It’s always a great day to get outside when you live in Hillsborough County, Florida. Fortunately, there are many senior-friendly parks throughout the region offering wooded paths and beautiful natural Florida scenery. Here’s a peek at a few parks located near Citrus Park that offer walking trails and other outdoor recreation activities for local seniors.
Carrollwood Village Park
4680 W. Village Drive
Tampa, FL 33624
Hours: Sunrise to 9 p.m.
Carrollwood Village Park is a community park (with amenities) that is open to the public. The park is currently undergoing updates, but visitors can enjoy picnic shelters, a dog park, outdoor chessboards, and walking trails.
Cypress Point Park
5620 Cypress St.
Tampa, FL 33607
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
With its beautiful beach, a mile-long paved trail, and half a mile of nature trails, Cypress Point Park offers visitors breathtaking sunsets, beach walks, wildflowers, and fishing opportunities. The park’s amenities also include Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, a boardwalk trail, and picnic pavilions (reservations available).
Keystone Park & Recreation Center
17928 Gunn Hwy.
Odessa, FL 33556
Hours: Park: Sunrise to 9 p.m.
Rec Center: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
The Keystone Park & Recreation Center provides a walkway from the recreation center to Austin Davis Library as well as a veterans memorial and a community garden. There are senior programs offered throughout the year, including monthly Keystone KATS Senior Trips to a variety of fun local destinations.
Lake Rogers Conservation Park
9010 N. Mobley Road
Odessa, FL 33556
Hours: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Entrance fee: $2 per vehicle
Lake Rogers Conservation Park boasts two freshwater lakes, one of which is the largest in Hillsborough County, making it an ideal location for fishing. It also offers easy-to-walk unpaved trails that wind through a forest of oak and pine trees, and picnic tables so you can make a day of it.
McKay Bay Nature Park Trail
134 N. 34th St.
Tampa, FL 33605
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
The McKay Bay Nature Park Trail is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail West Coast Section, and offers three different walking paths. A short boardwalk trail winds through the mangroves toward McKay Bay. Be sure to stop and do some bird-watching with the spotting scopes at the park's observation tower/education pavilion on the east side or the bird-viewing station on the west side.
Visitors can also enjoy a paved 1.25-mile multiuse path that circles the peninsula, a half-mile nature trail, and picnic tables.
Monterey Lakeside Park
602 Monterey Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33610
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
With its picnic shelters, grills, and a paved walking path, Monterey Lakeside Park is an ideal spot for waterfront picnicking in a neighborhood setting.
Rocky Creek Trails Nature Preserve
7415 Manhattan Drive
Tampa, FL 33625
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
Entrance fee: $2 per vehicle
This popular Tampa nature preserve provides a quarter-mile hiking trail with a wooden footbridge that crosses Rocky Creek. This wooded path is a pedestrian-only portion of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, so no bikes allowed.
Rowlett Park Trail
2401 E. Yukon St.
Tampa, FL 33604
Hours: Sunrise to sunset
Rowlett Park offers 2 miles of paved trail that winds through oak and pine hammocks. Visitors can enjoy park amenities including picnic tables, picnic shelters (reservations available), charcoal grills, restrooms, and fishing.
Seniors living in the Tampa area have no shortage of outdoor recreation opportunities. With Florida summer in full swing, these local parks and shaded walking trails are an excellent way to get outside and exercise while enjoying some of Florida’s most beautiful natural resources.
