Keystone | Odessa

Lake Keystone is the largest and most well-known lake in the area. The lake spans an area of 424 acres with an average depth of 10 feet. Categorized by clear, clean water with a tint of reddish-brown, this has been a popular lake, famous both for boating and fishing. A ski slalom course also serves as an exciting challenge for local watersports enthusiasts. The residents ofLake Keystone come together once a year in the annual Christmas Boat Parade, where residents watch from their lakefronts a pageant of locally owned boats beautifully adorned with holiday flair. Just up the road from Lake Keystone spans a well-known chain of lakes made up of Pretty Lake (80 acres), Lake Josephine (48 acres), and Rock Lake (54 acres). All three tea-colored lakes are intertwined through steerable canals. Fishermen are bound to find a plethora of bass in and around these canals. Bluegill and catfish are also popular findings in these lakes. Homeowners are attracted to these lakes both for their sporty frills and the fun that comes with it, as well as their unspoiled and uncorrupted beauty. Compassed by natural wildlife and cypress trees, these lakefronts have reserved and maintained the quality of Old Florida that is so cherished by a large number of locals.

As far back as the 1950s, the inhabitants of Tampa have been building weekend and summer cottages on some of the area’s lakefronts. Over the years, more and more families have come to fall in love with the magical and alluring feeling of the area and began building permanent homes. Since the 1970s, a housing flourish has swept the area as more folks continue to troop in to benefit from the preserved natural environment of the region. Despite its growing population, the small -town charm of the Keystone and Odessa communities has remained intact and even gets better with time.