Lehigh Acres Trailhead Park – Lee County Parks & Recreation’s newest site – hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday, Dec. 12.
The park, located at 213 David Ave., features 11 acres of open space on a site that once was part of an 18-hole golf resort called Admiral Lehigh Golf Resort, which fell into disrepair during the recession.
The park also features picnic pavilions, a boardwalk and observation area with interpretive signs, an outdoor fitness area, restrooms and free parking. Leashed dog walking is permitted on the trail.
“The fact that the site reuses part of an old golf course illustrates Lee County’s commitment to preservation,” said Lee County Parks & Recreation Director Dave Harner, who noted that 90 percent of the site’s existing trees such as pines and cabbage palms were preserved and most of the invasive exotic plant species were eliminated.
The park retains much of the site’s original topography, integrating various berms, greens and sand traps of the old golf course into its design, so fewer nonrenewable resources were expended by on-site construction equipment to grade the site. The park also contains a series of manmade rain gardens – planted depressions – that help to improve water quality by capturing and filtering runoff prior to discharge into Able Canal.
The project was partially funded by a $126,300 grant through the Recreational Trails Program administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The lead design consultant was EnSite and the general contractor was Casey Construction.
Park hours will be dawn to dusk daily. A Lee Tran bus stop is located across the street from the park’s entrance, providing people with the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by ride-sharing.