Lake Whippoorwill: Size, Access & Homes Near Lake Nona

The small, deep lake between Narcoossee Road and Lake Hart: where it is, why it has two names, why the "canal" to Lake Hart isn't one, and who actually gets on the water.

By David Myers, Broker Associate · NonaOrlandoProperties.com · Last updated September 2026

Lake Whippoorwill, also listed as Barton Lake, is a 327-acre lake with a mean depth of 13 feet in unincorporated Orange County, on the southeast side of Lake Nona. It lies east of Narcoossee Road and south of SR 417, with Lake Hart to the east across Kirby Smith Road. The two lakes are joined only by a shallow, overgrown drainage connection under Kirby Smith Road that boats cannot pass. There is no known public boat ramp; the KOA campground that once had one for guests is now the Bainbridge apartment community. Homes on the lake belong to the Lake Whippoorwill-Hart Rural Settlement and to Shores at Lake Whippoorwill.

Look at a map of southeast Orlando and Lake Whippoorwill looks like part of the family: a smaller lake tucked beside Lake Hart, with a line of water between them. It's an easy assumption that a boat on one can reach the other. It can't.

Lake Whippoorwill is its own lake in every way that matters to someone on the water or buying a house beside it. It's smaller than its neighbors and deeper on average, it has a second name that still turns up in property records, and getting onto it is harder than getting onto Lake Hart. Here's the whole picture.

Where is Lake Whippoorwill?

Lake Whippoorwill is in unincorporated Orange County on the southeast side of Lake Nona, east of Narcoossee Road and south of SR 417, with Lake Hart just to the east.

It's closer to the busy part of Lake Nona than the Moss Park lakes are. Narcoossee Road runs along its western side, and the SR 417 GreeneWay passes to the north. Kirby Smith Road runs between Lake Whippoorwill and Lake Hart, and the land between the two lakes, on and around Kirby Smith and Tyson Road, is the Lake Whippoorwill-Hart Rural Settlement. Shores at Lake Whippoorwill, off Kirby Smith Road just east of Narcoossee, has four homes on the lake. The ZIP code is 32832.

The lake has a second name. The Orange County Water Atlas lists Barton Lake as an alternate name for Lake Whippoorwill, and that's why Shores at Lake Whippoorwill still shows up in some records under an earlier development name, Lake Barton. If a search for one name comes up short, try the other.

How big and how deep is Lake Whippoorwill?

The Orange County Water Atlas lists Lake Whippoorwill at 327 acres with a mean depth of 13 feet: small next to Lake Hart, but deeper on average than Lake Mary Jane.

For scale, the same source puts Lake Hart at 1,881 acres and Lake Mary Jane at 1,119 acres, with Lake Mary Jane averaging 7 feet deep. So Lake Whippoorwill is about a sixth the size of Lake Hart, yet it averages nearly twice the depth of Lake Mary Jane. You'll see larger figures elsewhere — the old campground on the lake advertised it as 355 acres — but the Water Atlas figure comes from the county's own water-resource data.

Is Lake Whippoorwill connected to Lake Hart?

Only for water, not for boats: the link is a shallow, overgrown drainage connection that passes under Kirby Smith Road.

This is the part people get wrong. On a map it reads as a canal, and the lakes do share a watershed — the Water Atlas puts both in the Lake Hart watershed. But what joins them is little more than a drainage ditch. Kirby Smith Road crosses over it, the channel is shallow and overgrown, and there's no getting a boat through, not even a kayak you'd want to keep dry.

That has a practical consequence. A dock on Lake Whippoorwill gets you 327 acres of water, not the roughly 3,000 acres of Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane. For the bigger water, see our Lake Hart chain fishing and boating guide and our Lake Mary Jane guide.

Can the public get onto Lake Whippoorwill?

Not easily: there's no public boat ramp we know of, and the lakeside campground that once gave visitors a way on is permanently closed.

For years the easiest way onto Lake Whippoorwill was the KOA campground on its western shore, off Narcoossee Road, which had a boat ramp and canoe rentals for guests. That campground has closed permanently, and the Bainbridge luxury apartment community now occupies the site.

Today, the people on Lake Whippoorwill are almost all launching from their own backyards in the rural settlement or from the four lakefront homes at Shores at Lake Whippoorwill. If you don't live on it, the nearest public launch is Moss Park — and that puts you on Lake Hart or Lake Mary Jane, not here.

There are no public swimming areas on the lake. Like every sizable Central Florida lake, treat it as alligator water.

What is Lake Whippoorwill used for?

Mostly private, low-traffic recreation: residents fishing and boating from their own docks on a lake with no public launch.

That lack of public access is exactly why the lake stays quiet. You won't find tournament traffic or weekend crowds here. Fishing follows Florida's statewide freshwater rules, and anglers ages 16–64 need a license; our Lake Hart chain guide has the current limits.

The lake is also closely watched. The Water Atlas shows water-quality sampling on Lake Whippoorwill going back to 1970, including volunteer monitoring through the Florida LAKEWATCH program.

What is it like to live on Lake Whippoorwill?

Living on Lake Whippoorwill means one of two very different purchases: acreage in the Lake Whippoorwill-Hart Rural Settlement, or one of four lakefront Toll Brothers homes at Shores at Lake Whippoorwill.

The Lake Whippoorwill-Hart Rural Settlement is old Florida: lots from about half an acre to 10 acres, horses allowed, and no HOA or CDD. Most lots back to one of the two lakes — so check which one. A lot on Lake Whippoorwill doesn't get you onto Lake Hart by boat.

Shores at Lake Whippoorwill is the opposite: 14 Toll Brothers estate homes built in 2021–2022, with an HOA, no CDD, and public water and sewer. Only four of the 14 back to the lake, so waiting for water here means waiting for one of four specific houses.

Two checks apply either way. First, confirm utilities for the specific address: depending on where a property sits along the lake, it may be on public water and sewer or on private well and septic, and the two neighborhoods differ. Second, confirm the flood zone and elevation certificate, because it changes insurance costs from one lot to the next. Our Lake Nona waterfront homes search shows what's on the market.

The Honest Version: Pros, Cons and Our Take

Our Take: Lake Whippoorwill is a lake for the people who live on it. If you want a boat in the backyard and room to run it, Lake Hart frontage is the better buy. If you want quiet, deeper water close to Narcoossee Road, this is one of the few places around Lake Nona that offers it. Before you fall for a lakefront listing near Kirby Smith Road, confirm which lake it actually sits on.

What the Neighbors Know

People who live along Kirby Smith Road know the "canal" to Lake Hart is a ditch, and they like that the lake's lack of a public ramp keeps it quiet.

That's the character of this corner of the Lake Nona area: acreage, horses and a small private lake, a short drive from Lake Nona Landing and the rest of Narcoossee Road. It's the rural edge that was here before Lake Nona, and the lake is a big part of why it has stayed that way. For the rest of the area's parks and lakes, see our Lake Nona parks and lakes guide.

Official Sources

• Orange County Water Atlas: Lake Whippoorwill
• Orange County Water Atlas: Lake management and taxing districts
• FWC: Freshwater fishing regulations

Weighing a lot on Lake Whippoorwill against one on Lake Hart? Call/Text David Myers at 407.801.3286 or use the contact form.