I have loved this place for so long! Great walk or ride up the pier. Take in the beautiful waters…read moreor natural wildlife swimming or flying around. The squirrels are pretty daring and friendly here too. Bait shop and food shack on premises too. They are a bit pricey but certainly delicious and worth they hype. Be mindful of hooks and debris on the pier. Folks haven't been very mindful lately

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!

Awesome fishing excursion as usual, they cater to kids and adults,top notch family owned and…read moreoperated fishing charter You will enjoy it

I would like to say it was a nice experience , but as the trips were cancelled twice at late notice…read more, the latter one without any stated reason by Capn John we never went. More importantly after requesting a refund and being told it had been processed ,4 weeks later we are still waiting for the refund and seemingly e mails asking for up dates on this are not being responded to. Having looked at trip adviser reviews this seems to be not an uncommon thing. What's not clear in those reviews is whether the money actually gets refunded

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!

A beautiful, small, 25 acre lake surrounded by two nice neighborhoods, Magnolia Point and Silver…read moreLakes. The lake is springfed, clean with plenty of fish and wildlife, including Sand Hill Cranes, Squirrels and turtles. Large enough for water skiing. Silver lakes has a boat launch for the community. WARNING! We do see alligators on occasion, but come on! This is Florida and they were here first.

The Safety Harbor Pier is an easy five star spot and one of those places that just sticks with you…read moreafter you leave. It's simple, peaceful, and has that classic Florida waterfront feel that makes you want to slow down and take it all in. Walking out on the pier, you get beautiful views of the water and a nice breeze that makes it perfect any time of day. It's a great place to just relax, look out over the bay, and enjoy the scenery. Everything felt clean and well kept, and it wasn't overly crowded, which made the experience even better. The highlight for us was spotting a stingray swimming right near the pier such a cool and unexpected moment. Watching it glide through the water made the whole visit feel special, especially for my daughter. It's those little surprises that turn a good stop into a great one. We had a lot of fun. Overall, the Safety Harbor Pier is a perfect spot for a peaceful walk, some great views, and even a chance to see some wildlife up close. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area we'll absolutely be back.

This is a really nice spot to watch the sunrise! Beautiful! My family's first time, and it will be…read moresomething we will adopt as a ritual. So many spots to sit/stand and watch the sunrise. After the sun comes up, there is a pier you can walk that's a in a trail fashion. Check out these shots!

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!

A lovely refuge from the Florida heat. As soon as you turn in it's immediately a canopy of ancient…read moretrees. A canopy covered drive leads to several well kept small parking areas, trails, playgrounds and a boardwalk through the cypress trees and wildlife. It's just lovely here, chill and shady, plenty of spots to rest and view wildlife. Lots of birds and baby gators. The boardwalk is amazing. Everything is tidy and despite the drought still cool and lots to see.

Nice wide trails that two people can walk side by side. Dog friendly so bring your canine, but…read moredon't forget a leash. Not much shade and very sandy so make sure to bring some water. My favorite part is the pine tree area near the pond. The pine tree needles lay on the ground and when the wind blows the sound is melodic blowing through the pine trees. There is one picnic table to sit on for a picnic, but try and ignore the graffiti. There is an area that's preserved and protected for Burrowing owls. I wish I could have seen one or two, but no luck this time. There is traffic noise and watch for what looks like a homeless individual who had ridden a bike in.

This is such a beautiful and well kept trail. I love taking my pups here for a nice walk with such…read morelovely surroundings! Everyone seems to do a wonderful job of cleaning up after their dogs too so it is a community effort and I love it!

Awesome time. Friendly folks. Took great care of all the attendees. I will tell everyone about…read moreHubbards.

This is THE dolphin boat tour to go on, and we have tried several in the Boca Ciega Bay area. A…read moredolphin specialist guides the tour and explains everything about dolphins, and knows how to identify most of the 400+ dolphins in the bay, by name, by their distinctive dorsal fin. We were also guided to an osprey nest in the middle of the bay, on one of the channel markers, where the osprey family were raising their two babies. We were lucky it was a beautiful day, weather-wise, but they also have a canopy over the pontoon boat, which keeps out both hot sun and rain. It's really the best dolphin boat tour around!

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.

Beer can island is awesome! It's one of the primary reasons why we moved to Apollo Beach. The…read moreisland is 1.5 miles off of my boat dock and our kids love going there and hunting starfish and shells. It's more fun on the weekends but also more crowd. Dozens and dozens of boats will beach and anchor there put up tents and umbrellas and barbecue and just basically hang out. Rumor is beer can Island is privately owned and the person who owns it doesn't care if you party there. We have actually camped out there with campfire several times overnight. Labor Day, Fourth of July, Father's Day, and other weekends holidays are very popular. If you want to get a spot for your boat on one of these holidays I suggest showing up very early like eight or 9 AM. On the south east side of the island is a small cove with Deepwater where we pull up on our 32 foot express. We can basically beach the boat in that spot and still have plenty of water for the engines. When you're waiting around on the sandbar be sure to do the "stingray shuffle". Scoot your feet as you walk it's cooler to stingray to get out of your way so he won't step on them.

Nice days get away. Small but work in progress. Will be interesting to see how it progresses.read more