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One of my very favorite parks in Tampa. There is no fee to pay u[pon entry...It is FREE. If you enter this park from Flatwoods Trail, it will cost you $2...This is a difficult place to find.
If you are lucky enough to find this park you can enjoy yourself on a zip-line. It is fun for young and old. There is a climbing wall and an obstacle course for the kids. There is an asphalt bicycle path that goes over wooden bridges and leads to mountain bike trails and also an 11 mile paved loop. There are water stations and restrooms in a few places on the loop. There are awesome trails that go off of the loop. You can get lost pretty easy so keep your bearings.
Wild pigs have rooted up many of the trails and they are impassable. We have experienced a river otter, a large doe, gopher turtles, a fox, armadillos, snakes, hogs, hawks, eagles, squirrels, fish and more. The network of main trails are well marked and it is awesome to use an app like "map my ride" when traveling on the marked trails..
The trail named "Squiggy" is where we interacted with the river otter. He was about 4-5 feet long and he was mad. I had put my foot on a log that was part of his river dam. He splashed into the water and went on the opposite bank running real fast and making an almost barking noise. He circled back around toward us and swam by us very quickly. His mate swam in circles in the middle of the creek. The otters sharpened cypress stumps to a super-pointed spikes. This is where they sharpen their teeth.. This is my very favorite place in all of Tampa Bay, to ride my mountain bike.There are rangers you see ( not too often) and the place has quite a few folks on weekends. There are many sanctioned races that take place at Flatwoods Preserve, (which is the main park with the 11 mile loop)....In general, this place is real clean and you can ride all day long over hundreds of miles...
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Well, I like many of the parks/landings/trails, etc all along the Hillsborough River, but I'm a repeat visitor to this landing for several reasons. For starters, the "wheel tax" (that's what I like to call the parking fee) is cheaper than many of the other areas even ones just a few miles away. There is also not an additional fee for the kayak/canoe launch, but there is a nominal fee for using the trailered motorized-boat ramp. The toilet-house has women/mens accomodations, and they are not primitive or stinky but reasonably clean. There is an information drive-up station with a wooden map/sign indicating other nearby parks/landings along Hillsborough River. Which also points out some maintained trails that run between parks. Its only moderately busy at its worst which is when a local canoe outfitter has guests arriving to return their vessels and load the bus. This doesn't usually last all that long though. There are wooden-planked trails maybe a miles worth, that are well maintained. And if you don't mind a short hike "off-roading", there is a look out station in the beautiful wilderness and regardless of kayaking or hiking nor a busy boat day, I have consistently seen a rather large 'gator: "every bit of" 8 foot. Near this spot!! Ok I think that might be it... Unless I forgot to mention how relaxing & rustic...
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WONDERFUL PLACE FOR INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY BIKING, AND HAS MULTIPLE ON AND OFF ROAD TRAILS FOR BOTH KINDS OF CYCLISTS. THE SMOOTHLY PAVED SECTION IS BASICALLY A 7 MILE LOOP AND HAS MULTIPLE VERY COLD WATER COOLER STATIONS I WOULD GUESSTIMATE EVERY MILE ALONG TRAIL, WHICH IS VERY AWESOME AND APPRECIATED BY ALL. A AIR PUMP AND BASIC CYCLIST TOOLS ARE AT THE HEAD TRAIL PARKING AREA ALONG WITH BIKE RINSE OFF AREA IF NEEDED. MANY DEER SIGHTINGS YOUNG AND OLD AND EVEN A BUCK ON MY LAST RIDE (8 TO 12 SIGHTINGS EACH TIME I GO)...MY GRANDMOTHER TAUGHT ME TO NEVER USE THE WORDS "ALWAYS AND NEVER", LOL, THERE ARE MANY AGGRESSIVE "TOUR DE FRANCE" WANNA BE RIDERS HERE WITH 5K BIKES AND $300 JUMP SUITS THAT FEEL THIS PLACE WAS STRICTLY MADE FOR THEM BY THE OLYMPIC COMMITTEE TO FURTHER THEY'RE AMATEUR TRIATHLON DREAMS BEYOND OUR COUNTY WE ALL LIVE IN, BUT WITH THAT SAID, LOL, THE PLACE IS BEAUTIFUL/ GREAT/ AWESOME AND THE PEOPLE I SPEAK OF ARE ONLY 10% OF THE OVERALL "PROFESSIONAL" RIDERS I CROSSED PATHS WITH...CHEERS AND ENJOY THIS PLACE FOR SURE WHEN YOU...
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