While Tampa and Hillsborough County is thought of as an urban center along the north shore of Tampa Bay, it has a growing number of natural lands protecting drainages into the water supply of the region, including linear areas along the Hillsborough, Little Manatee, and Alafia Rivers, all of which have hiking trails. Special protection has been accorded upland areas, too, with more scrub habitats now under protection.
Alderman’s Ford Preserve - Part of an extensive corridor of natural lands – more than 10,000 acres worth east of Tampa – protecting the flow of the Alafia River, Alderman’s Ford Nature Preserve offers a surprising treat for a [...]
Alderman’s Ford Park - An easy loop at this popular county park, the Lithia Nature Trail slips behind the nature center for a walk in deeply shaded woods. Along the river’s floodplain corridor, you are in hammocks where massive [...]
Boyd Hill Nature Park - Boyd Hill Park originally began its life as a zoo and botanical garden for the city of St. Petersburg. It has since evolved over the decades into a mosaic of natural habitats and wild tropical [...]
Caladesi Island State Park - Protecting a windswept shoreline and a variety of habitats on a barrier island off the historic coastal community of Dunedin, Caladesi Island State Park is undoubtedly one of the gems of the Florida State Parks [...]
Circle B Bar Reserve - Sitting along Lake Hancock between Lakeland and Auburndale, Circle B Bar Reserve is a success story that Aldo Leopold would be proud of. Formerly a cattle ranch, the reserve encompasses more than 1,200 acres being [...]
Eagle Lake Park - In the heart of Pinellas County, Eagle Lake Park is the legacy of the Taylor family, who helped to found Largo – then known as Citrus City – with their groves and citrus packing plant. [...]- Egmont Key State Park - Resources Overview Location: Egmont Key Length: 1 mile Lat-Lon: 27.613088, -82.736473 (for ferryboat dock) Type: round-trip Fees: state park access fee Difficulty: easy to moderate Bug Factor: moderate Restroom: not on the island Pets are [...]
Eureka Springs - In 1938, amateur botanist and world traveler Albert Greenburg established a botanical garden with tropical plants around springs that fed a lush floodplain forest along Six Mile Creek. Years later, he started the first tropical [...]
Fort De Soto Park – Arrowhead Nature Trail - Explore several coastal habitats on the Arrowhead Nature Trail at Fort De Soto Park, an interpretive walk with plenty of stops where you’ll learn all about the salt-dependent plants along the rim of Mullet Key [...]
Fort De Soto Park – Barrier Free Trail - Dangling like an anchor into the southern waters of Tampa Bay, Mullet Key is known to the world as Fort De Soto Park, home of a rare find: unspoiled, uninhabited Suncoast beaches. During the Spanish-American [...]
Fort De Soto Park – Soldier’s Hole Nature Trail - Its name comes from legends of soldiers deserting the fort in the dead of night, slipping through the mangrove swamps to freedom. Soldier’s Hole is a cove in the mangrove forest, abuzz with mosquitoes and [...]
Hillsborough River State Park - One of the Tampa Bay area’s most beloved state parks, Hillsborough River State Park has always been a family favorite because of its rapids. Yes, rapids. Until I spent years researching Florida’s history and discovered [...]
Honeymoon Island State Park - On this barrier island just north of Clearwater Beach, the Osprey Trail at Honeymoon Island State Park offers a close-up look at a rookery of “sea eagles,” the noble osprey. There are nesting colonies of [...]
James E Grey Preserve - James E. Grey Preserve is a hidden treasure on the outskirts of New Port Richey, a quiet rural breather along the Pithlachascotee River. It’s in a most unexpected place: surrounded by modern-day subdivisions, a tiny [...]
John Chesnut Sr. Park - With its extensive waterfront on Lake Tarpon and Brooker Creek in Oldsmar, John Chesnut Sr. Park has always been a popular natural getaway for folks near Tampa and Clearwater Beach. Pop in any weekend and [...]
Lettuce Lake Park - At the north edge of Tampa, Lettuce Lake Park protects 240 acres along the Hillsborough River, providing a getaway for hikers, bicyclists, and picnickers. Trapped between tall cypress trees in ponds dense with water lettuce, [...]
Little Manatee River Hiking Trail - Diversity, scenery, and botanical wonders: all key to a great Florida hike. Laid out as two loops on the northernmost portion of Little Manatee River State Park, the Little Manatee River Hiking Trail is one [...]
Moccasin Lake Nature Park - Sitting at the base of busy US 19 in Clearwater, Moccasin Lake Nature Park preserves a lush patch of native forest and a stream for the public to enjoy. Centered on a popular nature center, [...]
The Friends Trail - Looping through pine flatwoods in the middle of suburbia, the Friends Trail at Brooker Creek Preserve offers an escape from busy Pinellas County life. This was the first trail to open on the county’s largest [...]
Upper Hillsborough River Hiking Trail - A linear hiking trail, the Upper Hillsborough River Hiking Trail meanders through pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, open fields, oak hammocks, and floodplain forests along the edge of the Hillsborough River basin Resources Overview Location: [...]
Upper Tampa Bay County Park - Located west of Tampa off Hillsborough Avenue, this 2,144 acre park protects a large swath of the sensitive mangrove-lined northern shores of Upper Tampa Bay, a massive estuary. Centered on a large Environmental Study Center, [...]
