After a quick tour of the Interpretive Center we went for a walk along the 3,500’ boardwalk.
The park lies in a natural flood plain of the Hillsborough River. Below are some views of the hardwood swamp forest.
Although many cypress trees here fell victim to logging, the large remaining ones are mostly hollow. The cypress in the first photo below has been certified as over 900 years old!
These two alligators were enjoying some time in the sun.
A portion of the boardwalk was flooded during our visit. Canoes and kayaks are usually available for rent, but the flooding was in the area where they are kept.
The observation tower provides great views of Lettuce Lake (although it is not really a lake, just a shallow extension of the Hillsborough River). In addition to seeing some ibises and anhingas, we also spotted several alligators swimming in the lake.
Peninsula cooter turtles could be seen on logs in the lake (if you look closely for them). And we even saw a couple of Florida banded water snakes.
Leashed dogs are not permitted on the boardwalk but are on the trails. We returned to the car to get our sweet doggie, Sadie, and some water, and headed out on the 1.25 mile bicycling/jogging paved trail. We came upon this large cooter (about a foot long) in the road. John moved him to safety...
Sadie noticed the first armadillo and then we came upon a second one on the nature trail. Such interesting looking animals...
Shelters are situated in various locations throughout the park and can be reserved/rented (although some were flooded when we visited). Check out the massive tree roots and trunk.
Shelters are situated in various locations throughout the park and can be reserved/rented (although some were flooded when we visited). Check out the massive tree roots and trunk.
The trail took us through pine flatlands. With a high thin canopy of pines, a common understory plant is the saw palmetto as seen here. Without natural fires, pine flatlands will turn into a hardwood hammock.
A swamp in a depression (usually caused by a sinkhole) and dominated by cypress trees is called a cypress dome. Because the center is usually wet year round, cypress trees cannot grow there (only around the edges of the sinkhole where the land is dry part of the year).
We continued our hike on the nature trail, but encountered flooded conditions in various locations.
The last time we were here we saw lots of water fowl, but today we saw many reptiles and the armadillos. It was a lovely day!
For additional information about the park, go to www.HCFLGov.net/Parks.
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