Spanish River Athletic Park

An excellent place for walks! There's plenty of space to stroll around, perfect for walking your dog or playing with children. The paths are well-maintained, allowing you to cycle and enjoy nature. It's a very quiet and beautiful place! Free parking and free entry to the park!

I’m writing with deep concern after witnessing a heartbreaking incident today, Saturday, July 5, 2025, while jogging at the park. I saw a large turtle, one of those with a long neck, struggling with a fishing hook stuck through her lip. She could barely open her mouth, and it was clear that she may not be able to eat or survive much longer without help. I tried calling for help, but being a summer weekend, I was unable to reach anyone immediately. I truly love this park. It’s a beautiful, peaceful place that brings joy to so many people, including myself. But seeing a helpless animal in pain like that made me realize that fishing should not be allowed here. There are oceans and designated fishing areas all around, this small pond or body of water should not be a place where wildlife is harmed. It’s unacceptable that human recreation is putting wildlife in danger. We need to do better, and you have the power to help prevent this from happening again.

Outstanding Sports fields in very good condition. Day or night I find it all is clean and well lit. Sometimes food or coffee vendor in food truck. Playground area is large, well padded and a number of benches

I had a disappointing experience at the Countess de Hoernle Spanish River Athletic Complex soccer fields due to inconsistent rule enforcement and how I was spoken to by staff. On Saturday, I attended games at these same fields and personally counted well over eight dogs present with no issues or enforcement. Based on that experience, I brought my dog with me tonight. I was immediately told to leave solely because I had my dog, which I complied with — but when I calmly explained what I had observed just days earlier, the staff member told me that wasn’t true and called me a liar. If there is a strict no-dogs policy, that’s fine — but it needs to be clearly communicated and consistently enforced. More importantly, city staff should never speak to residents in a disrespectful manner. This could have been handled professionally and politely. Instead, it left a bad impression and reflects poorly on how the facility is managed.

This is a large park with lots of different areas for playing sports or working out. A walking/running path goes around the lake. There is a tunnel under East Palmetto Park Road connecting to the path around Big Lake and to the Pondhawk Natural Area. A covered workout area has machines for different workouts on the east side of the lake. There is a nice covered area with a few picnic tables, bathrooms and water fountains. There are a few other places with benches to sit at. The parking lot is large and I’ve never seen it busy even with a few games happening on the different sport fields.