J. B. Starkey Wilderness Park
Nature preserve
667 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Moon Lake
17% of Moon Lake’s land is conserved: 650 acres
5 acres are parks and preserves, 1.1 per 1,000 residents. 3.7 miles of mapped trail cross Moon Lake, 0.6 per square mile of land. 31% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns · #334 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
650 acres · of 6.0 sq mi of land
Trails
3.7 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
5 ac
1.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
31%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.4 mi
1.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
What kind of outdoors town is Moon Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Moon Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Moon Lake is ahead of 48% of U.S. towns, #334 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 Moon Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land1.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home31% 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 48%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 48%
Water is 6% of Moon Lake’s area (0 of 6 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 16%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C 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
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
650 conserved acres
17% of Moon Lake’s land. Water is left out: Moon Lake has 6.0 square miles of land and 0.4 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Moon Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Regional Water Districts645 ac
County5 ac
Local Conservation Area · 645 acLocal Park · 5 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starkey Wilderness Preserve Local Conservation Area | Regional Water Districts | 645 | Restricted |
| Moon Lake Park Local Park | County | 5 | Open |
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Poco Loop0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.4 mi
off-road bike paths
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Moon 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 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 84 | 77 | 72 |
| Rain (in) | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 8.8 | 8.9 | 6.3 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 2.5 |
November is the driest month (1.8 in) and August the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 8.9 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Moon Lake →
Next door
Moon Lake and its neighbors
Moon Lake has the most mapped trails of the 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moon Lake | 17% | 0.6 | 1 | 31% | B− |
| River Ridge | 33% | 0.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Moon Lake
How much of Moon Lake is conserved land?
17% 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 Moon Lake’s trails?
J. B. Starkey Wilderness Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Moon Lake?
1.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Moon Lake?
22,689 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Moon Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 5 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Moon Lake have?
Ahead of 48% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #334 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 Moon 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 →