Hillsborough County will reopen a majority of its nature preserves and the boat ramp at E.G. Simmons Conservation Park on Saturday, May 2. Several conservation parks, along with walking trails at six neighborhood parks, will open on Monday, May 4 to give residents additional options for recreation and exercise.
Residents will be required to follow social distancing guidelines and portions of the parks will remain closed, including playgrounds, picnic areas and kayak/canoe facilities.
The boat ramp at E.G. Simmons will reopen at 8 a.m. on Saturday along with all Hillsborough County nature preserves (except for Apollo Beach, which remains closed until further notice). You can find a complete list of county nature preserves at https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/residents/recreation-and-culture/parks/find-a-park.
The following conservation parks will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday:
Flatwoods Conservation Park on 14302 Morris Bridge Rd. in Thonotosassa and 18205 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Tampa.
Morris Bridge Off-Road Biking Area on 12651 Morris Bridge Rd. in Thonotosassa.
Alderman’s Ford Conservation Park on 100 Alderman’s Ford Park Dr. in Plant City, for hiking and biking only.
Upper Tampa Bay Trail and all parking areas.
Walking trails ONLY will open at the following six neighborhood parks at 8 a.m. on Monday:
Jackson Springs Community Center on 8620 Jackson Springs Rd. in Tampa.
Northdale Community Center on 15550 Spring Pine Dr. in Tampa.
Carrollwood Village Community Park on 4680 W. Village Dr. in Tampa.
Ruskin Community Center on 901 6th St. SE. in Ruskin.
Apollo Beach Community Center on 664 Golf and Sea Blvd. in Apollo Beach.
All People’s Life Center on 6105 E. Sligh Ave. in Tampa.
These parks/preserves are the first to reopen since all county parks and preserves were closed in late March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. All other parks remain closed.
For more information on COVID-19 and any other potential emergency in the county, visit HCFLGov.net/StaySafe and sign up for the HCFL Alert system. Additionally, you can follow Hillsborough County on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor for updates. For general county information, call 272-5900, the county’s main information line.
