Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides
While Tampa is a large city along the north shore of Tampa Bay, it has many natural lands protecting its water supply, providing outdoor recreation opportunities
INTERACTIVE MAP
Looping through a former phosphate mine north of the Alafia River, this hike showcases the resilience of nature as the forest reclaims the land.
With a vast network of trails to choose from, the southern side of the Alafia River Corridor provides multiple routes for hiking and horseback riding.
Once the site of a large phosphate mining operation, the North Trails at Alafia River State Park offer an easy, quiet hike across slightly undulating terrain.
Alafia River State Park lets you launch on a Florida downhill while mountain biking the rugged terrain of a reforested open pit mine.
Discover a new perspective on the Alafia River basin on this easy loop through riverside uplands with a scenic overlook at its center.
Straddling the confluence of the North and South Prong of the Alafia River, Alderman’s Ford Conservation Park provides immersion into lush riverine forests.
Discover a surprising play of whitewater across the Alafia River where the river churns as it winds through a deeply eroded channel.
Weaving though a lush floodplain forest in the Alafia River floodplain, a paved loop provides access to a network of natural pathways, boardwalks, and primitive campsites.
With its natural waterfront on Tampa Bay, Apollo Beach Nature Preserve is a perfect place for birders, not beachgoers, a place to launch a kayak and scan the skies for osprey.
Winding between a pair of ponds, the short trail at Bahia Beach Nature Preserve provides excellent birding opportunities amid restored habitats with native plants.
Open to foot traffic only, the western portion of Balm Boyette Nature Preserve provides a glimpse of endangered scrub ecosystems along a two-mile loop trail.
Weaving through scrubby habitats on an oasis of natural land surrounded by development, Bell Creek Nature Preserve provides a window to Florida’s vanishing landscapes.
