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Red Trail Golden Aster Scrub

Golden Aster Scrub Western Loop

Creating a 5.2 mile loop on the west side of Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve, the Red and Yellow Trails reveal a diversity of habitats.

Tampa      ( 27.82093, -82.35316 )      5.2 miles

Conserving over 1,000 acres of land directly southeast of Tampa, Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve is carefully managed by Hillsborough County to protect local flora and fauna.

Taken together to form a loop, the Red and Yellow Trails provide a tour of various ecosystems as they wind through oak scrub, pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, and palm hammocks.

Blue water beyond trees Pond along the loop


Resources

Resources for exploring the area

50 Hikes in Central Florida Orlando & Central Florida: An Explorer's Guide Exploring Florida's Botanical Wonders Hiker's Guide to the Sunshine State

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Gibsonton
Length: 5.2 mile loop
Trailhead: 27.82093, -82.35316
Address: 12181 East Bay Road
Fees: Free
Restrooms: Vault toilet off the red trail.
Land manager: Hillsborough County
Phone: 813-672-7876
Open sunrise to sunset.

Leashed dogs welcome. Since two stiles cross barbed wire fences on this route, your dog must be able to scramble under the barbed wire to do the loop.

Pine tree with red blaze


Directions

 
From Interstate 75, head west on Gibsonton Dr for less than a tenth of a mile and turn left onto New East Bay Rd. Continue for two miles. The road will dead-end into the preserve parking area.

Hike

From the parking area, head southwest on a crushed shell service road lined on both sides with fields of palmettos.

Follow red blazed posts along the road for about a quarter mile, as the landscape transitions into a scrub habitat.

Long straight path in scrub forest Red-blazed post


The namesake golden aster grows in clusters to the left of the trail.

These unique flowers are accompanied by other scrub-loving vegetation, including narrow-leaf blue curls, coastalplain chaffhead, and prickly pear cactus.

Golden aster blooms Golden Aster


A small pond is visible through gaps in the trees to the right. Continue following red blazes to the south end of the pond, then turn right at the first intersection.

The scenery quickly changes as scrub gives way to thick pine flatwoods.

The trail is initially bordered by columns of slash pine on each side, before opening to a mix of longleaf and slash amongst a sea of palmettos.

At the one-mile mark, a post is painted red and yellow, emblazoned with the number three. Turn right to start the Yellow Trail loop.

Red blaze on a pine tree Slash pines


Along the yellow blazes to the west, the edges of the forest road are decorated with bunches of vibrant narrowleaf sunflowers.

Continue for a quarter mile, then make a right turn before reaching a powerline easement.

Sunflower blooms Narrowleaf sunflowers


Cabbage palms and small pines extend from clumps of palmettos as the pathway heads north.

Posts on a fence line to the left are marked with yellow paint, designating the trail as it follows the powerlines for a half mile.

Fence next to power line easement Yellow trail markers on the fence line


A large metal stile allows access over the barbed wire fence to the powerline easement.

Climb over and cross the easement for about 400 feet to another stile, then immediately turn left on the other side of the fence.

Metal ladder over fence at Marker 6 Metal stile


Follow the fence line again, this time heading south for a quarter mile, then turn right as the trail skirts around a cabbage palm hammock.

The wide path winds through a jungle of palms and occasional live oak through this wetter habitat towards the western edge of the property.

The trail makes a left turn at 2.8 mile, following a fence southward for the next 0.4 mile under a dense oak hammock.

An inviting tunnel of live oak limbs leads into the distance on this well-shaded section.

Line of live oaks along fence Live oak tunnel


A pine tree painted with two blazes indicating a turn to the left marks the end of the oak hammock.

As the trail heads back towards the east, it becomes wetter and is possibly seasonally flooded in some spots. Small arrowroots covered in white flowers sprout up above grasses on the road.

Black snake in grass Black racer in the road


In a half mile, a metal stile allows passage over a barbed wire fence onto the powerline easement again.

The crossing here is not as defined as it was to the north. No trail markers are available, but the next stile can be seen to the southwest.

Metal ladder over fence Stile next to young pine


Proceed through an open area of pine flatwoods for a quarter mile, then turn left. The path heads northward for a short jog around a wet depression before meeting the Red Trail again.

Turn right onto the Red Trail to head back to towards the trailhead. Follow the red blazes for 0.2 mile before turning left at a dirt road.

Oak scrub borders the trail to the east for a bit before the loop ends at the small pond. Continue heading northeast on the Red Trail for a half mile, ending at the parking area.

Spanish moss and pines Spanish moss-draped pines


Trail Map

Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve Trail Map
Red = Red/Yellow Trails, Blue= Blue Trail


Explore More!

Learn more about Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve

Prairie at Golden Aster Scrub

Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve

Protecting uplands immediately east of Tampa Bay, Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve immerses hikers within oak scrub habitat along a sandy loop trail.


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Cabbage palms adjoining a trail

Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve

Directly across Tampa Bay from St. Petersburg, two loop trails in Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve navigate restored wetlands and a lookout point known as Mount Cockroach.

Footpath in a sand pine scrub

Rhodine Scrub Nature Preserve

An island of high ground in the Alafia River basin, Rhodine Scrub Nature Preserve protects more than 400 acres of Florida scrub habitat south of Riverview

Picnic shelter at Urfer Family Park

Urfer Family Park

Share nature with the kids along Bee Ridge on 1.4 miles of family-friendly trails in a popular county park with four playgrounds surrounding a 1905 home open for tours.

Trail Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: Central Florida, County Parks, Day Hikes, Hikes, Loop Hikes, Natural Lands, TrailsTag: Birding, Brandon, Dog-friendly, Riverview, Tampa

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Our recent park & trail updates in this region

Trail under oaks flanked by ferns

Edward Medard Conservation Park

Edward Medard Conservation Park
Cabbage palms adjoining a trail

Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve

Cockroach Bay Nature Preserve
Florida myrtle blooming next to a trail with a puddle

Pine Lily Preserve

Pine Lily Preserve
Nice view of pond with clouds reflecting in water

Hidden Pond Preserve

Hidden Pond Preserve

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