If you wish get away from the city for a few minutes without having to travel far Lake Park should…read morebe on your to do list. I attended a friend's Christmas holiday event at Lake Park and it was surprising to find out what I had overlooked the last time I was there. This park has a number of FUN-dementals to offer the average city slicker. The park currently offers canoeing (weather permitting). Which we will go back in Spring to try out. They have a BMX ramp/exhibit which has areas for practicing *BMX membership required for practice. They have 3 hiking trails that span out about 1.5- 3 miles. **You can ride bikes also. It has 2 lakes: Jackson & Starvation which allows fishing and camping is allowed for non profit organizations. The park does have a few shelters for rent and if they are not reserved on a particular day they are first come first serve. Along with all of the things mentioned above the park offers a gazebo for intimate affairs like marriages. A horse-show.**Select dates. It has a volleyball space and an archery ramp. There's so much more to see at this beautiful conservatory I want you to make plans for that trip sooner than later!!

This park has an outdoor archery range. If you are a bow hunter and you live in north Hillsborough…read moreCounty, this is a good place to keep your skills sharp.

Our guide was Julie and she is THE best when it comes to local wildlife. She is so passionate about…read morethe ecosystem. We learned a lot about manatees, pelicans, the businesses in the area, the boats, etc. My husband and I had a great kayak adventure and I can't say enough about how much fun we had!

The guide was so nice and knowledgeable. He did a great job explaining the marine life and telling…read moreus fun facts about the area while also making it enjoyable and entertaining.

We did the guided tour on the Chassa river and the guide was so accommodating and cool. Me and my…read morefriend booked same day and it ended up just being the 3 of us. We were iffy about having a guide but the experience would not have been the same without him. We would've had no idea where to go on that river. He took us to the cracks you can swim through on both ends, explored to see animals, and told fun stories. We could tell he loves doing this, he had just as much fun as we did :)

Went to Silver River today with Mac of Florida Eco-Adventures! Had an excellent day... good…read morekayaking, good people, good conversation, and saw lot of Florida Flora and Fauna! M ac is very easy to work with... and he takes good care of his kayakers! Highly recommended for anyone that want to get out and enjoy a wonderful day on the water...

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.

Fantastic outdoor activity that is close to me!…read more I thought I would have to drive at least thirty minutes to go paddleboarding. Turns out, this place is 13 minutes from me. The Westchase Moms Club had a Mom's Day Out activity and I jumped on the chance to go. I had heard it was super popular last year, but for some reason, maybe the date, only four of us signed up this year. This just means we got a semi private lesson. Parking is super easy. There was tons of spot open close to where we started, which I love. I'm pretty sure our instructor was Jim, but I'm sorry if that wasn't it! He was fantastic. We got a lesson first before getting on the boards. I had been paddleboarding once before, but it was just a rent and go, so I had no lesson. I learned so much about turning, correct paddling, etc. Jim then took us on a neat little tour. It consisted of some more narrow areas and open lake. There were some in our group that were not the greatest at paddling and ran into the bushes a lot, but Jim was great at keeping us all together. It's $25 for a tour (not including a lesson), which is super reasonable. That's usually the cost of just a board! I definitely want to come back.

My experience with Jim was amazing! He is a great teacher, I never tried Paddleboarding before, but…read morewithin an hour lesson I got lots of theoretical knowledges and practical skills and lots of confidence! Now I have a new hobby and can't wait to Paddleboard again! I highly recommend lessons with Jim! He is very professional, attentive and experienced coach!

This park has everything!…read more I went here specifically for paddleboarding, but I noticed this park has everything! When I first turned in I went to the wrong parking lot and saw tennis courts, basketball courts, and a playground. Moving back I saw dog parks, a zip line course, and then a huge lake. I've actually done the zipline course before and enjoyed it. You can do paddleboard tours with Upper Tampa Bay Paddle Sports. I bet you can even bring your own kayak or paddleboard and go into the lake. I saw a sign at one of the dog parks that said for smaller dogs. I don't own a dog, but I imagine that owners of small dogs would appreciate that. This park seems well taken care of and it is nice to know there is a kayaking lake so close to home. I'll definitely come back!

This area of land is home to some raised shared organic community gardens and a very nice, large…read moredog park (with two pen areas), a playground, as well as tennis courts, basketball courts, and connection to local trails and a boat ramp. The park is open until dusk (as posted that the gates close then) and there is lots to the area. I went at around dusk and saw some beautiful views of the water. The park area is very clean and obviously well taken care of. Parking is free and although the driveway into the park is paved, you will most likely be parking on grass that has a dip to it. My friends and I enjoyed roaming the area and exploring what the park has to offer.

This was an easy jaunt from Tampa for the weekend. The "glampsites" are located in the Hillsborough…read moreState Park among all the regular camp sites. The accommodations are beyond comfortable- a/c, fan, fridge, coffee maker, outlets to charge devices, and a comfortable bed. We basically had the comforts of a hotel room while being on a camping trip. The esthetics and convenient set up ensures we'll definitely be back!

We went to Promised Land for our long awaited glamping experience only to be told that our…read morereservation had been cancelled. we were told that Timberline sent notification of such in an April email. Funny thing is.... we never received this email but lo and behold when we contacted them they were able to find our email and phone number. hmmmmm! Their irresponsible attitude leaves us bewildered. We will never have anything to do with Timberline again!,,

10/10 for sure!!! Sarah is so friendly , informative and you can tell she loves what she does. This…read moreexperience brought us joy from the time we checked in until we came back to the kayak launch. -- the day was rather windy and rain was in the forecast but luckily we missed out on that and got some sun. We didn't get to paddle out to the stilt houses due to the timing of our rental but the stilt houses look super cool from afar!! The salt springs are amazing & if you are ever in the area and looking for kayaking rent here it was such a great time

Great experience renting kayaks. Sara was enthusiastic, prepared, and a delight. The kayaks were in…read moregreat shape and the springs were gorgeous. Perfect day on the water.

I called and emailed at 9am the day of our tour to confirm my reservation. I received a text…read moremessage at 6pm advising me that they had moved locations. I didn't even know that was a possibility! So we weren't able to make the tour and now Groupon will not refund me. I am out over $200 now. Do not recommend this company.

Had a great time, we only wish that we had taken the tour that allowed us to remain on the island…read morelonger.

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.