The lake on the other side of the Moss Park picnic tables: who owns each shore, how big it really is, where its water goes, and how you actually get a boat on it.
Lake Mary Jane is a lake of about 1,119 acres with a mean depth of 7 feet, in unincorporated Orange County southeast of Lake Nona. Moss Park, the Orange County park, occupies its west side; the Isle of Pines neighborhood sits on its east bank; private homes along Lake Mary Jane Road line its north shore. A canal at Moss Park connects it to Lake Hart, and boats can pass between the two. A second canal links it south to Lake Myrtle in Osceola County, and the whole system drains down the Kissimmee chain to Lake Okeechobee, but gates control the flow and boats cannot pass. Public boat access is through the ramps in Moss Park.
Most people meet Lake Mary Jane from a picnic table. You drive to the end of Moss Park Road, park under the oaks, and the big water in front of you is the lake nobody ever quite names — it's just "the Moss Park lake," the smaller sibling of Lake Hart.
It deserves better. Lake Mary Jane is one of the first lakes in the chain that feeds the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee and, eventually, the Everglades. It also has one of the more interesting shorelines around Lake Nona: a county park on one side, a neighborhood with its own ramp on the other, and a row of private docks along the north. Here's how the whole thing fits together, including the one thing people most often get wrong about it.
Where is Lake Mary Jane?
Lake Mary Jane is in unincorporated Orange County, just southeast of Lake Nona, in the 32832 ZIP code it shares with southern Lake Nona.
It isn't inside Tavistock's master-planned community, and it isn't Lake Hart, although the two are joined. The easiest way to picture it is shore by shore:
- The west side is Moss Park, the Orange County park that sits on the strip of land between Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane. This is the public side of the lake.
- The east bank is the Isle of Pines neighborhood, with Orange County's Isle of Pine Preserve at its southern end.
- The north shore is lined with private homes along Lake Mary Jane Road that aren't part of any named neighborhood.
- To the southwest, the lake backs toward Split Oak Forest.
Two names to keep straight. Isle of Pines is the neighborhood; Isle of Pine Preserve is the county nature preserve next to it. And Moss Park the county park is not the same thing as the Moss Park neighborhoods along Moss Park Road — the park is the one on the lake. For the drive itself, our guide to Moss Park Road and the Eagle Creek corridor covers the route south from Lake Nona.
How big and how deep is Lake Mary Jane?
The Orange County Water Atlas lists Lake Mary Jane at 1,119 acres with a mean depth of 7 feet — a big, shallow Florida lake.
You'll see other numbers. Fishing and real estate sites put it anywhere from about 1,135 to 1,158 acres, and a South Florida Water Management District planning table lists 1,376. None of them is necessarily wrong: the surface area of a shallow lake moves with the water level, and different sources measured at different times. We use the Water Atlas figure because it comes from the county's own water-resource data. "About 1,100 acres" is the honest round number.
| Surface area | 1,119 acres (Orange County Water Atlas); other sources list roughly 1,135–1,376 |
|---|---|
| Mean depth | 7 feet (Orange County Water Atlas); maximum depth not published |
| Jurisdiction | Unincorporated Orange County, ZIP 32832 |
| Watershed | Lake Hart watershed, in the upper Kissimmee chain of lakes |
| Connects to (by boat) | Lake Hart, via the canal at Moss Park |
| Linked to (no boat passage) | Lake Myrtle and the Osceola County lakes to the south, through a gated canal |
| Public boat access | Moss Park ramps, 12901 Moss Park Road |
Is Lake Mary Jane connected to other lakes?
Yes, in two directions: a canal at Moss Park links it to Lake Hart for boats, and a gated canal links it south to Lake Myrtle in Osceola County, with no boat passage.
The Lake Hart connection is the one boaters use. The canal runs past Moss Park, which is why the park can offer ramp access to both lakes, and why you can launch on one and fish the other the same morning.
The southern connection is where people get it wrong. The district's C-30, the Myrtle–Mary Jane Canal, links Lake Mary Jane to Lake Myrtle, which pairs with Lakes Preston and Joel in Osceola County. Water from those lakes feeds into Lake Mary Jane; Hart and Mary Jane together then drain out through a control structure at Lake Hart's outlet, toward Lake Ajay and East Lake Toho. From there it runs down the Kissimmee chain to Lake Kissimmee, down the Kissimmee River, and into Lake Okeechobee. So in a real sense, Lake Mary Jane sits near the top of the Everglades.
What you can't do is follow it by boat. These canals have gates that control water flow. They manage lake levels; they aren't a boating route. If you've heard that you can run a boat from Moss Park down to Lake Toho or Okeechobee, you can't — Hart and Mary Jane are a two-lake system for boats and part of a much longer system for water.
One practical consequence of being a managed lake: the water level is regulated. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers publishes a daily stage reading for Lakes Hart and Mary Jane together, which is worth bookmarking if you keep a boat on a lift. It's linked under Official Sources below.
How do you get onto Lake Mary Jane?
The public way on is Moss Park, which has boat ramp access to both Lake Mary Jane and Lake Hart; everything else is private.
Here's the full list of ways onto the water, public and private:
- Moss Park, 12901 Moss Park Road, is the only public boat launch. The park charges a small per-vehicle entry fee and doesn't allow pets or alcohol; our Moss Park guide has the details, and the county's Moss Park page has current hours and fees.
- Isle of Pines has a private boat ramp for residents who belong to the neighborhood's optional HOA. Residents who don't join don't get the ramp.
