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Alafia River State Park MTB Swamp Trail
  • MTB Trail

Alafia River MTB Trails – Tampa

  • December 28, 2018
  • 2 comments
  • 2 minute read
  • 5.9K views

Just east of Tampa are two of the best MTB trail systems in Florida. The Alafia River MTB Trails have around 25 kilometres of fast and loose trails. The sandy dirt is hard enough to maintain good speed though open sections, but you can still move some dirt in the corners if you hit them hard enough. There is a little bit of something for everyone here, as the trail variety ranges from nice and easy greens to some more challenging black diamonds. The Alafia River State Park includes everything you could possibly need. They have a Bike Shop with rentals at the trail head, restrooms, filtered water and picnic areas all over the place. Alafia River has some of the best MTB trails in Florida. 

  •     Trails: 60 (56 km)
        Total Vertical: 27 m
        Global Ranking: #29

Alafia River State Park MTB Berns

Route

After paying the $4 park entry fee, the park attendant will offer you a free trail map. The trails are marked well, but you will need a map to make your way around. There are some great loops once you get a handle on all the junctions and side trails. Roller Coaster is a nice trail for getting the legs going. The North Creek Trail is a more picturesque part of the trail system, as it wanders through a bunch of small swamps. The more challenging trails offer some rocky and rooty bits, with tiny back to back climbs that will get the heart rate up.

 

Gators, Wooden Berms and a Bike Shop

This is gator country, and it did not disappoint. Right at the end of the ride, I ran into a gator sun bathing on a corner. Good thing another rider had kindly blocked off the trail. The wood work in Florida is fantastic. All their stuff is high quality, built right, and blends in with the flow of the trail. Finally, it is such a treat to have a bike shop at the trail head. This trail system has everything you need for a great ride.

 

Nearby Trails

Less than a 10 minute drive from Alafia State Park is the Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve trail system. Certainly, worth visiting before or after your visit. This spot is another trail system with some of the best MTB trails in Florida. 

Alafia River State Park MTB Trail Flow
Alafia River State Park MTB Trail Gator
Moonscape Trailhead
Alafia River State Park MTB Berns
Alafia River State Park Bike Shop

Trip Advice

  • 2 Hour Ride

  • Pretty Swamps

  • Fun Wooden Features

  • Gators

  • Bike Shop

Related Topics
  • Fast Trails
  • MTB
  • Wildlife
2 comments
  1. Karen says:
    March 29, 2019 at 9:56 pm

    Amazing trail. Can you ride this with a regular bike? Though I know it will be a bit rough. Nice photo btw.

    Reply
    1. Michael says:
      March 31, 2019 at 11:17 pm

      Hi, you can for sure ride any bike on the green/easy trails, but a mtb would be best for the blue’s and black’s. All the photos are from blue trails. Thank you = )

      Reply

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