Walking trails in and around Brandon, from the Parkway to the preserves

The closest real walk in Brandon runs along Brandon Parkway, a three-mile, toll-free road that the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority built with pedestrian and bike paths, parks and public art. For shade, water and boardwalks, the county’s Alderman’s Ford and Edward Medard parks charge $2 per car, and the hills of Alafia River State Park cost $5. The county’s annual Hiking Spree opens on November 1, 2026, which makes this the right month to learn the map.

Hillsborough County counts more than 300 miles of hiking trails, but a Brandon week only needs a few. The trick is matching the trail to the day: a loop before work, a stroller morning near a restroom, or a long Saturday on real terrain.

What is the Brandon Parkway trail, exactly?

Brandon Parkway is a road first. It grew out of a community planning process the expressway authority began in 1999, when Brandon homeowners complained of poor access to the Selmon Expressway without feeder roads, and construction was under way by 2001. Today it feeds the expressway’s Reversible Express Lanes and connects with Lumsden Road, Providence Road, Town Center Boulevard and Lakewood Drive. What makes it a trail is the design choice the authority describes on its own page about the Brandon Parkway: walking and biking paths, parks, trails and public art, features that road projects rarely include.

The Parkway is the everyday tier: paved, free, open to walkers, strollers and bicycles, and close enough to fit before school or after dinner. Families walk it in the afternoon, and annual running races use it. It lacks the deep canopy of a conservation park. From May to September it is a sunrise walk; from November to March it works at almost any hour. Think of it as the town’s treadmill with a view.

Which county parks near Brandon have the best trails?

Hillsborough County splits its natural lands into two kinds of places. Conservation parks have restrooms, running water, playgrounds and maintained paths. Nature preserves are wilder: unpaved trails, fewer markers, rougher ground, and at most of them no restrooms or water at all. For a first outing from Brandon, start with a conservation park.

Alderman’s Ford Conservation Park, southeast of town on the north and south prongs of the Alafia River, is the easiest win. Its paved loop runs 1.9 miles and links to foot bridges and a half-mile boardwalk into the shaded floodplain. It welcomes hikers, dog walkers and bicycles, though pets and bikes stay off the boardwalk itself. Edward Medard Conservation Park, on Turkey Creek Road near Plant City, sits on a reservoir of about 700 acres and adds a 3-mile trail through pine flatwoods and hardwood hammocks, shared with riders, plus a boardwalk and an observation platform over the water. Both open at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. in spring and summer, 6 p.m. in fall and winter.

Where do the hills and the longer miles start?

Brandon is flat until you reach reclaimed mine land. Alafia River State Park, off County Road 39 in Lithia, sits on ground once mined for phosphate, and the reclamation left steep grades and small lakes. Hikers and horseback riders share about 20 miles of hilly trails through forest and flatwoods, and a short hiking loop with overlooks gives a taste of the slopes. The park opens at 8 a.m. and closes at sundown every day of the year, and the entry fee is $5 per vehicle carrying two to eight people.

This is Saturday country, not a school-night walk. Bring extra water and start early. Our guide to day trips beyond Brandon pairs the park with the rest of the river corridor for a full outing.

When does the Hiking Spree start, and what should you pack?

The county’s 11th annual Hiking Spree runs from November 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027, the months when local trails are at their best. In past seasons, registered walkers who logged eight hikes earned a reward, and dogs could earn one too. For this season the county says locations, maps and reward details are still to come, so watch its Hiking Spree page before the first outing. The timing follows the logic of our seasonal calendar: winter and spring reward walking here, and summer punishes it by midmorning.

The county’s checklist for any trail:

• Carry plenty of water.
• Download the trail map before you lose signal, even on a blazed trail.
• Tell someone your plan.
• Wear proper shoes and sun protection.
• Stay on marked trails, and expect standing water in the rainy season.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first mistake is treating a nature preserve like a park and arriving without water, then finding no restroom, no fountain and no shade for the next mile. The second is walking the Parkway at noon in July just because it is close. The third is the parking fee: at Alderman’s Ford, an unattended pay machine takes credit cards only, so a car of cash-only walkers can stall at the gate. The fourth is driving to Alafia with the bikes without checking which of its mountain bike trails are closed for repair. And the quiet one is ignoring the small parks next door, where our tour of Brandon’s neighborhoods and parks finds the shaded loops nobody drives to.

Questions readers ask

Is there a waterfall near Brandon?

Not a natural one. The county is too flat for falls. Florida’s tallest waterfall drops about 73 feet into a sinkhole at Falling Waters State Park near Chipley, far up in the Panhandle. Around Brandon, moving water means the Alafia River at Alderman’s Ford and the reservoir at Medard.

Can I bring my dog on these trails?

At both county conservation parks, yes, on a leash of six feet or less, and Medard rules out retractable leashes.

Is the Brandon Parkway trail free?

Yes. The Parkway is a toll-free public road and its paths cost nothing to use. The paid walks in this guide are the two county conservation parks, at $2 per vehicle, and the state park, at $5.