Hillsborough River State Park, Thonotosassa

Went for a day hike, did about 10 miles of the trails. Really enjoyed the river. There are simple trails that allow you to see the rapids, while small, the bubbling water flowing over the rocks is pretty cool and rare for this area. These can be seen on a short hike without doing a long-distance hike. I would say less than five minutes from the parking along the road. A ranger at the entrance can direct you if that is what you want to see. There are very nice boardwalks and paths along the river in this area. Very user friendly and very scenic. There are other areas with bathrooms, camping etc. We only hiked the trails. Going over the suspension bridge was a very fun experience. The water was much clearer than I anticipated. We saw a good many fish, and there were many alligators to see too. The trails were clear enough to follow, and not so wide as to feel like you were hiking on a road. Doing the longest portion that goes past the route to the primitive camping we only saw one other set of hikers. I enjoyed this area greatly as we saw some huge oaks and the portion that runs along the river gave a real glimpse at a river in a very natural state.

This state park gives you the best parts of natural Florida. It is exceptionally well maintained, and trails are easy to navigate and follow. There is a playground for kids, and my son loves it. There is bountiful wildlife to see here- this past trip we saw lots of turtles and an unusual amount of red shouldered hawks. There is really good tree cover for most of the trails, so it is one of the better trails to undertake during the summertime.