Tallahassee Parks

Three governments run the parks Tallahassee residents use: the City of Tallahassee, which lists 103 parks totaling about 4,000 acres and over 70 miles of trails (City of Tallahassee Parks and Trails), Leon County, and the State of Florida.

City parks are open from sunrise to sunset, except lighted facilities. Dogs are welcome on a leash but must stay off ballfields and playgrounds, and waste must be picked up. The city invites small get-togethers in the parks, while organized gatherings of 50 people or more need a Parks Permit or Special Events Permit, often at no cost. Most pavilions are first come, first served; certain large pavilions at Tom Brown Park can be reserved through 891-3866, and hitting golf balls is not allowed for safety reasons (City of Tallahassee Parks and Trails). The city's line for reporting a park problem is 850-891-3866.

County parks have their own office: Leon County Parks and Recreation answers at (850) 606-1470 (Leon County, Apalachee Regional Park). The state trail south of town is a Florida State Parks property with its own number, 850-487-7989 (Florida State Parks, Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail). Florida State Parks also runs Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park, open 8 a.m. to sundown, 365 days a year, for $3 per vehicle paid at an honor box, with correct change required (Florida State Parks, Lake Jackson Mounds hours and fees).

Each of the six Tallahassee parks with its own guide fits a different outing, and the table lists who runs it, where it is and when it is open.

Sources for the table: City of Tallahassee Parks and Trails, City of Tallahassee, Tom Brown Park, City of Tallahassee, Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park, City of Tallahassee, Oven Park page, Leon County, Apalachee Regional Park, Leon County, Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway and Florida State Parks, Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail.

Tom Brown Park is the City of Tallahassee's main sports park, which the city calls its premier place to play (City of Tallahassee, Tom Brown Park).

The nearly 300 acre Tallahassee park east of Capital Circle SE has numerous baseball and softball fields, tennis and racquetball courts, playgrounds, open space, wooded trails, a pump track and a dog park.

Tom Brown Park also hosts Celebrate America, the city's annual July 4 fireworks show, and it was dedicated on January 30, 1977 (City of Tallahassee, Tom Brown Park). On the county side, Apalachee Regional Park at 7550 Apalachee Pkwy has four multipurpose grass fields with football goal posts, two of them lighted, which are also used for soccer and lacrosse, parking for more than 3,500 vehicles and an airfield for remote control airplanes and helicopters (Leon County, Apalachee Regional Park).

Leon County opened a dog park at Apalachee Regional Park on May 6, 2025, which includes the county's first public dog agility course (Leon County, Apalachee Regional Park). Leashed dogs are allowed in any city park but not on ballfields or playgrounds (City of Tallahassee Parks and Trails).

Two of the longest named trails around Tallahassee are the 16 mile state rail trail to the coast (Florida State Parks, Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail) and Leon County's 14 mile Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway (Leon County, Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway).

Apalachee Regional Park adds a cross country course (Leon County, Apalachee Regional Park).

The St. Marks trail runs from the capital to the coastal community of St. Marks, is open 8 a.m. to sunset every day with no fee, and was the first rail trail in Florida's greenways and trails system to be paved. Horseback riding uses the adjacent unpaved trail, the Florida National Scenic Trail joins at U.S. 98, and the main trailhead connects to the Munson Hills and Twilight mountain bike trails in the Apalachicola National Forest (Florida State Parks, Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail). Two playground closures are posted: the trail playground since March 10, 2025, and the Wakulla Station Trailhead playground since January 25, 2024.

The Miccosukee greenway at 5600 Miccosukee Rd is open seven days a week in daylight and lists a picnic area, restroom and water fountain (Leon County, Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway). Apalachee Regional Park's multi-surface cross country course, which Leon County calls one of the nation's few sites designed for the sport, is open to the public for hiking, running and biking whenever no event is running (Leon County, Apalachee Regional Park). On Lake Jackson's eastern shore, the city's Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park covers 670 acres, more than 600 of them set aside for passive recreation and environmental education (City of Tallahassee, Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park).

The Oven Park holiday lights on Thomasville Road in Tallahassee open Thanksgiving evening, Thursday, November 26, and run nightly through Friday, January 1, weather permitting (City of Tallahassee, Oven Park page).

The park is at 3205 Thomasville Road, and the city lists a holiday line at 850-891-3555 (City of Tallahassee, Oven Park page).

The city lists weekday hours of 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. and weekend hours of 5:30 to 11:00 p.m. Elf Night is Sunday, December 13, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m.; on that night cars cannot drive through or park in the lot, and parking is next door at Thomasville Road Baptist Church. Both events are free (City of Tallahassee, Oven Park page).

The park sits in more than six acres of garden with azaleas, camellias and palms, and its house can be rented for seminars, weddings, meetings and receptions; the city page says rental fees are due 90 days before the event (City of Tallahassee, Oven Park page).

Six Tallahassee parks guides each cover one park in depth, matched below to the question each answers.

Golf courses and community centers sit in the separate recreation section, which has its own hub.

Last verified: October 18, 2026, from the city's parks rules page and its Tom Brown, Phipps and Oven Park pages, Leon County's Apalachee Regional Park and Miccosukee greenway listings, and the Florida State Parks pages for the St. Marks trail and Lake Jackson Mounds.