Protection
885 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Lake Mack-Forest Hills
More than half of Lake Mack-Forest Hills’ land is conserved: 69%
69% of Lake Mack-Forest Hills’ land is conserved, about 2,162 acres. 888 acres are parks and preserves, 403 per 1,000 residents. 24% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
69%
2,162 acres · of 4.8 sq mi of land
Trails
2.6 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
888 ac
403 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
24%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Lake Mack-Forest Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lake Mack-Forest Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lake Mack-Forest Hills is ahead of 82% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lake Mack-Forest Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land69% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (3 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land403 acres of park per 1,000 residents (888 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home24% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 82%
LessMore
Water is 6% of Lake Mack-Forest Hills’ area (0 of 5 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 66%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Seminole State Forest
Nature preserve
446 acres0.1 mi of trail
Bear Lake Boulevard
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
2,162 conserved acres
69% of Lake Mack-Forest Hills’ land. Water is left out: Lake Mack-Forest Hills has 4.8 square miles of land and 0.3 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Lake Mack-Forest Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State parks884 ac
U.S. Forest Service831 ac
Other state land447 ac
State Conservation Area · 884 acNational Forest · 831 acState Resource Management Area · 447 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park State Conservation Area | State parks | 884 | Open |
| Ocala National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 831 | Open |
| Seminole State Forest State Resource Management Area | Other state land | 447 | Open |
Trails & water
3 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 2.1 mi
Forest Road 5410.5 mi
Ocala trail0.2 mi
Bear Lake Boulevard0.1 mi
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Lake Mack-Forest Hills
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 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 14.0 | 13.8 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.3 |
| High (°F) | 70 | 73 | 78 | 83 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 89 | 84 | 77 | 72 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.6 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
November is the driest month (2.2 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 7.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lake Mack-Forest Hills →
Questions about parks and trails in Lake Mack-Forest Hills
Where can I hike in Lake Mack-Forest Hills?
The longest trail networks: Seminole State Forest, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lake Mack-Forest Hills is conserved land?
69% 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 Mack-Forest Hills’ trails?
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park and Seminole State Forest don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Lake Mack-Forest Hills?
104,593 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lake Mack-Forest Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,157 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lake Mack-Forest Hills have?
Ahead of 82% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. 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 Mack-Forest Hills 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 →