LAKE PARKER PARK
910 E Granada Street
(863) 834-2233
http://www.lakelandgov.net/parkrec/parks/LakeParkerPark.html Lake Parker is a 2,272-acre Fish Management Area in North Lakeland, and is the largest lake in the City of Lakeland. Receiving water from Lakes Mirror, Crago, Bonny, and Garden, Lake Parker outflows to Saddle Creek and the Peace River. A canal on the northwest shore connects to Lake Crago. Both offer good largemouth bass fishing, particularly during the winter and spring. During low water the canal can be tough to navigate, but the deepest points in Lake Parker itself are 10 feet. There are three boat ramps – a city ramp and park is located off Lake Parker Avenue on the west shore, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ramp off U.S. Route 92 on the south shore (Sertoma Park), and a county ramp on the east shore on Lake Parker Drive (this one was roped off at the time of this report). Bank fishing areas can be found at both parks.
Among the natural pleasures found on this large lake, Kissimmee grass, bulrush, and cattail are the predominant vegetation. Wildlife likely to be seen includes American Alligator (in great numbers), Snowy and American Egrets, Common and Purple Gallinule, Coots, Ibis and numerous varieties of ducks.
You don't need a kayak to see American Lotus Lilies at close range (but a kayak's view is still the best) – they grow in abundance along the shoreline of Lake Parker. Stop to admire the plants and you might get a display of their buoyancy as a Boat-tailed Grackle or other small bird strides across one of the pads as easily as if it were the hull of a boat.