Turkey Lake Park, or Bill Frederick Park and Pool at Turkey Lake to use its full title, is a hidden gem in Orlando. Minutes from the gates of Universal Studios, this is the City of Orlando’s largest recreational park and offers a host of amenities for visitors.
The park is open all year round, seven days a week from 8. 00 am until 5. 00 pm November to March and from 8. 00 am until 7. 00 pm from April to October and the current admission fee is $4 per car.
There is a large horseshoe shaped swimming pool with a deep end over 2 metres deep to allow for diving. The shallow end also has plenty of space for weak or non-swimmers to enjoy cooling off in, on those hot summer days. Just near the swimming pool is a large lake that is well stocked for fishing and boats can be hired from Thursday through to Sunday for $15 a day, although boat rental has to be pre-arranged.
Other activities include walking and cycling trails, a very large children’s playground, plus some additional smaller playgrounds. There is a children’s farm where you can see chickens, boars, horses and other animals and this area is a remnant from the time when the park was active farmland.
To help make a real day of it the park provides shaded picnic areas with benches and barbecues available for use, bring your own charcoal, etc. These are well spaced out, and although they are available on a first come basis, there are plenty available. Arriving at the park with a big cooler full of chilled barbecue essentials would really give you the feeling of being a local and not a tourist.
While visiting the park it may be useful to bring some sports equipment with you, as there are facilities for volleyball, baseball, softball, biking and disc golf. If you are feeling really adventurous there are also facilities for camping (both tent and RV facilities are available). The park is locked at night and reports available on the Internet about the park suggest that it feels like a safe place to stay.
On our visit one thing that we did not manage to find was the butterfly garden, but having found this haven for a quieter, chill-out day while on holiday we will definitely be back again. Next time we will also definitely be bringing along lots of different things so that we can really enjoy the park, not least our swimming costumes, plus as the lake looks enormous we will be investigating the boat rental, lots of exploring still to do!
The park is open all year round, seven days a week from 8. 00 am until 5. 00 pm November to March and from 8. 00 am until 7. 00 pm from April to October and the current admission fee is $4 per car.
There is a large horseshoe shaped swimming pool with a deep end over 2 metres deep to allow for diving. The shallow end also has plenty of space for weak or non-swimmers to enjoy cooling off in, on those hot summer days. Just near the swimming pool is a large lake that is well stocked for fishing and boats can be hired from Thursday through to Sunday for $15 a day, although boat rental has to be pre-arranged.
Other activities include walking and cycling trails, a very large children’s playground, plus some additional smaller playgrounds. There is a children’s farm where you can see chickens, boars, horses and other animals and this area is a remnant from the time when the park was active farmland.
To help make a real day of it the park provides shaded picnic areas with benches and barbecues available for use, bring your own charcoal, etc. These are well spaced out, and although they are available on a first come basis, there are plenty available. Arriving at the park with a big cooler full of chilled barbecue essentials would really give you the feeling of being a local and not a tourist.
While visiting the park it may be useful to bring some sports equipment with you, as there are facilities for volleyball, baseball, softball, biking and disc golf. If you are feeling really adventurous there are also facilities for camping (both tent and RV facilities are available). The park is locked at night and reports available on the Internet about the park suggest that it feels like a safe place to stay.
On our visit one thing that we did not manage to find was the butterfly garden, but having found this haven for a quieter, chill-out day while on holiday we will definitely be back again. Next time we will also definitely be bringing along lots of different things so that we can really enjoy the park, not least our swimming costumes, plus as the lake looks enormous we will be investigating the boat rental, lots of exploring still to do!