Bob Gardner Community Park
Park
45 acres0.3 mi of trail
Discovery Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in Lakewood Ranch
11% of Lakewood Ranch’s land is conserved: 3,119 acres
21 miles of mapped trail cross Lakewood Ranch, 0.4 per square mile of land. 388 acres are parks and preserves, 8.8 per 1,000 residents. 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns · #214 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
3,119 acres · of 46.1 sq mi of land
Trails
21 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
388 ac
8.8 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
106 mi
80 mi lanes · 23 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
7
What kind of outdoors town is Lakewood Ranch?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Lakewood Ranch have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Lakewood Ranch is ahead of 63% of U.S. towns, #214 of 638 in Florida. Conserved land holds the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Lakewood Ranch’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%A−Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (21 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4BPark land8.8 acres of park per 1,000 residents (388 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home67% 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 63%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 67%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. 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 Bob Gardner Community Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Greenbrook Adventure Park
Park
24 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
James L. Patton Park
Park
84 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 12 parks & preserves
Bob Gardner Community Park45 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGreenbrook Adventure Park24 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGreenbrook Park14 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsJames L. Patton Park84 acres
Country Club East Park13 acres
DirectionsSummerfield Community Park12 acres
Central Park10 acres
Waterside Park8 acres
DirectionsCollingtree Park1 acres
DirectionsHaddington Park1 acres
Castle Park Terrace Community Park1 acres
Bell Isle Park1 acres
Who protects it
3,119 conserved acres
11% of Lakewood Ranch’s land. Who manages Lakewood Ranch’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County1,611 ac
State fish & wildlife862 ac
Private owners396 ac
Regional agency247 ac
State parks16 ac
Town or city2 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits1 ac
Conservation Easement · 2,012 acUnknown Easement · 431 acPrivate Conservation · 348 acLocal Park · 327 acState Park · 16 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 2,427 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braden River Mitigation Bank Private Conservation | Private owners | 348 | Closed |
| James L. Patton Park Local Park | Regional agency | 87 | Open |
| Heron's Nest Nature Park Local Park | Regional agency | 85 | Open |
| Braden River Nature Park Local Park | Private owners | 44 | Open |
| Bob Gardner Community Park Local Park | Regional agency | 25 | Open |
| Greenbrook Adventure Park Local Park | Regional agency | 22 | Open |
| Greenbrook Park East Local Park | County | 16 | Open |
| Lake Manatee State Park State Park | State parks | 16 | Open |
| Country Club East Park Local Park | County | 15 | Open |
| Roger Hill Park Local Park | Regional agency | 13 | Open |
4 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
37 places to go in Lakewood Ranch
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Lakewood Ranch
Hazenltine Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Lakewood Ranch
Central Park PlaygroundIn Central Park
DirectionsGravity Rail SwingIn Bob Gardner Community Park
DirectionsLakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club Fitness Center Playground
DirectionsTot LotIn Bob Gardner Community Park
DirectionsPlus 20 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Lakewood Ranch
Big GuysIn Bob Gardner Community Park
DirectionsCentral Park Big Dog ParkIn Central Park
DirectionsCentral Park Small Dog ParkIn Central Park
DirectionsCountry Club East Dog Park
DirectionsCountry Club East Small Dog Park
DirectionsDog LakeIn Bob Gardner Community Park
DirectionsPaw Park - Agility AreaIn Greenbrook Adventure Park
DirectionsPaw Park - Large Dog Area
Directions1 more dog park
Paw Park - Small Dog AreaIn Greenbrook Adventure Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Lakewood Ranch
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Disc golf in Lakewood Ranch
1 disc golf course without a name on the map.
Trails & water
2 named trails and 7 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.6 mi
Harmony Nature Trail1.0 mi
Discovery Trail0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
106 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
80 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
23 mi
off-road bike paths
3.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
68Tennis
37Soccer
19Basketball
11Pickleball
8Baseball
8Golf
6Beach volleyball
3Football
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 Lakewood Ranch
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) | 10.6 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.7 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.5 | 10.8 | 10.4 |
| High (°F) | 73 | 75 | 79 | 83 | 88 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 85 | 79 | 75 |
| Rain (in) | 2.7 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 8.3 | 7.9 | 9.2 | 7.3 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 2.4 |
November is the driest month (1.9 in) and July the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 9.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Lakewood Ranch →
Questions about parks and trails in Lakewood Ranch
Where can I hike in Lakewood Ranch?
The longest trail networks: Bob Gardner Community Park, 0.3 miles; Greenbrook Adventure Park, 0.3 miles; Greenbrook Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Lakewood Ranch is conserved land?
11% 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 Lakewood Ranch’s trails?
Bob Gardner Community Park and Greenbrook Adventure Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Lakewood Ranch?
106 miles of bike routes are on the map: 80 of painted or protected lanes, 23 of off-road paths and 3.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Lakewood Ranch?
24,809 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Lakewood Ranch or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 388 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Lakewood Ranch have?
Ahead of 63% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #214 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 Lakewood Ranch 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 →