Winter Haven's three newest or newly expanded lakeside walks are South Lake Howard Nature Park, Lake Elbert Trail and Lake Conine Nature Park. All three were built around the same job, catching runoff from nearby streets and neighborhoods and treating it before it reaches a lake. The boardwalks, kayak launches and loop trails came out of that water work. That order explains where these parks are, why they look the way they do, and why the city can keep adding to them. It also explains the date coming up on October 14.
South Lake Howard Started at a Storm Drain in 2001
South Lake Howard Nature Park at 1570 Lake Howard Drive SW is a set of stormwater wetlands planted with native vegetation. Those wetlands filter and treat runoff flowing into Lake Howard, which is part of the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes. The University of Florida's Florida Green Stormwater Infrastructure project page gives 2001 as the year it was completed. In an interview with the same program, city project manager Mike Britt said the site was a low-lying pasture where a large storm drain flowed into Lake Howard. The pond was designed to look and work like a natural one and was made large enough on purpose to leave room for trails.
Before the current expansion, the park already had quarter-mile, half-mile and one-mile loops, plus boardwalks and picnic areas. In May 2026, Daily Ridge described it as one of Winter Haven's quieter outdoor spots. The paper said it has grown popular with walkers, cyclists, birdwatchers and photographers, with herons, egrets and osprey around the wetlands. One photo caption identified what appears to be a juvenile limpkin. The Lake Region Audubon Society has also held a short hike at the park, listed at about 1.5 miles with restrooms available.
The Expansion Adds Water Treatment, Then the Amenities
The city's project page describes the expansion in a clear order. It starts with more stormwater and wetland infrastructure, built to mirror the existing wetlands and treat runoff from surrounding roadways and neighborhoods. The recreational additions come after that. Daily Ridge's July 13, 2026 report, based on information from the City of Winter Haven, said the park will almost double in size. It also described structures in several ponds with a piping system that holds, treats and stages water to reduce pollutants before releasing it, with the goal of improving water quality in the neighboring Lake Howard.
The funding follows the same order. The city lists Heartland Headwaters and FRDAP grants along with city funds. Daily Ridge reported that Public Works secured a Florida Department of Environmental Protection grant that covered $450,000 of the project. The May report added that stormwater funding and impact fees from new development are part of the mix, and that some of the money is tied specifically to stormwater improvements and lake restoration. Even the road work along Lake Howard Drive SW was water work. A temporary closure posted February 17, 2026 was there to support stormwater improvements.
The City and Daily Ridge describe these additions on top of that base:
- An expanded trail network and a scenic boardwalk
- A picnic pavilion where educational and environmental programs may be held
- A playground, updated restrooms and more parking
- A kayak launch and a fishing pier
- A 13-hole disc golf course, the first in Winter Haven
The project page also says future amenities may include a nature education center.
Lake Conine Was Bought as a Stormwater Park
Lake Conine Nature Park, off Lucerne Park Road, was built in the same order. Catalyst Design Group, the landscape architecture firm that worked with the city, says the city bought the 32-acre site about 15 years before its 2025 opening, planning a stormwater park for Lake Conine and the surrounding neighborhoods. The first phase built wetland cells that filter runoff naturally before it enters the lake. The second phase began in 2022 with Polk County, the State of Florida and the Southwest Florida Water Management District as partners. It added passive recreation, a spur trail and a Chain of Lakes trailhead.
The park opened with a ribbon cutting on May 13, 2025. Today it has a perimeter trail of nearly a mile with smaller loops inside it, a shaded picnic pavilion, a playground, a fishing pier and dock, and a kayak launch. This spring the trail got a small addition. On April 18, Boy Scout Troop 515 and the city installed distance markers on the 0.9-mile loop. The project drew on the markers at Lake Wailes Park, and the trail was measured with a measuring wheel and walked several times to confirm the distance. The city's June 1 post credits Parks & Grounds Superintendent Steve Pruitt and Senior Environmental Scientist Devon Moore with helping choose the sites and materials.
The markers are intended to show people how far they have traveled around the trail and help them reach their exercise goals.
It's fitting that an environmental scientist helped place the mile markers. On this site, the trail runs alongside the water treatment.
Lake Elbert Got New Pipes Along With Its Trail
Lake Elbert Trail is a 2.4-mile loop around Lake Elbert near Polk State College's Winter Haven Campus. Construction started in early 2024. The city held the public grand opening on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at the Lake Elbert Boat Ramp at Lake Elbert Drive and 9th Street NE.
Polk State's announcement lists what else was built along with the path. The list includes stormwater system upgrades, water and sewer line connections, pedestrian crosswalks, resurfacing, shoreline improvements and pedestrian connections. Lake Elbert Drive, east of campus, had been closed to everything except through traffic during construction and reopened when the trail was finished. Lake Elbert is the most built-up of the three settings, so the stormwater work there lies under the street and shoreline instead of in open wetland cells. It's the same idea in a smaller space.
Three Loops Side by Side
| South Lake Howard Nature Park | Lake Conine Nature Park | Lake Elbert Trail | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where to start | 1570 Lake Howard Dr SW | Off Lucerne Park Road | Lake Elbert Boat Ramp, Lake Elbert Dr and 9th St NE |
| Loop length | Quarter-, half- and one-mile loops before the expansion | 0.9-mile perimeter, with interior loops | 2.4 miles around the lake |
| Water work | Stormwater wetlands treating runoff into Lake Howard since 2001, now expanding | Wetland cells filtering runoff before it enters Lake Conine | Stormwater system upgrades and shoreline improvements |
| On the water | Kayak launch and fishing pier in the expansion | Fishing pier and dock, kayak launch | Boat ramp |
| Newest change | Expansion ribbon cutting Oct. 14, 2026 | Distance markers installed April 18 | Opened Nov. 22, 2025 |
The table points to a planning habit. Winter Haven keeps putting its newest public lakefront access on land and in projects that are also handling runoff. Each lake that gets a stormwater project ends up with another place to walk.
October 14 at 1570 Lake Howard Drive SW
The City of Winter Haven has scheduled the South Lake Howard Nature Park expansion ribbon cutting for Wednesday, October 14, 2026, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the park. The community calendar listing includes a registration option. The city's invitation encourages people to see the new additions and explore the park. The ceremony is later than the July timeline, which expected the project to be done "this summer." As of May, signs at the site said parts of the walking trail were temporarily closed during construction. No announcement so far says which new features are open before the ceremony. The safest plan is to treat October 14 as the first look at the full expansion.
There's also a way to reach the park from downtown along the shore. The city's trail project lists a 1,900-foot multi-use segment from the Lake Howard/Lake May Canal to 15th Street SW, meant to connect downtown with Lake Howard Nature Park, and marks it completed in fiscal year 2025. A separate 3,200-foot segment from 15th Street SW to Avenue C SW appears as its own item. For people who live west of downtown, that canal-to-15th-Street stretch is the start of a lakeside walk toward the new wetlands.
If you're thinking about a home near Lake Howard, Lake Conine or Lake Elbert and want to know how a neighborhood park project could affect the street you're considering, our team at Premier Realty Network follows these projects closely. Schedule a complimentary home consultation with our Lakeland experts, and we'll go over what's planned near the addresses on your list.
