Lakeside at Osceola provides a versatile and creative resource for anyone with a desire to celebrate an event in a very exceptional manor. An occasion could range from a child’s birthday for 10 to any family affair or a large scale corporate gathering for 1200 guests. Our on premise catering kitchen facility can handle indoor and outdoor affairs from a simple pizza party to a lavish Buffet or Lobster bake. In every case, we combine creative and innovative ideas in our unique environment to produce an unforgettable event.
Plenty of free parking is available!
Open Memorial Day weekend and every weekend through Father's Day. Open seven days a week from Father's Day until Labor Day.
Park Open 6 Days a Week Tuesdays through Sundays 9:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Private Parties Anytime - All Year Round
Swimming Hours Mon. - Fri. 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sat., Sun., Holidays 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Snack Bar Hours: 10:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M.
The Park may be subject to limited closures due to private affairs or special events. These dates will be posted to the web site.
Tell all your friends about the fun going on at Lakeside at Osceola.!
Even the name has a quaint ring to it, Osceola Beach and Picnic Grove. It is a name the place lives up to: there is, indeed, a grove of tall oaks and maples. In their shade are dozens of redwood picnic tables. And there is a mirror-smooth lake, ringed by trees and bordered by a tiny crescent beach.
On a recent morning at the beach and picnic grove, a woman sat at a shaded table by the front gate, taking admission money from people who drove up in convertibles or vans or station wagons packed with children. Her name is Mary Longo, and she and her husband, Louis, own the place. She greeted the regular customers by name, even before they got out of their cars, and chatted about the weather with those she did not know.
The sun didn't know what it was going to do this morning,'' she said to one young mother, pointing skyward to the bands of gray clouds alternating with strips of bright blue. ''But I think it's going to be O.K.''
The three-acre park opened about 25 years ago, on Old Route 6. Then, the small frame houses surrounding it were used as summer bungalows. Now, they tend to be year-round residences but, otherwise, not much has changed. Mrs. Longo, a gregarious woman with curly hair and a charming smile, bought the park six years ago with her husband, who works in New York City on sewage treatment. Their home during the fall, winter and spring is a brick house in Brooklyn, but from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the park is where they stay.
Their living quarters, in fact, are in the snack bar, a neat little stand stocked with hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream, homemade ice tea, and all manner of recreational gadgets: inflatable swimming tubes, visors and caps and portable grills and bags of charcoal briquets. Behind this is the Longos's own kitchen, a tiny master bedroom and a couple of bedrooms that are smaller still, for when the grown children come to visit. The Longos lock the gates to the public at 6:30 or 7 P.M., and don't open them until 8 or 9:30 the following morning.
For those who visit, the mood is tranquil, but a bit more active. Fishing, for example, is one of the favored pastimes at Lake Osceola. For a dollar, you can buy a little piece of wood, a line and a little hook attached to it; and try to snare sunnies, bass and an occasional catfish. Matthew Rosenblatt, 13, and Frank Caiola Jr., also 13, stood on a small wooden dock, dangling their lines to the water, watching iridescent dragonflies alight on lily pads and comparing notes on technique.