Cute area with tons of fields. Lots of parking and picnic tables which are perfect for get…read moretogethers! Along side it are empty patches of grass where me and my friends had a picnic and we loved it!

Small and busy park when I visited today but there were a nest of osprey and a nest of owl in the…read moremiddle of all the action !

This is a nice preserve on S.R. 52 east of the junction with 41. It is used by remote control…read moreaircraft operators and has a landing strip. There are some wide trails (ie. dirt roads) that get hot in summer. There are some blackberry bushes for foragers... Cypress Creek Preserve and Upper Pithlachascotee River Preserve are also in the area

Florida's natural habitat at it's finest Hope it never…read morechanges Animals wild & free & trees hundreds of years old Make this place a historical hidden treasure

Lake Dan Preserve is a cool enough place to spend a bit of time. It gives us a glimpse of untamed…read moreFlorida and reminds us that before tourism and theme parks forever changed the landscape of the Sunshine State, Florida was wild and untamed. I enjoy seeking out these places when I am traveling for business. It is great to find these hidden gems. One of the great things about traveling for work are these discoveries. I seek them out and am better for finding them. I encourage you to check this place out and seek out these hidden gems whether in your travels or even right there in your community.

Lake Dan Preserve is hidden in the back of a neighborhood with no signs on Tarpon Springs Rd…read moreindicating it's existence. If I lived nearby I'd keep it that way because this Hillsborough county park was an unexpected find that I thought was a beaut. At first glance, a small parking lot, playground and pavilion isn't much. However, once on the hiking trail a nice boardwalk with benches goes over a large lake. I used a trail guide from a QR code that led me to a Hillsborough park website to help me navigate because most signs in the park are colored posts and colors on trees indicating the path the hiker is on. I didn't see any signs indicating where paths went or their distance once at the park When I visited Lake Dan Preserve, I went straight (over the bridge/boardwalk) and took the second left (the red trail) and a few feet down is a picturesque lake that would make a great back drop for photos or an amazing place to relax by a small pond. Turn right and go down the yellow trail and you can hike into neighbouring Lake Francis Preserve. I choose to vear off and hike the connecting blue trail. The blue trail goes down a gravel road into several large open pastures. I must've said this is gorgeous 15 times. A short time later the trail turns as the back side of Trinity starts to come into view in the distance. As the path continues, it leads to Lake Dan and a fishing pier. It's basically a shorter version of the park's entrance bridge looking out a vibrant and large lake. Birds, fish and some cows mooing in the distance makes the pier a nice place to relax. Although, I can't imagine hiking that distance to find it crowded. When I visited Lake Dan my car was the only one in the parking lot and I didn't see another person inside the park. I plan on visiting this preserve again as I thought some it's views we're nice enough to be back drops in movie scenes. It's wide open spaces and lack of people inside made it's trails an excellent place to enjoy a peaceful hike.

I love the flat, shaded trails. There's always plenty of parking. Everyone I've met there are…read morefriendly and kind.

(This review is only for the haunted drive-through event held at the park on October 26, 2024)…read more Cons: Very long waits. Over an hour in line in the car without a bathroom in sight. Might have needed a flashing light warning for epileptics. Pros: Nice people, and good that it was done for charity (Hurricane relief). Good costumes, especially toward the end by the tree service folks. I should have got pictures of that but I was giggling and jump-scaring by then.

One of the easiest paved trails to navigate, as it is located within the Northdale community…read moreflanked by wilderness and the cozy, quiet homes of the neighborhood. Definitely a beginner's trail, ideal for walking, running, and light bicycling. Nice views and a small escape from the nearby suburban sprawl of Greater Carrollwood. One of the reasons why I frequent this trail is because it connects with the nearby Lake Park Trail. If you are an average bicyclist, expect an approximate 6-8 mile, 20 minute-ish bike ride - probably enough to burn around 100-200 calories at a comfortable pace. Plenty of open space to do outdoor workouts. Sometimes, I will bike through this trail into Lake Park and do a workout there. The entrance to Northdale Trail shares space with a large soccer field which at times can be very busy. It is located within a family neighborhood, however.

NO PARKING. Located in residential neighborhood at a dead end. Drove all the way here with my dog,…read moreonly to have to turn back.

