Hillsborough County is located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. In the 2020 census, the population was 1,459,762, making it the fourth-most populous county in Florida and the most populous county outside the Miami metropolitan area. A 2021 estimate has the population of Hillsborough County at 1,512,070 people with a yearly growth rate of 1.34%, which itself is greater than the populations of 12 states according to their 2019 population estimates. Its county seat and largest city is Tampa. Hillsborough County is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area.
FishHawk is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Tampa, Florida, and includes a portion of the community of Lithia. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 14,087, up from 1,991 at the 2000 census. The place name is derived from Little Fishhawk Creek, a tributary of the Alafia River that joins the Alafia just west of Lithia Springs.
Riverview is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is located south of Brandon. The population was 107,396 in the 2020 census, up from 71,050 in the 2010 census.
Lithia is an unincorporated community in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Tampa. The ZIP codes are 33547, 33596, and the area code is 813. It is part of the census-designated place (CDP) of Fish Hawk. Lithia is home to the 2,963-acre (1,199 ha) Alafia River Corridor and 5,515-acre (2,232 ha) Chito Branch Reserve.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a Florida State Park and historic site located in Martin County, Florida, between Hobe Sound and Tequesta. The park includes the Elsa Kimbell Environmental Education and Research Center and a variety of natural habitats: sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, mangroves, and river swamps. The Loxahatchee River, designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1985, runs through the park. The park is also along the Ocean to Lake Trail. The park is at 16450 S.E. Federal Highway, Hobe Sound. The park is well known for its Camp Murphy Mountain Bike Trails.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 402,000‑acre (1,627 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. The refuge is administered from offices in Folkston, Georgia. The refuge was established in 1937 to protect a majority of the 438,000 acre (1,772 km2) Okefenokee Swamp. The name "Okefenokee" is a Native American word meaning "trembling earth."
The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs 1,000 miles (1,600 km), with 300 miles (480 km) planned, from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation opportunity for hiking and other compatible activities and is within an hour of most Floridians. The Florida National Scenic Trail is designated as a National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968.
The Alafia River is 25 miles (40 km) long, with a watershed of 335 square miles (870 km2) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, flowing into Tampa Bay. The watershed contains ten named lakes and ponds, and 29 named rivers, streams and canals. During the rainy season, excess water is pumped to the new C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir, which opened in 2005. The river is formed by two prongs. The north prong starts south of Mulberry and runs for 23.9 miles until it meets the south prong in Lithia. The south prong begins south of Bradley Junction and continues for 28.7 miles. The combined river then flows 24.7 miles west into Tampa Bay.
Alafia River State Park is a Florida State Park, located near Picnic in Hillsborough County in central Florida, 17 miles southeast of Tampa on County Road 39. Even before it became a park, the area, and particularly Hurrah Lake, was the center of leisure activities since the early 1880s.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District, is one of five regional agencies directed by Florida state law to protect and preserve water resources. Established in 1961 the agency operates and maintains several large properties and flood protection projects, sometimes with other agencies. The District's responsibilities have expanded to include managing water supply and protecting water quality and the natural systems — rivers, lakes, wetlands and associated uplands.The District's stated mission is to protect water resources, minimize flood risks and ensure the public’s water needs are met.
Colt Creek State Park is a Florida State Park in Central Florida, 16 miles (26 km) north of Lakeland off of State Road 471. This 5,067 acre park nestled within the Green Swamp Wilderness Area and named after one of the tributaries that flows through the property was opened to the public on January 20, 2007. Composed mainly of pine flatwoods, cypress domes and open pasture land, this piece of pristine wilderness is home to many animal species including the American bald eagle, Southern fox squirrel, gopher tortoise, white-tailed deer, wild turkey and bobcat.
The Black Hammock Wilderness Area is a 700-acre (2.8 km2) joint purchase between Seminole County, Florida and the St. Johns River Water Management District. It was acquired as part of a comprehensive effort to preserve significant habitat along the shores of Lake Jesup. This particular area also helps protect important recharge areas for the Geneva Bubble. Additionally, the wetland habitats of this property filter water on its way to Lake Jesup
Starkey Wilderness Preserve is a public recreation and nature conservation area located in Pasco County, Florida. The park includes a system of hiking, bicycling, and equestrian trails, cabins and primitive camping sites, and picnic areas. It is named after Jay B. Starkey, a cattle rancher who bought the property in 1937 and later donated hundreds of acres. The Preserve consists of three tracts: the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, managed by Pasco County, and Serenova Tract and the Anclote River Ranch Tract, managed by Southwest Florida Water Management District. The area includes sections of pine flatwoods, cypress domes, freshwater marshes, stream and lake swamps, sandhill and scrub over a combined 8,500-acre (34 km2) "wetland ecosystem spread throughout approximately 18,000 acres of conservation lands". The park is located in Western Pasco County east of New Port Richey. The park includes the Starkey Trail, an approximately 6.7 mile paved multi-use trail that links up with the Suncoast Trail at its eastern terminus. There are also unimproved trails in the park. An 8-mile mountain bike trail was approved and being developed as of 2013.
