Lake Harlow Park
Park
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Connor J. Williams · CC BY 3.0C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Wildwood
Wildwood has 53 miles of mapped trails, 0.9 for every square mile of land
9% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 1% of Wildwood’s land is conserved, about 512 acres. 161 acres are parks and preserves, 9.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns · #405 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
512 acres · of 58.2 sq mi of land
Trails
53 mi
0.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
161 ac
9.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
9%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
28 mi
14 mi lanes · 14 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Wildwood?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Wildwood have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Wildwood is ahead of 37% of U.S. towns, #405 of 638 in Florida. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Wildwood’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails0.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (53 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land9.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (161 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home9% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 37%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 37%
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
The longest trail network is Lake Harlow Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
512 conserved acres
1% of Wildwood’s land. Who manages Wildwood’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife395 ac
Town or city102 ac
Regional Water Districts15 ac
Unknown Easement · 395 acLocal Park · 102 acWatershed Protection Area · 7 acLocal Other or Unknown · 7 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 395 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 5 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood Community Center & Park Local Park | Town or city | 99 | Open |
| Jack R. Welling Parcel Watershed Protection Area | Regional Water Districts | 7 | Closed |
| Flat Island Preserve Local Other or Unknown | Regional Water Districts | 7 | Unknown |
| Oxford Park Local Park | Town or city | 3 | Open |
Things to do
6 places to go in Wildwood
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Wildwood
River Bend Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Wildwood
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Wildwood
Lake Harlow Canine Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Fishing spots in Wildwood
1 fishing spot without a name on the map.
Trails & water
9 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.9 miUnpaved · 1.0 mi
Multi-Modal Path5.1 mi
Multi- Modal Path2.6 mi
Multi-Model Path1.1 mi
Kings Highway0.5 mi
Walking Path0.3 mi
Feeney Nature Trail0.3 mi
Multi-Modal_Path0.3 mi
Tunnel0.2 mi
Southern Oaks Bridge0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
28 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
14 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
14 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
42Pickleball
22Baseball
19Tennis
5Basketball
5Soccer
2Beach volleyball
2Volleyball
1Football
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 Wildwood
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 | 89 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 84 | 77 | 72 |
| Rain (in) | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 2.4 |
November is the driest month (2.0 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 Wildwood →
Next door
Wildwood and its neighbors
Wildwood 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood | 1% | 0.9 | 9 | 9% | C+ |
| The Villages | 1% | 1.6 | 1 | 17% | C |
| Leesburg | 9% | 0.5 | 72 | 68% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Wildwood
Where can I hike in Wildwood?
The longest trail networks: Lake Harlow Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Wildwood is conserved land?
1% 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 Wildwood’s trails?
Lake Harlow Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Wildwood?
28 miles of bike routes are on the map: 14 of painted or protected lanes and 14 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Wildwood?
31,451 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Wildwood or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 161 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Wildwood have?
Ahead of 37% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #405 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 Wildwood 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 →