- Many homes on the north shore along Lake Mary Jane Road have private docks, and so do Isle of Pines homes that back to the lake.
- On foot, the Green Trail at Isle of Pine Preserve runs along the lake's forested eastern shore. There's no launch there — it's a walk with water views, not a way onto the water.
There's no marina, fuel dock or bait shop anywhere on the lake. Bring what you need before you turn onto Moss Park Road.
Swimming is prohibited at Moss Park because of alligators, which live in both lakes. The old swimming area is closed, so treat this as boating and fishing water only.
What else happens on Lake Mary Jane?
Fishing, paddling and rowing: the lake holds the usual Central Florida bass and panfish, and a youth-and-adult rowing club keeps its boathouse on it.
For fishing, the targets are largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and redear. Our Lake Hart chain fishing and boating guide covers species, seasons and the current FWC limits, so we won't repeat them here. The same wind warning applies to both lakes: they're wide open, and chop builds quickly by midday.
The less-known resident is SORA Rowing, the South Orlando Rowing Association, which trains middle school, high school and adult rowers and keeps a boathouse and docks inside Moss Park. It's one of the reasons you'll sometimes see racing shells on the lake at dawn. Hurricane Irma badly damaged its facilities in 2017, which is a useful reminder of how exposed a big, open lake is in a hurricane.
A smaller detail that matters if you live on the water: the invasive apple snail has been reported here since 2013 and is now established across the Lake Hart watershed. Its bright pink egg clusters on docks and pilings are the giveaway.
What is it like to live on Lake Mary Jane?
Living on Lake Mary Jane means one of two things: an Isle of Pines home on the east bank, or a private home on the north shore along Lake Mary Jane Road.
Isle of Pines is the organized option. Its HOA is optional, and joining it is what gets you the private boat ramp; homes that back to the lake can also have their own docks. Isle of Pines has no CDD. The north shore has no neighborhood structure at all — just individual lakefront homes along Lake Mary Jane Road, many with docks.
Before you fall for a dock, check the parts that don't show up in listing photos: the flood zone and what it does to insurance, the condition and permitting of the dock itself, and how the regulated lake level affects your shoreline in a dry year. Our Lake Nona waterfront homes search shows what's on the market across the area.
The Honest Version: Pros, Cons and Our Take
Pros
- Over 1,100 acres of water, joined by boat to Lake Hart, with protected land on much of the shoreline.
- Public ramp access through Moss Park, so you don't need to live on it to use it.
- Quiet water compared with the big tourist lakes to the south.
- For residents, a real choice between a neighborhood with an optional HOA and ramp, and no-neighborhood lakefront on the north shore.
Cons
- One public launch, inside a park with fees, hours and a no-pets rule.
- No boat route out of the two lakes, despite the canals. The gates are for water, not boats.
- Shallow and wide open, so wind makes it rough, and hurricanes hit it hard.
- No marina, fuel or bait on the lake.
- Alligators, and no swimming at Moss Park.
Our Take: Lake Mary Jane is the better-kept secret of the two Moss Park lakes. Visit it through the park. If you want to live on it, decide first whether you want a neighborhood (Isle of Pines, with the ramp if you join the HOA) or just a house with a dock on Lake Mary Jane Road — those are two different purchases.
What the Neighbors Know
People who live around Lake Mary Jane know the canal south looks like a route to Okeechobee and isn't — and that the lake is still a short drive from Lake Nona's restaurants and Medical City.
That's the trade the southern edge of the Lake Nona area offers: water, space and a county park for a neighbor, a few miles from Town Center rather than in it. Lake Mary Jane is where that trade is most obvious. For the rest of the area's green space, see our Lake Nona parks and lakes guide.
Official Sources
- Orange County Water Atlas: Lake Mary Jane
- Orange County Parks: Moss Park
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Kissimmee chain daily lake levels
- FWC: Freshwater fishing regulations
Thinking about a home with a dock on Lake Mary Jane, or anywhere else near the water in the Lake Nona area? Call/Text David Myers at 407.801.3286 or use the contact form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Lake Mary Jane?
Lake Mary Jane is in unincorporated Orange County, just southeast of Lake Nona in the 32832 ZIP code. Moss Park, the Orange County park, is on its west side, the Isle of Pines neighborhood is on its east bank, and private homes along Lake Mary Jane Road line the north shore.
How big is Lake Mary Jane?
The Orange County Water Atlas lists Lake Mary Jane at 1,119 acres with a mean depth of 7 feet. Other published figures run from about 1,150 to more than 1,300 acres, because the measured area changes with the water level.
Where can you launch a boat on Lake Mary Jane?
The public launch is in Moss Park, which has boat ramp access to both Lake Mary Jane and Lake Hart. Isle of Pines residents who belong to the optional HOA also have a private ramp, and many lakefront homes have their own docks.
Can you boat from Lake Mary Jane to Lake Hart?
Yes. A canal at Moss Park connects Lake Mary Jane and Lake Hart, so a boat launched on one lake can reach the other.
Can you boat from Lake Mary Jane to Lake Okeechobee?
No. Lake Mary Jane is part of the water system that drains to Lake Okeechobee, and a canal links it to Lake Myrtle and the Osceola County lakes to the south, but the canals are fitted with gates that control water flow. There is no boat passage out of the Hart and Mary Jane pair.
Is Lake Mary Jane part of Lake Nona?
Not the master-planned community. Lake Mary Jane sits southeast of it in unincorporated Orange County and shares the 32832 ZIP code with southern Lake Nona, which is why most buyers and visitors treat it as part of the Lake Nona area.
