Apollo Beach Nature Park
Park
59 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trail sign
AOutdoors
Outdoors in Apollo Beach
24% of Apollo Beach’s land is conserved: 3,077 acres
24 miles of mapped trail cross Apollo Beach, 1.2 per square mile of land. 2,206 acres are parks and preserves, 66 per 1,000 residents. 67% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns · #38 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
24%
3,077 acres · of 19.7 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
2,206 ac
66 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
67%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
31 mi
24 mi lanes · 4.6 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Apollo Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Apollo Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Apollo Beach is ahead of 92% of U.S. towns, #38 of 638 in Florida. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; conserved land ranks highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Apollo Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land66 acres of park per 1,000 residents (2,206 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to home67% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 92%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 94%
Water is 12% of Apollo Beach’s area (3 of 22 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 22%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Apollo Beach Nature Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
New Lakeside Park
Park
43 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Apollo Beach Recreation Center
Managed by Hillsborough County Florida Parks & Recreation Department
10 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Hourglass Park
Park
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Apollo Beach Nature Park59 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHourglass Park2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
New Lakeside Park43 acres
Apollo Beach Recreation Center10 acres · Hillsborough County Florida Parks & Recreation Department
Lantern View Park2 acres
Who protects it
3,077 conserved acres
24% of Apollo Beach’s land. Water is left out: Apollo Beach has 19.7 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Apollo Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city2,159 ac
State fish & wildlife814 ac
County245 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits120 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 2,327 acState Conservation Area · 814 acLocal Conservation Area · 97 acPrivate Conservation · 80 acLocal Park · 23 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Branch Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1,230 | Open |
| Bullfrog Creek Mitigation Park Wildlife and Environmental Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 814 | Restricted |
| Bullfrog Creek Scrub Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 615 | Open |
| Open Space Local Other or Unknown | County | 265 | Open |
| E. G. Simmons Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 257 | Open |
| Doyle Campbell Memorial Park Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 80 | Closed |
| Apollo Beach Nature Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 57 | Open |
| Apollo Beach Recreation Center Local Park | County | 20 | Open |
| Hourglass Park Local Park | Private owners | 2 | Open |
Things to do
31 places to go in Apollo Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Apollo Beach
Apollo Beach
DirectionsPlus 2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Apollo Beach
12 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Apollo Beach
Apollo Beach Dog ParkHours: sunrise-21:00
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Apollo Beach
Canoe/Kayak Launch
DirectionsPlus 3 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Apollo Beach
8 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Apollo Beach
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Unpaved · 16.9 mi
Tortoise Trek3.5 mi
Biking & sports
31 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
24 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
2.6 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
4Basketball
2Tennis
2Pickleball
1Baseball
1Skate park
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
April is the best month for walking in Apollo Beach
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.6 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.7 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.4 |
| High (°F) | 71 | 73 | 77 | 82 | 87 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 85 | 78 | 73 |
| Rain (in) | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 6.7 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
November is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 9.2 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Apollo Beach →
Next door
Apollo Beach and its neighbors
Apollo Beach has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Beach | 24% | 1.2 | 66 | 67% | A |
| Ruskin | 11% | 0.3 | 39 | 65% | B+ |
| Gibsonton | 23% | 1.1 | 89 | 84% | A |
| Riverview | 13% | 0.7 | 35 | 68% | A− |
| Sun City Center | 14% | 1.5 | 41 | 28% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Apollo Beach
Where can I hike in Apollo Beach?
The longest trail networks: Apollo Beach Nature Park, 0.3 miles; Hourglass Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Apollo Beach is conserved land?
24% of its land, against a typical 3% for a Florida town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Apollo Beach’s trails?
Apollo Beach Nature Park and New Lakeside Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Apollo Beach?
31 miles of bike routes are on the map: 24 of painted or protected lanes, 4.6 of off-road paths and 2.6 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Apollo Beach?
33,461 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Apollo Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,206 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Apollo Beach have?
Ahead of 92% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #38 of 638 in Florida. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Apollo Beach neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →