I’m lucky that I live so close to a lot of Florida’s parks. One of my favorites is Lettuce Lake Park in the Temple Terrace area, and today The Younger, my mother and father, my mother’s cousin, and I all went to walk on the boardwalk.
There’s such a calming effect being surrounded by nature in it’s unaltered state, and this boardwalk is a great way to get there. Both sides offer looks at Florida native plants and flowers, and there are so many different species of birds! There are pictures and information about the birds you might see located at different spots on the boardwalk, and The Younger loved trying to find the birds pictured. She was also interested in the cypress trees, and she called them “part of the spooky forest.”
Today she got to see butterflies, herons, woodpeckers, storks, egrets, wood ducks, ibis, and even turkeys!
Sharing these experiences with my kids is so wonderful, and I love listening the the questions they ask. I plan to pull a few ideas from what The Younger seemed to be most interested in and so some fun projects in the upcoming weeks.
Lettuce Lake Park offers all sorts of activities. There’s a playground, canoe and kayak rentals, bike trial, walking trails, and more! If you’re in the Tampa Bay area, this is one park you do not want to miss.
Looks like a beautiful park! What an interesting name though. Do you know why it’s called Lettuce Lake?
It’s funny because we have a park called lakeside park here in town, and it’s the one with the stream going through it. And yet the park with the lake is called wall park. It’s beyond me why!
Lettuce Lake Park looks completely interesting though, and fun to walk. Love the bridge.
The park got it’s name because of the lake itself, called Lettuce Lake, which was named after the floating plant called Water Lettuce. Pretty neat
looks like a lovely place to walk–early in the morning before it gets too hot =)
Exactly!
That looks just stunning! So peaceful. I’ve never been to the Tampa area…we spend a lot of time in West Palm and surrounding area. Wonder if I’m missing parks as beautiful as this?
There are hidden treasures all over the state I’m coming to discover. I’ve lived here for 12 years, but I only recently found a hidden beach near me as well! Amazing what’s out there that we can miss out on!
Awesome post!!!! Would you consider writing a guest post at Family Travels on a Budget? Every Friday (at least that’s the goal), I do a weekend getaways post and would love to feature the Tampa Bay area!!! And Lettuce Lake Park. We are heading to your area Thanksgiving weekend — we’ll be sure to visit the park!
Thanks!
I would love to! We have so many beautiful places here in the area that I’d love to help promote!
Looks really beautiful!
It really is. I’m always surprised when I go for some reason…
Wow.. The park looks amazing and I’ve never seen a cypress tree… what a spooky looking thing
Aren’t they cool? I love how they’re all different, yet they hold she same spooky characteristics