City Hall and non-essential city services are closed Monday, January 20, 2025, in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Residential trash pick up on Monday will occur as usual.
Roadway conditions impact the experience of entering the park with larger roads such as Rosalind and Robinson providing some difficulty crossing and many park visitors accessing the site from parallel parking locations.
The park has various distinct entry points on its east and west sides whereas users from the north and south enter more generally through the park’s edges. Entry points are key points in forming the park user experience and welcoming users to the park.
The primary walkway in the park circles around Lake Eola and receives heavy use showing wear to the landscape surrounding it. From this main pathway, smaller connecting pathways lead to different amenities and entry points for the park.
The park includes several structures used either for daily support functions or for events. These will be individually examined to determine their future role in the park.
While Lake Eola Park is a large park, about half of that space is taken up by Lake Eola itself making large contiguous open green space limited. This space is heavily used both as a space for relaxation and active event space.
Correlating with Open Space, this diagram shows activity zones throughout the park centered mostly around the Amphitheater and Eola House.
In the hot Florida sun tree canopy is essential for comfort and Lake Eola Park is a good example of what good tree canopy coverage can do for a park. Throughout the park a combination of large oaks, cypress trees, and dense palms provide shade that allow the park to be comfortable year-round. Future visioning of the park should include specific consideration to maintain the tree canopy and plan for future tree succession.
Lake Eola receives stormwater for a large portion of Downtown Orlando serving to filter and clean the water before reaching the aquifer. Because of this there are several drainage structures that impact the design of the park and special considerations to be taken to maintain the condition of the water.
Lake Eola Park provides many opportunities for visitors to view wildlife, particularly birds, within its very urban setting. Although some of the natural features of the park have been erased through time, such as its littoral zone and native plantings, the park remains alive with wildlife. It is not uncommon to see a wide variety of animals in the park, from its famous swans to various birds such as anhingas, egrets, green herons, common gallinules and coots, to numerous fish and turtles. There are opportunities to improve the natural systems of the park to support its biodiversity and natural offerings.