Alafia River State Park

I stayed here Feb, 2015. There is not really a bad campsite in the place although some are better than others. They are all flat, many were pull through. There is no separating plant life although most of the campsites were not right next to each other giving some privacy. Bath house was clean and pretty modern. Great place to ride a bike around the campgrounds and I heard there were many off-road bike paths also but I did not use them. The campground had an area for horse camping so I suspect that horse trails also abound. Not to far from the campsites were huge electrical towers that had an abundance of predator birds in huge nests. Great for wildlife viewing. At night we were visited often by armadillos, that would wander into the campsite and be gone as fast as they came in. They never caused any problems and were fun to watch pretty close up. Bugs were not bad at all this time of year. I believe there is a swimming pool but of course it was closed for the season in February.

Not far up the road north toward Plant City are places to shop for food and do laundry. You are not far from fresh produce at one of several stands we found around the area.

Alafia has spacious campsites with a large network of mountainbike trails on site. There is ample space separating the sites as well, although I would not claim privacy. The campground is very quiet, and there is little light pollution at night.

The bathrooms are getting remodeled this year. There is a convenience store and pizza place at the corner of 39 and Pinecrest (just north of the park), although any supermarkets etc are about 30 minute drive away.

Although we tent camp, there are many large pull-through sites, and some of the sites cater for horse trailers. Each site has electric and water.

Note that during heavy Florida rainstorms, some of the sites on loop 2 (14-20) have a tendency to flood. I've seen site 15 and 17 under a few inches of water, which might not be the end of the world for a camper but would leave you drenched in a tent.

Nice state park, paved sites, 50 amp & water hookups, dump station on site. Nice space between sites, very quiet and dark = star-gazing! Lots of bike trails, not used by us. Horses & campers also here. No connectivity here and we opted not to stay because of that problem. If we were not working, this would be a great campground.

This park is famous for its extensive mountain bike trails, with many miles of trails ranging in difficulty level. There's even an on-site bike shop at the trailheads for rentals and repairs. We loved the hiking opportunities afforded in the terrain of the former phosphate mine, including the large network of equestrian trails. Another highlight was the abundance of bird life. Nesting ospreys were fun to watch, especially when they flew across our campsite carrying fish from the ponds in the park.

The campground itself is very nice, with all paved sites (water + electric, including 50A) and nice, clean bathhouses. I personally prefer all the back in sites on the outsides of the loops to the pull-throughs for privacy reasons, but all the sites are pretty nice. Large picnic tables are provided. Site spacing is good.

The photos on ReserveAmerica are pretty dated - our site photos showed a wide open pond view but we saw mostly marsh grasses and a sliver of water. On the plus side, there's a lot more vegetation between sites than shown on the photos online.

Access would be improved by turn lanes from County Road 39. There are some fast-moving big trucks on the road and getting slowed down for the tight entry turn was a bit hair-raising. Road noise from CR 39 and other surrounding roads was a distant hum, not too distracting. This park is not located close to many stores or services, so it's more of a destination for enjoying the outdoor attractions within the park itself.

Level sites (I stayed in 25 and then extended my stay and moved to 6), shade trees in most sites to block the mid-day sun, easy back-ins, decent bathrooms and spacious showers. TONS of trails for mountain biking or hiking! (I recommend getting the AllTrails app since some trails aren’t marked too well.) Beautiful lake with the sounds of red-winged blackbirds, more cardinals than you can count, Common Gallinules, mockingbirds, and countless others. Mornings are a symphony of birdsong, and even at night! Loved hearing the gators grunt from the lake nests while I sat at my site and worked during the day. So nice and quiet—could be because we missed the snowbird season. Will definitely stay again. Little bit of noise from big citrus trucks and the like on CR 39, but less so in the Lonesome Lake loop, so only four stars for the “Noise” factor. Verizon service fluctuated between 2-4 bars.

Agree with other reviews about campsites. Quiet and nice level sites. Bike trails were not as flowy as I love, but enjoyed them. The double black diamond trails are truly only for bikers who know what they are doing. High risk for reward.

Not much to brag or complain about here. Campground is nice if you get a site with shade, bugs can be an issue. Trails can be steep, hairpinny & angular. Restrooms were fine.

This is a great little park. Two loops - Lonesome Lake sites 1-12, and Alafia Lake sites 13-30. The host was in site 13. Sites on the inside of the loop are all pull-through, those on the outside are back-in. Easy access off of Hwy 39 and far enough back from the road that there is no noise at night (except for the large family who thought it was party time on Saturday night :-), sites level with electric and water, very large and well-spaced. The smaller loop was more open with site lines between sites. Site 9 was listed as a horse site online but there is no way. The horse sites are on the outer side of the loop (sites 8,10, 12) as they have room for a corral.

Loved the trails though as previously reviewed, they are not nearly as flowy as the Santos trails. The provided map of the trails was very helpful as there a lot of intersections, but everything is pretty well marked. Hidden Rivers, Rock Garden, and Sand Pine trails, with a few drops at the ramps and finish on the North Creek trail was quite a good workout. The multi-use and connector trails are really helpful with getting around. The weekend was packed with advanced bikers who were friendly and willing to lend encouragement and skills advice.

The main bike and horse trailheads are completely set apart from the camping area so it remained very tranquil throughout the weekend. The nesting osprey provided a continuous show with fishing and feeding. Not really sure I can find anything not to like about my stay. Cell speeds were variable - T-Mobile 15-20 down and 3-4 down, AT&T 40 down and 4 up, but sometimes it dropped out completely.

Built into the remains of a phosphate quarry, this is a unique park that is best described as a theme park for bikes. Which is precisely why we came here with our new eBikes.

There's a connector trail right at the campground in the horse loop, that is gorgeous on its own. Trails vary in difficulty from easy to insane. We stuck to the 3 green easy trails, which were perfect for our skills and bikes. Just challenging enough and lovely. We had a blast!

Loved that the park is multi-use for bikes, equestrian and hiking - but the trails are all kept separate. Biking trials are one-way as well, except for the connectors. And the hiking trails are quite excellent too.

The campground itself is just lovely - big huge well spaced sites. We were able to snag Site 6 in the equestrian loop (they allow non-horse campers to use this loop if there are no others available - there was only one site with a horse on the loop during our stay). The horse loop is open space between sites for grazing, but the RV only loop has more underbrush for separation.

Love this park, and would definitely return. Ample cellular speed on both AT&T and Verizon for getting work done and streaming video at night. Not that we had much time for work, we were out on the trials playing!

Alafia River State Park is best known locally as a hot spot for mountain biking. Whether you are there to bike or not, the campground at Alafia River State Park is a relaxing and beautiful place to stay. The sites are very spacious with plenty of elbow room between neighbors. Some are pull-through and some are back-in, but they are very well laid out for either configuration. The bathhouse was clean and functional but there's no laundry facilities. We particularly enjoyed the clear and quiet night sky. It's Florida, so bring bug repellent. Check-in was simple and quick; no hassles. Verizon cell service was excellent -- the serving tower is either on or adjacent to the park itself.

Note that the hiking trails are not connected to the campground.