With urbanization reducing the amount of available wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation increasing the human activity within wildlife habitats, it is important to understand the effects of human activity on animal behavior. This study examined how the reduction in human presence in urban parks in Gainesville, Florida affected the temporal behaviors of medium- and large-bodied mammals and ground birds. Camera-trap surveys were conducted during (2020) and following (2023) the closure of urban parks that are typically open to human recreation due to Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), with the shutdown providing a unique opportunity to study wildlife under reduced human activity. We detected biologically significant shifts in activity patterns that were consistent with avoidance of increased presence of predators (bobcat, coyote, fox) and with avoidance of human activity (white-tailed deer) when the parks were re-opened. Temporal behavior pattern shifts can have significant effects on foraging/hunting, reproduction, and socialization as time of day is an important aspect to an animal’s niche and can ultimately affect population dynamics at a species and community level. These data may inform regulations on public recreation and wildlife population management within urban parks and the Florida Wildlife Corridor—the state’s best effort to offset the negative impacts of increasing population and development.