Parks and Recreation

LAKELAND, FL (September 22, 2020) | The City of Lakeland Parks Division will be on Lake Morton at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 6^th for the 40th Annual Swan Roundup. 

LAKELAND, FL (August 26, 2020) | The Junior League of Greater Lakeland, the organizers of the Lakeland Christmas Parade and the City of Lakeland have made a decision to cancel the 2020 Lakeland Christmas Parade due to the complications of COVID-19.  The organizing committee has obvious concerns regarding the pandemic and the unknowns of what impacts the virus may have going forward. 

LAKELAND, FL (July 28, 2020) | The City of Lakeland's summer recreational camp program, Camp BLAST, will be closed at the Kelly Recreational Complex location (404 Imperial Boulevard) for two days starting today and will reopen on Thursday, July 30^th  in order for staff to deep clean the facility due to possible COVID-19 related contact. Camp BLAST is scheduled to end on Friday, July 31^st at both Kelly Recreation Complex and Simpson Park locations.

LAKELAND, FL (July 13, 2020) | The City of Lakeland has been awarded a Level I Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens.

LAKELAND, FL (June 2, 2020) | Following the direction from Governor DeSantis’ Office and Executive Order 20-131, the City of Lakeland will continue a phased reopening of Park spaces.

LAKELAND, FL (May 22, 2020) | A number of City of Lakeland Park facilities will start opening to the public on June 1, 2020 with safety protocols in place.  Park users are strongly encouraged to practice social distancing, good hygiene, and personal protection when using City of Lakeland facilities.

LAKELAND, FL (April 23, 2020) | Lakeland was recently named a 2019 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of its commitment to effective urban forest management.  Lakeland achieved Tree City USA recognition by meeting the program’s four requirements: a tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

LAKELAND, FL (April 1, 2020) | During a Special-Called City Commission Meeting that took place today, the Lakeland City Commission voted 6-1 to close all parks following the release of the Governor’s Executive Order.   Governor DeSantis issued a statewide safer-at-home order this afternoon as federal and local pressure mounted for him to abandon the county-by-county approach he had been implementing. 

LAKELAND, FL (April 1, 2020) | Due to the latest data on confirmed cases from the Florida Department of Health (DOH) along with the input received from the citizens of Lakeland, the City Commission is meeting today at 3 p.m. to revisit their decision to open additional park amenities.

LAKELAND, FL (March 31, 2020) | The Lakeland City Commission voted to reopen trails, tennis courts, boat ramps, and dog parks during a March 30^th Specially-Called City Commission Meeting.  These and other park amenities were originally closed on March 24^th as a way to enforce social distancing to help curb the spread of COVID-19.  The City Commission after much discussion passed the motion to reopen some park spaces to potentially alleviate overcrowding in other public locations. The Parks & Recreation Department met to evaluate venues and determine which park spaces could be opened based on Commission recommendations. Even with the opening of additional amenities, it is important to note the decision will be monitored going forward and visitors must practice social distancing, proper hygiene and disinfect any contact surfaces. The following City of Lakeland Parks & Recreation spaces will reopen the morning of Thursday, April 2^nd. Ongoing decisions regarding public restrictions will be evaluated weekly based on the impacts of COVID-19.