College Park Lakes

Orlando's College Park neighborhood boasts a number of lakes, many of which have private frontage.  The downtown Orlando setting means much of the College Park lake frontage property is city-owned.  Parks, and strolling paths ensure that City of Orlando residents are able to enjoy these lakes, most of which offer clear green waters.  The lakes are surprisingly healthy given their downtown location and the fact that they receive considerable run off from surrounding streets.  Lunker bass are still pulled from these lakes today.

The College Park area is typically considered to be the area north of Colonial Drive (SR 50), south of Fairbanks, east of Interstate 4, and west of Orange Blossom Trail (OBT or 441).  There are eight lakes within this area:  Lake Adair, Lake Concord, Lake Daniel, Lake Fairview, Little Lake Fairview, Lake Ivanhoe, Lake Sarah, and Lake Silver.

Lake Adair is 25 Acres and relatively deep with mean depth of nearly 9 feet.  The lake features a walking path around its perimeter, and some gorgeous homes to view along the way.  Located along Edgewater Drive, this makes for an excellent evening stroll before or after dinner at one of College Park’s many restaurants (check out our thoughts on some of our favorite College Park restaurants here…)

Lake Concord another great lake located in College Park.  Mean depth is 13.6 feet.  If the fish aren’t cooperating in Lake Adair, it’s a short walk across Edgewater to Don Dudley Park - open from 6:00am to 11:00pm.  The park features 2.3 acre of scenic green space and waterfront framed with stately oaks and the Downtown Orlando skyline.

Lake Daniel is a smaller lake just north of Maury Road between Interlaken Road and Wilder Lane in the Palomar Neighborhood.  Landlocked from nearby Lakes Fairview and Sarah, Lake Daniel has no public access.  Approximately 8 acres, Lake Daniel is a good jet-ski and fishing lake, but not large enough for skiing.  The lake features a mean depth of 12 feet.  Lake Daniel is just minutes away from Robert E Lee Middle School and the Dubsdread Golf Course.

Lake Fairview – Bordered by Lee Road on the north and Edgewater drive on the east lies beautiful Lake Fairview.  With 397 surface acres and a mean depth of 12 feet, Lake Fairview is the largest lake in College Park.  This lake features a fabulous park complete with a dual launch public boat ramp and ample parking for vehicles and trailers. Lake Fairview Park offers the city’s only public beach.  Visitors take advantage of the lighted baseball fields, playground, picnic facilities, open space, rest rooms, and Tot Lot, and accessible walkways.  The park is open from 6:00am to 11:00pm and can be reached at 407-246-2283 for information on reserving picnic facilities. 

Lake Fairview also has some beautiful private home sites along it shorelines as well.  The Interlaken and Palomar neighborhoods include homes with direct frontage and canal frontage homes.

Lake Ivanhoe – Split by I-4 North of Colonial Drive and south of Princeton Avenue and adjacent to Orange Avenue lies Lake Ivanhoe.  The lake is 126 surface acres with a mean depth of 15 – 16 feet.  Lake Ivanhoe consists of four separate pools.  Some maps and residents will tell you the westernmost pool is actually its own lake, and is called “Little Lake Ivanhoe”.  There is little debate however that the other three pools are Lake Ivanhoe Proper – so to speak.

The lake has several parks as well as a public boat ramp.  The boat/jet-ski launch is located at Gaston Edward Park on the northeast shores of the lake, just off of Orange Avenue.  Gaston Edward Park actually runs the perimeter of the lake’s eastern pool, and offers some nice grass beds for shoreline fishing.  While the boat launch facilities are nice, trailer parking is limited and will typically fill up early on weekends.  This park features a playground and tot lot, drinking fountain, fitness course, pavilion, picnic facilities, sand volleyball court, rest rooms, fishing and a Frisbee Golf Practice Hole. 

Lake Ivanhoe Park borders most of the center two pools.  There are several large open areas in this park that are great spots to run dogs, throw a Frisbee, or just sit on a bench and enjoy the Downtown Orlando skyline.  Both parks are open from 5:00am to sunset.  For more information call 407-246-2283.

There are six parcels along the southern shore of Little Lake Ivanhoe that have direct private frontage.  The remaining shorelines of the Ivanhoe Lakes are accessable to the public.  Evening strolls around these lakes are a popular event among College Park residents.

Lake Sarah is one of the smaller lakes in College Park.  With only 13 surface acres and a mean depth of 8 feet, this lake is ideal for the beautiful views and close proximity to Lake Fairview.  Too small to ski, many of the residents on Lake Sarah enjoy jet skiing and fishing, and the canal to Lake Fairview provides an option for those with ski boats.

Lake Silver is 70 surface acres with a mean depth of 16 feet.  It is just north of Bryn Mawr Avenue between Ardsley Drive and Westmoreland Drive.  This lake is a larger lake but does not offer any park, fishing or boat ramp.  It is just west of Edgewater High School and just north of Lake Silver Elementary School.  Located minutes from the Dubsdread Golf Course, this lake is positioned in a very hip part of College Park and has beautiful lake views that are enjoyed by the approximately 75 private residences that border the lake.  Lake Silver also has a community access point that is enjoyed by nearby residents along Bryn Mawr and Vassar streets.

Little Lake Fairview is just west of Fairbanks Avenue and east of Edgewater Drive, north of the Dubsdread Golf Course.  Little Lake Fairview is 79 surface acres with no mean depth data available.  This lake offers private access only.  Some of Little Lake Fairview sits on Bishop Moore High School property.  Stories have it that the lake has received its fair share of freshmen at the hands of upper classmates.

Another story I have been working to confirm is of the existence of caverns at the bottom of the lake.  Older locals claim that the clear water caverns were a popular cave diving destination many years ago, but that the caves were eventually sealed off after several fatal diving accidents.  More to come on this ….