Hillsborough River State Park Campground

This is one of the best Florida state campgrounds in the area. There is a reduced ADA rate of $12 a night. The sites offer 50amp and water. There is no sewer hook up, but there is a dump station. The campground is all gravel, but flat. There is a tropical feeling here, with a lot of mature trees. All sites have some privacy and they are not real close together. Pets are allowed, there is a gate that is closed at night, laundry facilities are available. There are activities: pool, kayak and canoe rentals, bike rentals, several nature trails, campfire rings, picnic tables, yurts to rent, and a cafe. It is close to Tampa and attractions in the area like Tampa Zoo and Busch Gardens, plus all the sports events. It is about 1 hour to Walt Disney World and Universal Theme Parks. It is always quiet and has great Verizon service.

First time camper and choose this park because it was close to home. We stayed in spot 28 for 2 nights. The spot was very nice with lots of room. The showers/bathroom were near our spot also. The showers were clean, but were a little dated. The Park Rangers were very nice and helpful. We went on the river hike with our 80 pound Golden Ret. and it was very nice, but hot (May in FL). Overall it was a very good trip and we enjoyed our stay and would come back again when it gets a little cooler. Cell service was only 1 to 2 bars AT&T.

In this video, we provide an overview and tour of Hillsborough River State Park and show the best campsites. Hillsborough River State Park is located northeast of Tampa Florida. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 8.01 Mbps download speed and 0.15 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 97.3 Mbps download speed and 2.21 Mbps upload speed. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 20.8 Mbps download speed and 0.41 Mbps upload speed.

The park itself is lovely. You can rent a kayak, canoe or bicycle or you can bring your own or walk the trails. There is plenty to do.
The first 3 nights I was on loop 2 site 51A and it was perfect. It was a pull through site and was well shaded. The next 10 nights I was on loop 1 site 88 and while the site was large and well shaded the lift station or sewage plant was behind us and every time it turned on, which was often, the smell of sewage wafted through our campsite. It was very unpleasant and you couldn't get away from it inside or out. I would never stay in loop 1 again because of the smell and the noise from the sewer plant motors.

We stayed here for 2 weeks in April. The campground was very quiet except on Saturday nights. Spot 46 was great for our 35' 5th wheel. Ingress and egress were easy, especially when there was no one in the site across. That site, 51A, should be avoided unless it's your only option. About 1/4 of the site becomes a standing water puddle when it rains. And if tent camping, avoid site 47 because an even larger portion of the site is under water when it rains. The rangers at the security gate were very friendly as were all of the camp hosts. They keep the campground absolutely spotless. I have a Pepwave Max Transit Duo router with a Parsec Husky Pro 7 antenna. T-Mobile and AT&T service was non-existent. Verizon was reliable with 9.37 download and 3.37 upload speeds. It was sufficient for Zoom meetings and streaming except at night when the service became spotty.

On a hike our dog (140 LBS Ridgeback) over heated. I found some volunteers and they could not have been more helpful. One fetched ice, while another drove us the last mile to our site where a ranger was waiting with a water hose. The dog recovered and staff stopped by a few times to check on him.

It was our first time camping with our new to us motor coach. The park was well shaded but still easy to maneuver and park in the site. Great park for families with active kids!

We are a Hillsboro County resident and decided to take the grandkids to the Hillsboro River State Park for 4 days. We have a 30' motorhome and 15' golf cart trailer. We booked a site that was 45'. Two rangers watched up set up yesterday and said nothing. This morning a ranger informed us we needed to move out and either put our trailer beside the camper or move it to extra parking. I am 72 years old and disabled and it took me an hour to set up yesterday. Besides that, we weren't told that the kids couldn't ride their bikes without helmets. Although we did see other people with no helmets. The pool is closed for two years and so it the store and cafe. Ridiculous you could built a pool much quicker than that. Also Fort King Trail is closed. Sites are way smaller than indicated on their map. Rangers have gestappo attitude. Also NO WIFI. Very disappointing.