20 beautiful hikes in Tampa Bay everyone should explore

Weedon Island Preserve

1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg
Open daily from 7 a.m. until 30 minutes before sunset, Weedon island offers six trails along aquatic and upland ecosystems. Start with the one-mile Boy Scout Loop, which connects to an additional 1.7 miles of trails. Although admission is free, donations are welcome. The park does not allow pets, glass containers, smoking or alcoholic beverages.

Photo via Weedon Island Preserve / Google Maps

Eureka Springs State Park

6400 Eureka Springs Road, Tampa
The park’s Peaceful Paths Trail is only 0.75-miles long and takes visitors through a floodplain forest of maples, cypresses and tupelo. The park is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, the park is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission costs $2 per vehicle.

Photo via Eureka Springs Conservation Park website

Morris Bridge Park

13330 Morris Bridge Road, Thonotosassa
Running along the Hillsborough River, hikers are often able to spot alligators, turtles and hawks at Morris Bridge Park. There’s a 0.75-mile shell trail on the southern end of the park and a 0.25-mile boardwalk that goes around an island on the north side of the park. Morris Bridge Park is open daily from sunrise to sunset and costs $2 for admission.

Photo by Colin Wolf

Osprey Trail at Honeymoon Island

#1 Causeway Blvd., Dunedin
Take a stroll through roughly 2.5 miles of a slash pine trail at Honeymoon Island’s Osprey Trail. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. until sunset. If you’re in a car with up to 7 other friends, admission will set you back $8. Alternatively, you only have to pay $4 if you drive there by yourself, or $2 if you walk or bike to the park. Other than ospreys, visitors might come across gopher tortoises and armadillos.

Photo via Honeymoon Island website

Lettuce Lake Park

6920 East Fletcher Ave., Tampa
Regardless of whether you’re in your salad days, you can still enjoy a hike at Lettuce Lake Park. The Limkin Loop trail is roughly 1.7 miles long, including a 3,500-foot boardwalk, and has an extra .05 mile extension. Admission to the hardwood swamp forest, hardwood hammocks and pine flatwoods will set you back $2 per vehicle. Keep an eye out of gators.

Photo by Colin Wolf

Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve

3839 Gulf City Road, Ruskin
As horrifying as the name may sound, most folks believe the bay is named after the horseshoe crabs that Spanish explorers related to cockroaches. There are two loops at Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve; the red loop, which is 0.5-miles long, and the blue loop, which is 1.2-miles long. The majority of the park, about 500 acres, is a mangrove swamp. The preserve is open from 8 a.m. until sunset, and is free to visit.

Photo via Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve / Florida State Parks

Balm Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve

15102 County Road 672, Wimauma
Although this park is know for its mountain biking trails, it also offers visitors a 9.2-mile loop to hike through Florida scrub. Visitors might catch a glimpse of Florida scrub-jays, indigo snakes or gopher tortoises. The park is open from sunrise to sunset and is free to visit.

Photo via Google Maps

Lower Hillsborough Wilderness Preserve

15846 Morris Bridge Road, Thonotosassa
There are multiple sites in the preserve, including Dead River Park, Flatwoods Park, John B. Sargeant Park, Morris Bridge Park and Trout Creek Park. To see a wide variety of ecosystems, try the 20-mile Wilderness Park Off Road Trails System, which offers an additional 15 miles of side trails. The preserve is open daily from sunrise to sunset and admission costs $2.

Photo via Google Maps

The Florida Trail

28057 SR 471, Webster
If you’re willing to make an hour-long drive from Tampa, the Florida Trail is roughly 1,300-miles of continuous hiking. As the nation’s only subtropical national scenic trail, people who manage to hike the entire trail will see a variety of environments that range from the sugar sand beaches of Gulf Islands National Seashore in the panhandle to the cypress domes of Big Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades.