Cypress Creek Preserve is a 7,400 acres (3,000 ha) park in Pasco County, Florida at 8720 Pump Station Road in Land o' Lakes, Florida. According to the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) the land was purchased to provide flood protection and as a public water supply. The park includes several trails covering 12 miles (19 km). Habitats include cypress and hardwood forests as well as slash pine, longleaf pine and palmetto in Florida flatwoods. Cypress Creek, a tributary of the Hillsborough River runs through the property. Butterflies, woodpeckers, wild pigs, deer, pigmy rattle snakes, armadillos, gopher tortoises, and several species of bird reside in the park. It is surrounded by a road and grazing lands in an area rapidly populating with suburban housing developments. The park can be accessed along Parkway Boulevard.
Edward Medard Park and Preserve, originally known as Pleasant Grove Reservoir Park, is located south of Plant City, Florida, on Turkey Creek Road in Hillsborough County, Florida. The 1,284-acre (5.20 km2) park just north of Durant, Florida was the site of phosphate mining in the 1960s by the American Cyanamid Company, before the land was donated. A dike and 770-acre (3.1 km2) reservoir were created in 1970 to provide flood protection along the Alafia River. The lake has a very extensive and irregular shoreline, and great variation is found in the lake bottom as well. The park is maintained by the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department, and has camping, picknicking, and other facilities. Three long piers offer the ability to launch fairly large vessels, although the lake has a no-wake restriction. Additional opportunities for various sports and aquatic activities are available at the popular spot which attracts approximately 250,000 visitors a year.
Blackwater Creek Preserve is a 1,993-acre (807 ha) conservation area in Hillsborough County, Florida. It includes pine flatwoods, cypress domes and riverine habitat along Blackwater Creek. Wildlife in the area include deer, turkey, Sherman's fox squirrels, gopher tortoises, dusky pigmy rattlesnakes, and Eastern bluebirds. It was acquired under ELAPP. The preserve includes trails.
Fish Hawk Creek Nature Preserve is a 3,286-acre (1,330 ha) nature preserve in Hillsborough County, Florida. The preserve is managed by Hillsborough County's Conservation and Environmental Lands Management Department and is located along the riparian corridor of FishHawk Creek, a significant tributary of the Alafia River. As a result, the acquisition and protection of the Fish Hawk Creek Nature Preserve has provided an essential link in assuring the long-term protection of a significant regional habitat corridor. Restoration projects have been initiated on the property. Habitats include pine flatwoods, sandhill, Florida scrub, and creek corridors. The preserve is bisected by FishHawk Blvd. and is identified by a north and a south section. The north section of the preserve includes a 2.2 mile hiking trail and can be accessed through Lithia Springs Regional Park in Lithia, Florida. The south portion of the preserve can be accessed through a parking area near the intersection of Boyette Rd. and Balm Rd. and includes a 2-mile hiking trail.
Alafia River Corridor Nature Preserve is a 4,700 acre area of protected lands in Hillsborough County, Florida. There are two trailheads for the preserves's hiking trails, one located at the north boundary of the Pinecrest Sports Complex on Hwy. 39 approximately one mile north of Hwy. 640 and one located on Hwy. 39 just north of Jameson Rd.
The SouthWest Association of Mountain Bike Pedalers (SWAMP) club is an association of mountain bikers that creates, and maintains mountain biking trails in Florida. The organization has built and maintains trails in several parks, including Alafia River State Park, Balm-Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve, Croom Trail, Santos Trail and the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park Trail in Pasco County. Many of the trails are built on the remains of abandoned phosphate mines, which allows for a great variation in difficulty from easy to extremely advanced.
Se7en Wetlands is a City of Lakeland water utility and park, located south of Lakeland, Florida. The public may visit by using one of the two public entrances, located at Loyce E.Harpe Park and Lakeland Highlands Scrub.
