Hillsborough River State Park Campground

My wife and I spent three nights here in our 23' travel trailer, meeting up with some friends and attending the awesome Tampa RV Supershow. This is a beautiful park with around 113 campsites, although there are some size limitations on many of the sites. The Hillsborough River flows through the park and there is a large picnic area with shelters and a playground for the kids. The park has a store and restaurant and bike/kayak/canoe rentals. We found the park to be neat and clean, as were the restroom/shower facilities. The campground was very quiet at all times. Each site has a fire ring/grill and I believe all have electric (15/30/50 amp) and water hookups. There is a dump station for dumping the holding tanks with non-potable water available for flushing tanks, rinsing stuff off, etc.

If it even looks like rain might be in the forecast you will want to avoid campsite #113. It has a low spot that flooded when it rained while we were there and the entire area outside our RV's steps was underwater.

While the normal price per night was $24.00, we, being Florida residents over 65 years old, get 50% off, so our total for the three nights was $47.02 (includes the booking fee for Reserve America reservation of $6.70 and taxes of $4.32).

We definitely recommend this state park.

$24 rate included up to 50amp electric and water. There are 2 loops and a dump station between them. The sites are spacious and the campground is heavily wooded. The park is clean and the restrooms newly renovated. It was convenient enough to Tampa especially based on the price. Everything we looked at closer to the city was $50+ as it was March, prime snowbird season. The store was convenient and sold firewood, which we took advantage of the opportunity to have a campfires. Great option if you want to be near Tampa. Written by Amy.

Our second stay at this historic park that is close to Tampa, but not too close. The park is heavily wooded, and mostly tranquil during the week. It's possible to have lots of open spots around you.

Typical of state parks, on the weekends it can be bustling. The park hosts several weekend ranger programs, and the camping loops can be hopping with activity.

The park offers a lot to do - from kayaking, biking and hiking. And there's the second largest pool in Florida onsite for a small fee.

The campsite themselves are a mix of awesome and decent. Some don't have much of a private feeling and can feel a bit crammed together. Others are just fantastic.

All of the cellular carriers were usable, and excellent with a booster.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.