Alafia River Corridor Nature Preserve - South

Easy to find and good parking area. Trails are nice and maintained.

It was quiet and pleasant. The day I was there only came across two other people.

Great hike, cold morning. Saw hogs and lots of deer. Had to cross three creeks, wet feet. Park at the end of old welcome rd.

I would rate this hike as excellent but give failing grade to Hillsborough County on execution.

There are 3 entrances to the trail system.

#1 off welcome rd. Huge grassy parking lot and pretty much impossible to get lots following red and yellow trail markers.

#2 & #3 off Jameson Rd.

Map shown displays trail system that starts at the corner on Jameson Rd. It is right next to entrance to private property so no reasonable human being would assume that it is a designated public use parking lot, because there is space only for 1 vehicle that blocks entrance gate when you park the car.

Problem with that map is entrance off Jameson further up the road (closer to 39) looks far more inviting, albeit same 1 car parking lot and I kid you not... actual trails off both entrances lead you on trails that look identical. All the fire roads there have same exact layout which is why if you mistakenly start at (not corner) parking lot and follow your map, you will be making same exact turns and such as you would be, have you started at (corner). It surely does not help that 2 trails converge in same places making it rather confusing. It is like someone drew the trails and then just copy pasted them shifted due east.

I started at entrance closest to 39 and did not realize I was in the wrong place because all turns matched and curvature and layout of trails was identical (albeit not a single blaze was painted). When I eventually hiked to welcome rd trail head, I did the yellow blaze until I hit red blaze and then due south to blue blazes that got me out on the corner of jameson rather confused and irritated because I finally figured out what was happening.

From that alternate Jameson trailhead I chose not to walk the asphalt and started following blue blazes expecting a cut through to my parking lot. Boy was I wrong. It leads you north west in opposite direction. There were 2 opportunities to walk right next to someone's property fence down rutted out paths (which in retrospect would have again got me to asphalt). I eventually found myself at the yellow blaze and then returning back on original trail I hiked.

I recorded my trip on 360 camera so eventually google street view will be updated.

My family and I went on a 3.25 mile, 80 minute hike today. All the flowers were amazing and I didn't expect to see cactus. The trails are marked out well and we did a loop.