Lake Rogers Park, Nature preserve in Odessa, Florida, US
Lake Rogers Park is a 272-acre park and preserve in Odessa, Florida, with pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, and lakes. Its trail beds are sand, grass, dirt, and leaf litter. The Red Trail circles the lake most closely, while the Blue and Green trails offer alternate routes.
The land was leased to Hillsborough County by St. Petersburg in 1987 for recreation and natural resource protection. This agreement helped preserve the area for public use.
The park serves as a place where visitors naturally learn about Florida's native forests, wetlands, and wildlife while walking the trails. The different landscapes encountered along the way reveal how local plants and animals live in their natural settings.
The Red Trail, the main loop, runs 2.25 miles (3.62 km) around the lake, with the Blue Trail circling it less closely and the Green Trail covering about a mile along the northern and eastern boundaries. Trail surfaces are sand, grass, dirt and leaf litter. Access is from the parking area at 9010 North Mobley Road, west of Gunn Highway; as of 2020 parking costs $2 per vehicle, payable by cash or credit at machines when no attendant is present.
The park's trail beds are sand, grass, dirt and leaf litter, and an offshoot path leads to an overlook on neighbouring Raleigh Lake. The lakes draw wading birds, bald eagles and osprey, while raccoons, opossum and otter also live in the preserve.
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