Wilderness In Florida

While reading my new book, "A Women's Guide to the Wild", I ran across a state park I knew I had to check out.  I was heading to Florida soon and book highlighted the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park near Tampa as one of the best outdoor recreation sites. Hiking through lush swampland, sign me up!  I ran it by my Mom, after-all, she would be my chauffeur and I had to make sure she would be up for a little hike! 

On our way home from spending the day at the beach, {more on that in the next blog} we took the back roads along the coast and headed to our next destination to do some outdoor hiking and hopefully see more of Florida's wildlife. As we entered the park, we stopped at the visitors center where a host was very helpful in showing me which trails to take, where to park, restrooms, etc.  One more question sir, "Where are the primitive campsite?" I did get the "surprised" look, probably from using the word primitive, but he kindly circled the sites and explained how to get there.  

We made our way to Shelter 5, switched shoes, and headed to the trail.  It started as a paved bike trail but we quickly landed off the beaten path.  We chose the 1.9 mile loop which did have numerous branches so if you wanted to go farther you could but it was mid-afternoon so we stuck with the shorter of the trails.  It was very peaceful and the nature was gorgeous even in January.  We only ran into a few people and that was towards the end.  I was hoping to see a croc or two, no luck that day, but there were a lot of squirrels and the park is known for its bird watching areas, so we heard many different birds singing their songs. Did I mention we somehow missed our turn, which seems like a hard thing to do considering we were looping but leave it to us!  So, we actually went about a mile farther than expected, but we survived.  Burning calories, Mom! 

The park is spread over 8000 acres and there are many activities available.  Hiking, biking, camping..both tent, cabin, and primitive, bird-watching, recreational areas, fishing, fire pits and shelters/picnic areas can be rented for day use.  Bonus, dogs are allowed!  I highly recommend checking this gulf-side Florida park out if you are near Tampa, it's a gorgeous place to spend the day or night! 

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Shona