You'd never guess this beautiful park is tucked between Tampa and Brandon, right near the highway…read more For just $2, it's an incredible little oasis and a perfect Sunday evening stop. Parking is limited, but it wasn't busy when we visited about an hour before closing. The park features easy walking trails, a 0.3-mile boardwalk, a beautiful botanical garden, and my favorite, the greenhouse. It's amazing how much history and so many rare tropical plants are packed into just 31 acres. You can comfortably see everything in 1 to 2 hours. We spent the last part of our visit chatting with one of the groundskeepers, who was incredibly knowledgeable and clearly passionate about preserving the park's history and keeping everything so well maintained. This hidden gem is absolutely worth a visit.

Such a beautiful place. I would have never thought all that beauty was back there. A really nice…read moreplace to take some photos. And that is what we did. We used this place to take some graduations photos of me. We got some great shots in the different areas they have inside the park. The pergolas. The gazebos. The bridges. They all add a nice background for photos. So many beautiful plants and flowers also. I'm going to take my granddaughter for a walk in there. She will love it too.

This is a great park! It is perfect for a festival because there is tons of free parking. I went…read morehere for a plant festival. This park has a playground and a splashpad for kids, a small skateboard/bike area for kids, a dog park pavillions for picnics, restrooms by the play area and dog park and a really nice long walking path around the huge pond. There is also a small stage near the big open field so it would be a good location for concerts. The park is on county land adjacent to a water treatment plant, which supplies the pond with reclaimed water. What a great use of space! I will bet most people wouldn't notice that but I work for another local government so I notice those things. Lots of people were out enjoying the nice weather. People with their kids in the kids area, people with their pets in the pet atea and people like me shopping for plants. They also had some food trucks out and staff/volunteers directing traffic and keeping things nice. Again, great venue for a festival in the heart of Carrollwood Village.

This is the park to end all parks! From a paved storybook path around the "lake" to a fitness…read morecourse, from playgrounds to large, family swings, the views, the play, the comfort and the challenge are all present. The park also maintains facilities and the parking is plentiful.

It is a beautiful spot to walk and chat with friends, family or a dear lover. The birds fly high…read moreabove while people ride bikes or walk along the sea. There were many boats on the sea. They were beautiful. I wish I had gotten on the boat as well, maybe in the future I could try. It is a wonderful place to read books, and eat an ice cream or daydream on the grass near the trees.

Beautiful, pedestrian and bike only, walkway that we used to trek from our hotel to Armature Works…read moreand other fun Tampa destinations by the bay. There is so much action to see in terms of boats, nature and people watching that time passed by faster than expected whenever we walked it. The Riverwalk designers were thoughtful in providing many sections of shady tree coverage, so even on hot/humid days, this walking spot is cooler than most other walking alternatives.

This is a lovely park at the end of Bayshore drive. There is a small splash pad that can entertain…read morebabies and older kids with benches surrounding the splash zone. The splash pad doesn't have a lot of shade in the summer, so be mindful of that if you're planning on sitting and watching your kids. The playground is large and has some shade covering over it. The bathrooms are close to the park area. The pavilions are available to rent for parties. Parking can be tricky because the lot is small compared to the amount of people who come here, but there's a smaller lot on the other side of the playground and there is street parking. The pier seems to be under construction after the hurricanes, but usually you can spot some dolphins from there.

Ballast Point Park is located South of Bayshore off inter bay and has a fantastic shaded kids…read moreplayground with a younger and older kids area, 3 slides, and even a splash pad play area. There's a fantastic seafood restaurant, fishing pier, and pretty water views too! During the winter months when the sun sets early at 530-6, the park really should have lights for the playground at least until 8pm. There's not enough parking spots for this park and parking on side of road has signs that say no parking which is ridiculous because everyone parks on the side of the road anyways. If you're in the south Tampa area and looking for pretty water views, casual seafood, or a fun kids playground, definitely visit Ballast Point Park!

There's a fee to enter the park, but it's worth it to take a few trails and spend a lot of time…read moreoutdoors. The trails are easy to navigate and are good for people of all levels. The nature center has a bathroom and a bit of information, but all the displays were empty, including the outdoor one that allegedly used to have a tortoise. There are canoes to rent if you're into that. Overall, it was a nice, uncrowded park to spend some time outdoors.

