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4.5
291 votes

Hillsborough River State Park Campground

15402 US-301 N, Thonotosassa, Florida 33592 USA

$
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Closed Now
Opens Thu 8a
  • Independent
  • Credit Cards
    Accepted
  • Pet Friendly
  • Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
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“A popular park due to its proximity to the city of Tampa.”

The park consists of over 2,990 acres, and more than seven miles of trails that run throughout it. Popular activities include fishing, canoeing, kayaking, picnicking, camping, birding, easy to moderate hiking, trail running, and nature photography. The park also has a swimming pool, award-winning campgrounds, a restaurant, and gift shop. Canoes and bicycles can be rented at the park.

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Reviews of Hillsborough River State Park Campground

41 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

4.6 Access
4.8 Location
4.5 Cleanliness
4.1 Site Quality
4.2 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 4G/5G

Confirmed by 23 users | Last reported on March 17, 2024

AT&T 4G/5G

Confirmed by 15 users | Last reported on May 15, 2023

T-Mobile 4G/5G

Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on August 06, 2023
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Reviewed by
Campendium

December 20, 2016
Rated

We had only one night at Hillsborough State Park, but we could easily have spent several days exploring the park and nearby trails. Very friendly, helpful staff. The Hillsborough River runs through the park and boasts Florida’s only class 2 rapids. We didn’t get a chance to kayak, but did enjoy the nature trails and the suspension bridge.

Campsites were well spaced with trees for shade. Sites have either 30 or 50amp electric and water. There are restrooms with showers and a dump station. There is also a large swimming pool/café on site but the pool is run by a concessionaire and costs $4 per/person.

We had 4 bars of Verizon 4G unboosted.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $28.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 93

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

April 19, 2017
Rated

This was another excellent Florida state park with nice sites and plenty of trails. Be warned that the campsites here are not all created equal. Some are squished together with no privacy while others are large with wooded views. In general, the sites on the outside of the camping loops are best, with the one's near the river being the primo sites. That said, we had site 84 which was on the interior of the Hammock Circle loop. While it had zero privacy, it was very spacious.

We used both the showers (old but workable with plenty of hot water) and the laundry (both washer and dryer worked great) during our stay. We also enjoyed the trails both on foot and by bike. Sadly, the pool was not yet open during our stay but it looked really nice!

The best part of the park is the river. The slow moving water is crystal clear with lots of moss-draped trees and plenty of opportunities to see wildlife. We saw tons of turtles and alligators on the banks.

Finally, Hillsborough is only about an hour from Tampa/St. Pete if you want to spend some time in the city. I would highly recommend the Saturday Morning Market in St. Petersburgh.

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Nightly Rate: $27.00

Days Stayed: 6

Site Number: 84

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

January 16, 2018
Rated

Entering this heavily wooded state park feels like you've gone back in time. The park itself is quite large, and after entering it takes a while to get to the campground. The park and campground roads are narrow heavily wooded and we brushed quite a few low branches with our motorhome. Inside the campground there are some tight turns that were tough but doable in our 42' motorhome. The single dump station was also a tight squeeze for us with several sharp turns. I'm sure this is all simply because the park is older and RVs have been getting bigger. Our site #10 was one where you pull off to the right side of the road. The site was sloped steeply down away from the road though so we needed lots of blocks under our passenger side tires. The nice thing was that we had no other RVs visible from our camping area, while most of the sites in the campground were packed close together with no privacy. The park is a bit far from "civilization", so if that's what you're going for, it's perfect. If you want to go visit restaurants, stores, etc., it's a decent drive. Showers were dated but functional... though sometimes the water never got hot. Our Verizon worked quite well, but AT&T had one bar, was usable but very slow, and a couple calls got dropped. There are plenty of trails for walking our dog, but since one of the two bridges across the river is closed due to damage, all our walks were "out and back" style, as we couldn't do a loop. We loved the natural feel of the park, but not sure if we'll return given the challenges getting through in a big rig and being so far from town.

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Nightly Rate: $24.00

Days Stayed: 7

Site Number: 10

3 Access
3 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

  • 24 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
March 06, 2018
Rated

This is the oldest Florida state park in their system and was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps after WW I. They have maintained it well and kept the CCC construction up-to-date. Great hiking trails, Hillsborough River access for canoes and kayaks, suspension bridge over the river, lots of picnic sites, and older (closed) pool, and campground. NOTE: as others have mentioned: Be Aware of the size of the sites! The roads are narrow and can take a bit of navigating to reach your site.
Our gravel site was level and backed up to a high canopy of trees for shade. Water & 50 amp hookups for us were fine for 1 night. The park ranger was helpful and friendly at check-in.
We would stay here again.

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that.susan.johnston would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $24.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 18

3 Access
5 Location
3 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

March 13, 2018
Rated

Two nights are never enough at Hillsborough River state park. Due to storm damage, one bridge across the river was closed. Many trails, long and short. Watch for gators, turtles, birds. Playgrounds, ranger talks are fun for all. Some sites are short for longer rigs. Watch for tree limbs. Plenty of privacy between most sites. Site 99 was short for our 23’ trailer and 19’ truck; other’s waited for us to unhitch and then rehitch. Dated, but clean bathhouse, sufficient showers. If there was a laundry, we didn’t use it so no comment.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $23.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 99

4 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

  • 4 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
April 29, 2018
Rated

Check in was a breeze. The park and site itself were awesome. Quite time is 11pm, wish it was more enforced. Otherwise it was an awesome two nights!

