In this blog, we’ll review Hillsborough River State Park just northeast of Tampa Florida near the city of Zephyrhills. Hillsborough River is one of the first Florida State Parks created in 1938 by the Civilian Conservation Corp. with some of the original structures still intact.[1] Upon visiting Hillsborough River State Park one of the first things noticed is the age of the park’s natural surroundings, making it feel near jungle-like in areas. The campground is older than many other state parks in Florida and unfortunately, we visited during a deluge of caterpillars.
Hillsborough River State Park contains just under 3,000 acres and is named after the Hillsborough River that runs through the park. There are a variety of recreational activities available at the park, including: fishing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, and trail running. There are 7.3 miles of hiking trails through some thick hammock forest, as well as limited biking opportunities on the 2.2-mile park loop road and the 1.6-mile Wetlands Restoration Nature Trail. Given its location to Tampa, Hillsborough River State Park is very popular and can be extremely busy on weekends and holidays.
As far as the campgrounds, there two campground loops with a total of 112 campsites. Sites have city water connections and electric service, with all sites also having picnic tables and fire rings. No campsites have sewer connections. The campground loops have modern shower facilities and there is one dump station to accommodate all campsites. The 112 to 1 campsite to dump station ratio means you likely will have to wait to dump tanks when leaving during busy times.
There are five criteria we look at when rating a campground. First up, Hospitality and Check-In. We give this a 4 out of 5 as it was easy to check-in, but we did arrive on a weekend and endured a very long line of cars attempting to enter the park. Once at the ranger station, we were able to stay in the vehicle to check-in. It was a simple matter of having the ranger confirm our reservation, give us our site tag, and we were on our way.
Next in our review is Infrastructure & Amenities which we are giving a 3 out of 5. Not all of the park’s amenities are in excellent shape, especially the very old and uneven campground loop roads. While the bathhouses are modern, they are by no means new. Trails and features within the park are well marked with signage, and playgrounds are in good shape. Unfortunately, some of the amenities are still closed either due to pandemic restrictions or because of refurbishment. This includes the large pool. Like most Florida State Park campgrounds, the campground is maintained and cleaned by the campground hosts, and there is a security gate with passcode to enter the campground area after hours.
Site Quality gets a 3 out of 5 as the campsites are older, not very private and could use some attention and refurbishment. Most sites are relatively level with a mix of loose dirt and grass. Many of the sites are very shaded given the age of the trees and plant life within the campground. This can be a very good thing on a hot sunny day, but also means that natural light is limited at some of the campsites.
Generally, we found the sites had an older feel and needed some attention. Also, we visited during no small infestation of hatching caterpillars that were a real nuisance. I really like caterpillars, however, we were miss-timed in our visit and apparently booked when they were all hatching. There were thousands of them at the campsite. Literally within 5-10 minutes of setting up camp, they were all over the truck and trailer tires and crawling up the body of the vehicles. Within a day or so, the infestation was somewhat overwhelming, and we began finding the little guys within the trailer itself. To avoid this, I would highly recommend passing on visiting during this time. For us, it happened the final week of March 2021, but this hatching season may vary, and you may want to contact the park ranger station to get more information before booking.
Our Exercisability rating is only a 3 out of 5. Although there are many ways to exercise, the running aspect is somewhat limited given the shorter main park road loop and shorter trails. Some of the trails may work for trail running, but time of day and weekend crowded times would certainly curtail the enjoyment of this. This is also true for biking, as the opportunity for significant mileage is limited. Canoeing and Kayaking are certainly options on the Hillsborough River, just make sure you bring your own equipment, as rentals at the park are currently unavailable as of this taping. Hiking is likely a nice choice for exercise, as there are several miles of trails through thick brush and older forests.
For our final rating, we are giving a 5 out of 5 for Workability as the bandwidth for AT&T and Verizon were both good. Using an iPhone 10, we had speeds of 58.9 Mbps down and .77 Mbps up on AT&T, making it decent to use. Using our Verizon 8800L Mifi, we experienced good speeds of 21.9 Mbps down and 11.7 Mbps up. These good bandwidth speeds made it very easy to work from the campsite.
Overall, we thought Hillsborough River State Park was fair value for a Florida State Park. The campground and infrastructure are showing their age at this point and could use some refurbishment. The campsites also could use some refreshment. While opportunities for exercise are present, there are some limitations. Also, if you do plan to camp here, be aware that the park is a main destination for local residence, meaning it will be very crowded on weekends and holidays. Finally, check with the park before booking during caterpillar hatching season. It would have been a much more pleasant visit had we timed things better. Remember that Florida State Parks have an 11-month booking window, so you will need to plan out your trip well ahead of time.
All the best in your camping endeavors!
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