The Lakes
Named for the water, honestly
About 50 natural lakes in 18 square miles gave Land O' Lakes its name in 1950. The outdoor life built around them is still the point.
Home/The Lakes
The local angle
Fifty lakes and the life around them
The name came from a 1950 public contest celebrating a real geography: roughly 50 natural lakes packed into about 18 square miles of central Pasco County (no relation to the dairy brand). Heritage Park sits on the historic U.S. 41 lakes corridor, Conner Preserve spreads 3,486 acres of sandhill and marsh trails, and the paved Suncoast Trail runs 42 miles along the parkway for cyclists and runners.
Newer master-planned communities like Connerton and Bexley grew up around that green framework, with the county's Land O' Lakes Recreation Complex — gym, pool, courts — as the shared backyard.