We visited this park as part of the 2020-2021 Hillsborough Hiking Spree. I was very impressed by…read moreit. We arrived and parked in the parking lot nearest the nature center. The center is currently closed due to Covid but the bathrooms are open. From what I could tell, on our mad dash to the bathroom and distance viewing, the displays are informative and well done. I'd love to return when it is safe to and take a look. The park has three trails that are part of the spree. We hiked the Bobcat Trail since it includes the boardwalk. The trail travels for about a half mile through trees and over dusty shells. Then it connects to the boardwalk. This was by far the best part. We walked along the beautiful, tree lined water, getting up close and personal with a bunch of small black crabs. We scanned the water for manatees but were not lucky to find any. The trail ends back at the nature center. We climbed the back steps to the top level and caught a great view of the river and the distant city. After the hike we hit up the playground for a few minutes. This is always my kids' favorite part. We also stopped off at the butterfly garden which was pretty active on this day. The park was in great shape, the bathrooms were clean, there were lots of people around doing various park things. Canoeing, kayaking, hiking, nature hunting and playing on the playground are just some of the things available at your fingertips here. So glad we visited! Can't wait to return to check out the other trails.

Best part in Tampa bay in my opinion I absolutely love coming to this park for many reasons,…read moredifferent variety in age groups, plenty of seating, basketball court, water fountain that kids can run around in etc . My kids love coming here the environment is pleasant and feels safe it's gated around and the area is very visible to see where your kids are.

This is one of the coolest parks I've ever been to in my life to be honest. It's very very elegant…read morealmost a clean well kept and has many fun activities for kids and adults. First when you walk in there are lions statues and they're shooting water all over the place for kids adults to cool down that basketball courts that are blue which I thought was cool and they had really fun walking path and really nice swing sets and things for kids to play on excellent excellent place for sure so the great part of town and if I'm in Tampa I will be going back

I have been visiting this park for years!…read more This is on my "Host Suggestions" list when we have guests in town and is a hit every time! We visited the park recently and were on the hunt for as many bird species we could identify. Found some birds we had never seen before and it was so much fun trying to hunt them down by their calls. I've never not seen a gator when visiting but you had to take your time and look closely. I can't say enough about this park. Just $2 to enter the park. There are picnic areas you can reserve, volleyball courts, playgrounds, trails, restrooms and an onsite nature center. You really cannot ask for much more. Definitely worth the visit!

If you're looking for the perfect place to hide in nature, this is the place. You can spot wildlife…read more(we saw a gator, different birds, turtles, etc.) and clear your head on one of the many walking paths. They also seem to have a pavilion to rent for parties.

This is an all ages, all ability, open park and playground…read more The location is great because it is in a neighborhood yet close to the highway. There are plenty of shade trees, and there are a few areas to picnic as well as different playground areas if you feel one is too crowded for your little one. We went to the larger playground area with my grandson, and he loved it. There are swingsets for all ages and abilities, which is very nice for all. The pirate ship has a great musical area as most kids like to bang on things that they can control the sounds. There are plenty of open areas to play ball or just run from tree to tree like the squirrels. My only complaint is that the park could be a little better maintained for trash. There was random garbage that people should have thrown away, but they didn't, so it made the park look a little unkempt. Parking is plentiful but not in abundance in any one area, so be prepared to park and walk to the playground on a busy weekend or after school.

This is a great local park with wide grassy areas for kids to run around…read more My local park was all booked up for my daughter's birthday weekend, but there were picnic shelters available at MacFarlane Park, so we decided to check it out. We rented a "small" shelter that had 24 person capacity. An all day rental was about $27, a bargain. The park is pretty big with multiple areas where you can park, so make sure you look at a park map to get an idea of where you should park to be closest to where you want to go. The playground looked like a lot of fun, but our shelter was closer to the tennis courts, and the kids ended up just running up and down the hill, which was fine with me! The area looked well-maintained, and the shelters were in better shape than the picnic shelters in most of the South Tampa parks.