Flatwoods Conservation Park, Thonotosassa
Phew. Being gluttons for punishment, Christa and I decided we hadn’t walked quite enough after visiting the USF Botanical Gardens, so we jumped back in the sporty little runabout and headed over to the nearby Flatwoods Site of the Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation Department. The Flatwoods Site website boasts a seven-mile paved trail as well as a two-mile paved extension connecting to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. I wasn’t a particular fan of paved trails, but Christa is, so we went. Then I discovered the unpaved trails.
Flatwoods Site – Flatwoods Conservation Park
14302 Morris Bridge Rd.
Thonotosassa, FL 33592
Phone: (813) 987-6211
Hours:
Fall – Winter 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Spring – Summer 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Fees: $2.00 per vehicle – Up to 8 people per vehicle
www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/locations/flatwoods-conservation-park
The Flatwoods Site—or Flatwoods Wilderness Park, or Flatwoods Conservation Park, or simply Flatwoods Park—sits with all its monikers in the southeast quadrant formed by the intersection of I-75 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The entrance gate can be found on Morris Bridge Road. We drove through and found parking near the Ranger Station.
“Best known for its seven-mile paved loop road, which serves as a multi-use trail, Flatwoods Park provides a nature-filled getaway. The Morris Bridge well-field is located within the Park, and well-houses can be observed along the trail.
A two-mile paved extension connects Bruce B. Downs Boulevard with the loop road. Park activities and features include a paved bicycle loop, off-road bike trails, remote picnicking, and nature trails.”
It was a bright day and the heat radiated from the tarmac. Right from the start, we saw our first and last bit of animal life when a gopher tortoise lumbered across our paved path.
The Flatwoods Site is aptly named as the predominant feature is the abundant pine flats encroached by hardwood hammocks.
Invaded by saw palmetto and cabbage palms they rise from the sandy soil like silver paint brushes with splayed green tips. Everything not paved is covered in a raft of brown needles and cones.
Those occasional oak hammocks appear along the trail, the mass of hoary boughs hanging with silvery Spanish moss over more thickets of sprawling green saw palmettos.
We came to a wooden kiosk with water coolers full of the cold stuff and a map under glass that revealed our paved trail—Flatwoods Loop—to be just one of a network of paved and unpaved paths.
Christa agreed to explore a bit of the off-road trail (blazed in brown). We topped off our water bottles and continued on, leaving the paved trail at marker post 26 and headed toward marker 27.
The off-road trail was a narrow sandy path through the ubiquitous palmetto and spindly hardwoods. Plenty of wild hog rootings abounded but no sign of the critters themselves. Out of the blue, a jackhammer thwacking resounded. As I scanned my eyes caught the motion of the large black body and ruby crest of a pileated woodpecker.
It was too far to get a good photo, so I tried my best to stalk it for a closer shot. No dice; these crunchy oak leaves and percussive palmetto fronds make for noisy sneaking. Every ten feet I gained, he’d swoop to a further three. He seemed to enjoy the game, but I gave up after fifty yards.
After a bit, the off-road trail met the park vehicle trail. Christa decided we had gone far enough and requested we take the vehicle trail back to the paved loop. I agreed—our fatigue had caught up to us, so we struck off on the wider path.
The hardwoods and palmetto opened up to a clearing carpeted with an ethereal patch of deer moss, a mat of silvery cotton balls. I stopped to snap a few pics. The path soon ended at the paved trail where Christa was already on her way having left me behind under the spell of the fairy moss. Good to know Oberon and his crew could have hauled me off to oblivion and my wife would be happily trotting away.
Having rejoined the paved trail we headed back toward the car, our energy spent, the sun beating a wee too hot, and with empty tums. Had this been the only trip of the day, I’d have loved to hiked onward, but this was our second activity involving walking and we had skipped lunch so…stop judging, man.
Back at the water and map kiosk, we had another drink while bikes zipped by us. This is a popular park for bicyclists with the paved path connecting to Bruce B. Downs. They cruised by in the radiant sun while we re-hydrated on a nifty mural in the concrete pad of the kiosk.
We headed for the car toward the ripples of heat dancing in black pools on the distant curve of paved trail. Another bike zipped past us causing our pace to seem even slower.
As we passed a controlled-burn site with charred cabbage palms we saw the END OF TRAIL sign ahead. Christa quickened her pace to meet it in an embrace. It had become a long and weary day.
At the car, waiting for the air conditioning to knock a few degrees off the oven, we watched a hawk making lazy circles and admired the classic Corps of Engineers design of the ranger station with its stone and stucco walls. I was reminded of all the National Parks we’ve visited and wished we could do nothing but travel from one to the other.
It was a nice trail, the Flatwoods Site, and I wished we had more energy to explore further that day. The park really deserves more time to appreciate all it has to offer. I‘d like to return sometime to continue the exploration, maybe on bicycles. Now to find a cool spot for dinner and cold beverages.
Thanks for reading!