Lakeland Highlands Scrub is a beautiful place to encounter native wildlife and plants. It holds…read moreremnants of Florida's ancient landscape. When sea levels were higher it was an island. There is a picnic shelter and portable toilet at the entrance and a boardwalk and gazebo over the lake. There are old phosphate pits nearby. There is access to the Se7en wetlands, a natural wastewater treatment area.

We've lived in the area almost four years and have only just heard of this place! Naturally, we ran…read moreright out to check it out. It's easy to find, free parking, no admission fees, etc. just park, and start walking. There's a great boardwalk over one of the lakes that connects some of the trails. If you keep going, it does connect to the Se7en Wetlands, as well. Check the map at the front entrance! I love a good nature trail, especially in Florida. This one is so quiet and peaceful! Not much wildlife, though; at least, not when we were there. We saw one pigeon. That was it. But it was still a nice walk. Note that these trails aren't paved and the farther in you go, the sandier it can get; like, thick, fluffy beach sand. Most of the trails are really well shaded, though! Also, leashed dogs are allowed but just know that if you connect to Se7en Wetlands, they are not allowed in that area. Very nice little hidden gem in South Lakeland!

I love camping here! It is magical. We just don't love that the trails are closed off. So far we've…read morecamped here twice using the electric and water. In the summer we were in loop 1 and recently we grabbed a last minute spot in loop 2. Even though there were so many folks we still had a great experience. The dogs love that park. There is a 13 mile trail that is in and out and that would take us way too long especially with the heat. We adore this spot and will be back!!!

I love going to Hillsborough River State Park in Thonotosassa. We regurlarly enjoy its hiking…read moretrails, (we usually combined them all for a good for a 7 miles haul). The trails are tranquil and vary in difficulty from easy to somewhat hard. Along the way there are plenty of opportunities to watch the animal life of the area and capture them in photographs. There a plenty of benches and little nooks where to rest along the way, some good enough to enjoy a picnic! Besides hiking this park offers all kinds of amenities such as camping- (all, including glamping), biciclying, horseback riding, fishing, and canoe/kayak launching. There is a historical fort and grounds within but currently close for renovations, (I believe it is scheduled to open in November). At Hillsborough River State Park there is plenty to do to enjoy a great day outdoors!

What a wonderful, beautifully maintained, park! We were awed on the hiking trail we looped around…read moreon. The wildlife we saw was pure joy. There are interpretive signs, as well as warning signs (alligators, snakes, etc) along the way which was an added bonus. Although there was a huge number of vehicles in the parking lot, we barely ran across other hikers. The pathway we took, about a 2.5 mile loop, had minimal foot traffic. The paths are wide, wide enough for worker or emergency vehicles. We enjoyed this park very much and plan to return, albeit most likely NOT in the dead of the Florida summer heat/humidity. We are not that "adventurous" hahaha. We are very blessed with the County and State parks we have here, that's for sure!

This place never ceases to amaze me! Every time I come here, I have a different kind of experience…read more That's what I love about it, you never know what you're going to get. I can't wait for my one day where I get the shot to see an alligator sunning himself on the walkway. My children and I still come here on a regular basis to see all the different kinds of wildlife we can count while we're there. It's quite a fun experience!

I love to bike here! The best place in Florida to ride challenging trails. It has something for…read moreeveryone! Greens to Double Black Diamonds!

Good spot for the kiddos to play. I didn't do much besides talk to my friend while her children…read moreplayed. Not sure what else there is to do there. Well there is camping ,trails and things like that.

Great park with paved pathways & a raised boardwalk. Map at location and different map online made…read morenavigating difficult as far as where the raised boardwalk side was. Would've been nice for a sign at entrance to paths. Scens and views were great. Need sign explaining the orange water. No sounds of birds in our 90 minutes there. No gators, no turtles. Guy on cart driving around but not saying hello or checking in. Never found bathrooms. Parking is a reasonable $2. Some beautiful play equipment and an exercise court of assistive equipment for working out. Boardwalk beginning to sound rickety! Hope they check it regularly. Would be nice if a few plants/trees were labeled/classified. Eg. are the purple berries edible?? Love this park.

Beautiful new playground. Great "get out of the house for free" place for the kids. Lots of shaded…read morebenches for parents to sit. Nature trails for a walk. Even has a workout area for parents.

We decided to do some hiking as the weather was so beautiful! This trail leds you to an old metal…read morebridge where the tannic water lazily flows beneath you. Stop and gaze at the moss covered oak trees and listen to the birds chirping in the underbrush. Continue down the trail that goes from sun to shade with a canopy of gnarled oak limbs covering parts of your way. There are lots of flowers in bloom right now from small white and purple ones on the ground to yellow ones covering the trees, and even some small white ones which reminded me of blooming cherry trees! No cherry trees here but definitely a lot of orange trees. Some people stopped to pick one and then realized these aren't the sweet kind, but sour oranges! It was very funny listening to their reactions after they tasted it! Don't forget to look around for wildlife as you never know what you'll see. I saw a gopher tortoise, a rabbit and a slithering black snake! There are also signs of an older Florida where mining was once prevalent. A large rock pile sits in an open field and more cement pieces can be found scattered in the nearby wooded areas. I hope you to will enjoy your adventure here.

I really enjoyed walking the trails at Lake Butler. The scenery was beautiful and the trails were…read moreeasy to navigate--I was even able to push a stroller through without much trouble. There's a small nature center near the parking area that shares information about the wildlife in the reserve, which was a nice touch. Most of the trail is shaded, and there are water stations and benches along the way. We spent about two hours walking and had a great time. I'll definitely be back!

You better think twice before you wear your favorite hiking shoes cause things might get a little…read moremuddy! During rainy season some of the trails even close down due to flooding. But for the most of the year this preserve is about three miles of nice, flat hiking. We even spotted some osprey and a tortoise sunbathing in the middle of the trail on the way out.