Alafia River State Park

Description

Even before it became a park, the area, and particularly Hurrah Lake, was the center of leisure activities since the early 1880s. The park has such amenities as bicycling, birding, canoeing, fishing, hiking, horse trails, picnicking areas, wildlife viewing and full camping facilities. Especially known for its mountain biking, it has advanced trails in an area of the park that was once a phosphorus strip mine. The mountain bike trails were created and are maintained by the SouthWest Association of Mountain Bike Pedalers (SWAMP) club. The forest has grown back. The mine was abandoned before remediation laws took effect, and the area where mountain biking exists is an erratic mixture of pond depressions and abrupt hills jutting from the surface.