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Nightly Rate: $24.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 113

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
3 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

Reviewed by
mmgarner1

  • 28 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
September 09, 2018
Rated

This park is beautiful. It’s the rainy season, so there are many sites that are flooded. It is essential that you call the ranger station to make sure the site you have reserved is not wet. If you don’t, they’ll most likely call you and and suggest a different site. They are incredibly accommodating. The campground hosts are attentive and do a great job, and facilities are as clean as they can be in light of the super-wet conditions. Quiet time rules strictly enforced. Firewood and ice available for sale. Fire pits have grill grates. This park has a beautiful, HUGE salt-water pool and concessions. Entry is $4 for anyone age 5 and over. Cushioned lounge chairs are $10/day.
Sites 82-114 are quieter than the others. Many beautiful, well-maintained hiking trails. Can’t wait to come back again.
Site 102 is large, backs up to a small playground and the bath house, no immediate neighbors on driver's side.
Site 18 has a path to the pool area on the driver's side and is very close to another campsite on the passenger side, offering little privacy but plenty of room for our 30' trailer and tow vehicle. Bath house is right across the road with washer, dryer, soda machine and clean bathrooms/showers. This site is a little muddy and I'd imagine it floods during the rainy season.

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mmgarner1 would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $24.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 111, 102, 18

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

October 10, 2018
Rated

This is one of the best state parks to camp in. 30 minutes to Tampa, so it can be hard to book sometimes. It features a pool and canoes to rent. There are alligators one the river. I only saw one this trip.I went in still hot early October, but the campground is covered with enough oaks, I did not notice the heat. Highly recommend. It is so close to Tampa suburbs, that cell service is no problem.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $26.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 48

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Reviewed by
msarki

  • 146 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
January 29, 2019
Rated

Three inches of rain the day and night before our arrival left our campsite a bit wet and muddy, but upon arrival the Ollie and Tacoma had no trouble backing in. Unfortunately, big rigs flanked our not-at-all-private campsite #58 which, by design, was also at the furthest point away from the restrooms. It appears many trees through the years have been removed in this campground, and from what I had researched I was hoping for a lesser number of big rigs. I thought I read that roads were tight, this campground was perhaps the oldest in the state, and designed for smaller rigs. This was not the case at all. There was a positive trade-off it seems for big rigs versus tents as it was more quiet with less smoke and kids. But there are always fewer trees and privacy when the big rigs can get in. And the age of the campers themselves increases proportionally when their giant mansions-on-wheels spoil the view. For us, camping is about nature, and the more wild the campground is the better for us. But we do enjoy having at least two bars of cell coverage so we can use our wifi, and we lucked out that site 58 had it in spades. Others here are not so fortunate. The campground is pretty far off the beaten path so bring your supplies with you. There wasn’t much to choose from at the I-75 exit.

Many of the hiking trails proved not navigable due to the current flooding, and the “stationary” bridge over the river was still closed due to damage from Hurricane Irma two years ago. The rangers were not allowing any canoe rentals because of the rising waters of the river. But there was still enough hiking available in areas where the trails drain well running next to the beautiful river. Further inland? Not so hot. Standing water prevailed. The swimming pool, which looks fantastic and gargantuan, was also closed due to cold weather. The swim rule here is 70 degree pool water temperature or no one gets wet. Hot water in some of the restrooms was also at a minimum and rumor had it the other restrooms were even worse. There is only one dump station, and it seems the park is too large for only one, but we’ll see when we depart if we have to wait in line long.

But the Hillsborough River State Park grounds themselves are beautiful and there are enough paved roads and campground loops to get enough exercise riding bicycles. On arrival Bob the dog enjoyed running alongside the bicycle and then hiking the Baynard Trail beginning at the suspension bridge. We simply had to turn around and reverse course when we hit standing water. Our second day included additional Bob the dog bike runs and another bike ride down to hike a bit. We began at the canoe landing near the stationary bridge this side of the river. We hiked all along The Rapids Trail until it veered off the river inland and it wasn’t far before again hitting standing water. We returned to our locked bicycles back the way we originally came. Gorgeous scenery on this river and certainly a park we would like to one day return to when the weather is warmer and dry.

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msarki would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $17.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 58

4 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

February 06, 2019
Rated

Very beautiful, well-maintained. We quickly found the unofficial trail on the wrong side of the River (next to the campground) where we saw a gator!

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: -

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

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Hillsborough River State Park Campground

15402 US-301 N
Thonotosassa, Florida
33592 USA
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Hours

Closed Now
  • Sun - Sat: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm

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Good for hiking, paddling, and swimming.

  • Check
    Parking
  • Check
    Pets Allowed
  • Check
    Restrooms
  • Unknown
    Wifi
  • Check
    Wheelchair Accessible
  • Check
    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
State park or forest
Back In RV Sites Count
40
Last Nightly Rate
24.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
42.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
3.0
Max Length
50 ft
Max Stay
14
Sites Count
112
  • Check
    Swimming Pool
  • Unavailable
    Paved Sites
  • Check
    Fifty Amp
  • Unavailable
    Full Hookup
  • Check
    Rec Facilities
  • Check
    Pull Through
  • Check
    Tent Sites
  • Check
    Dump Station
  • Check
    Big Rigs
  • Unavailable
    Open Seasonally
  • Unavailable
    Age Restricted
  • Check
    Back In RV Sites
  • Unavailable
    Boondock
  • Unavailable
    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Firewood
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Unavailable
    Group Tent Sites
  • Check
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
  • Unavailable
    Permit Required
  • Check
    Potable Water
  • Unavailable
    Propane
  • Unavailable
    Public Water
  • Check
    Pull Through RV Sites
  • Check
    Reservations
  • Unavailable
    Sewer Hookup
  • Check
    Showers
  • Check
    Sites
  • Check
    Standard Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Vehicle Wash Permitted
  • Unavailable
    Water Hookup
  • Check
    Outdoor Seating
  • Unavailable
    Adult Only
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