I've driven past Lake Francis Preserve many times and never knew it existed…read more After traveling down the main road, I parked in the open field parking lot and walked the rest of the way into the park through the pedestrian gate. Almost immediately after entering the park, I seen cows not far away from where I was standing. The rest of my walk consisted of me walking toward them (further into the park) and them turning around every few feet. Eventually we reached a large group of cows at the end of the road near a gate. At this point, most of the cows moved out of my way but a few bulls stared me down. I yelled at one that I thought was going to come toward me and it swung it's head and backed away. It turns out Lake Francis leases it's land to a cattle rancher and he/she left their gate open probably on purpose so the cows can roam freely. Essentially where all the cows ended up congregating and eat at is where hikers turn to continue on a primitive trail that connects to Lake Dan Preserve. I didn't see any signs indicating a turn and kept going straight over a fence and a wild boar saw me and took off into the woods, and snarled at me as I passed by. When I reached the cattle rancher's out post I realized I wasn't where I was supposed to be and ended up walking back. So you don't make the same mistake I did, click the QR code on the trail guide sign at the pedestrian gate when you walk into the park because signage is poorly marked after entry. The QR code populates a website that displays several trails, and explains how they differ by showing photos. The scenery of Lake Francis is very pretty but there isn't much to do besides stare at the cows and use the deteriorating road as a jogging path. Be mindful there isn't much shade and there lots or cow poop everywhere. When I return I'd like to hike the primitive trail that leads to Lake Dan Preserve to see what that's all about. If you haven't visited Lake Francis give it a try and experience this park for yourself and take in the quiet setting of it's pastures and animals. It's very different from other nearby parks and all the busyness of Tarpon Springs Road is non-existent.

I was excited when I found Lake Frances Nature Preserve as I hadn't noticed it before, so I decided…read moreto investigate it. What I found was a Horse park, mostly. The parking area is for trailer parking, and there is a 1.5 mile road, but no shade. You can hike, but be aware of the local wildlife as this is as primative as you'll get.

Wow, talk about a hidden park. I spotted this on the Hillsborough County website and was intrigued…read more It's a little confusing because there is a "Cypress Creek Preserve" in Land O' Lakes but this "Cypress Creek Nature Preserve" is in New Tampa. The parking lot is next to the raised bridge on New Tampa Blvd that goes over I-75. It's not visible at all when you're driving on New Tampa Blvd. You have to turn off on a small, dead-end street called Lizard's Tail Rd to get to the parking area. There's a generous amount of parking and more than one covered picnic area. What's really odd is that there is no seating or tables in the covered picnic area. The Achilles heel for the path for this nature preserve is that the entrance is a quarter of a mile from the parking lot. First you have to walk on the road to the beginning of Lizard's Tail Road. Then you have to walk on the sidewalk along the busy New Tampa Blvd. Neither of these walks are exactly pleasant. Then when the road curves to the left if you look to your right you'll see a gap where you can walk through the fencing that parallels the road. I wouldn't have even thought this was an "official" entrance if there wasn't a blue sign there encouraging social distancing. What's nice is that there's also a black drop-box that contains maps of the three trails. Red and yellow are loops and the blue trial is a dead-end. After walking not too far into the woods you'll hit a really nice boardwalk. I would bet that 99.99% of people that drive by on New Tampa Blvd would have no idea it is back here. The boardwalk takes you to a large open area in the woods. Another odd thing is that the path from the boardwalk has been cleared but where the red path loops it looks overgrown and I wouldn't want to walk it in that state. It's nice that Hillsborough County provides these walking areas for us and it certainly was interesting discovering this one.

I really enjoyed this nature preserve. My first time going I followed the red trail to the yellow…read moretrail and did the mile loop. The trails are clearly marked, and not confusing at all. I recommend taking a picture of the map with you. There were flooded areas but they warn u of that at the kiosk before going. I'm sure u could go around the flooding if you're willing to walk through a little brush. Other than that it's clean, and fun!

Very nice dog park. Clean, friendly people, excellent. Well behaved dogs. Interesting area.read more

Very close To our house -- we love the small dog size as…read moreit's more shady but overall great community asset!