Photo via Florida Trail Association/Facebook

Hillsborough River State Park

15402 US 301 N, Thonotosassa
Roughly 7.3-miles of hiking trails run through Hillsborough River State Park. Visitors are able to hike through a hydric hammock forest, pine flatwoods cypress domes, and wetlands. Hikers should keep an eye out for hawks, bobcats, monarch butterflies and hummingbirds. Admission costs $6 per vehicle, and the park is open daily from 8 a.m. until sunset. Plus, there’s kayak and canoe rentals.

Photo by Colin Wolf

Fort De Soto Park

3500 Pinellas Bayway S, Tierra Verde
Open from 7 a.m. until sunset, Fort De Soto offers visitors more than the historic fort and beach. There’s also a 1-mile nature trail by the Arrowhead picnic area and a 0.75-mile trail by the Soldiers' Hole area. There is also a 2,200-foot barrier-free trail at the park. Visitors won’t be charged admission, but there is a $5 parking fee.

Photo by Colin Wolf

Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park

10500 Wilderness Park Blvd., New Port Richey
Open daily from dawn ‘till dusk, Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park has 13 miles of hiking trails, 10 miles of equestrian trail, 7.3 miles of paved trails for bikes and roller bladers, and a connection to the 42-mile Suncoast Trail that runs through Hillsborough, Hernando and Pasco counties.

Photo via Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park / Facebook

Little Manatee River State Park

215 Lightfoot Road, Wimauma
This park offers a 6.5-mile loop trail to the north, and a 0.8-miles loop that circles the Oxbow river to the south. Admission is $4 per vehicle, or $5 if you bring some pals. If you walk or bike to the park, admission is $2. Little Manatee River State Park is open daily from 8 a.m. until sunset.

Photo via Little Manatee River State Park / Florida State Parks

Sawgrass Lake Park

7400 25th St. N, St. Petersburg
Sawgrass Lake Park is free to visit. Open from 7 a.m. until sunset, the park offers a 1-mile boardwalk and a 0.5-mile dirt path for visitors to observe the wildlife that lives there. Keep an eye out for turtles, egrets, ibis and alligators from the park’s observation tower.

Photo by Kyla Fields

Alafia Scrub Nature Preserve

10243 Elbow Bend Road, Riverview
Open from sunrise to sunset, visitors can choose between a 0.8-mile hiking trail loop or a 1.3-mile loop. If you’re in the mood for something a little more fast paced, the park also has bike trails. Admission is free.

Photo via Alafia Scrub Nature Preserve website

Boyd Hill Nature Preserve

1101 Country Club Way S, St. Petersburg
Stroll through 5 miles of trails and boardwalks at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. The park opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and on Sunday. On Saturday, it opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. The park is closed on Mondays. Admission costs $3 dollars for adults, $1.50 for children under 17 and is free for children under the age of 3. All of the trails are ADA accessible. While you’re there, check out the preserve’s Birds of Prey program.

Photo via Boyd Hill Nature Preserve website

Flatwoods Wilderness Park

14302 Morris Bridge Road, Thonotosassa
Follow the 7-mile paved loop trail at Flatwoods Wilderness Park, which connects to a 2-mile extension that leads to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The park is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission costs $2 per vehicle, with up to eight people per vehicle.

Photo via VisitTampaBay.com

Lake Conservation Park

17302 N Dale Mabry Highway, Lutz
There are five lakes at this park, as well as cypress swamps, pine flatwoods and hardwood hammocks. The park’s trail is 3.2-miles long. Lake Conservation Park is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and admission costs $2 per vehicle.

Photo via VisitTampaBay.com/a>

Rocky Creek Trails Nature Preserve

7415 Manhattan Drive, Tampa
Pets are allowed at Rocky Creek Trails Nature Preserve, where visitors can find a 0.25-mile one-way trail. A wooden footbridge takes visitors across Rocky Creek. The park is open from sunrise to sunset, and admission costs $2 per vehicle.

Photo via Google Maps