Golden Aster Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
1,316 acres6.8 mi of trail
Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve Hiking Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Piperpet · CC BY-SA 4.0AOutdoors
Outdoors in Gibsonton
23% of Gibsonton’s land is conserved: 1,850 acres
1,673 acres are parks and preserves, 89 per 1,000 residents. 14 miles of mapped trail cross Gibsonton, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Golden Aster Nature Preserve (6.8 mi).
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns · #24 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
23%
1,850 acres · of 12.8 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,673 ac
89 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
84%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
9.7 mi
9.5 mi lanes · 0.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
3
1 beach · 1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Gibsonton?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gibsonton have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gibsonton is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #24 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 Gibsonton’s overall grade.
Conserved land23% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land89 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,673 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13AParks close to home84% 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 94%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 96%
Water is 17% of Gibsonton’s area (3 of 15 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 19%.
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 Golden Aster Nature Preserve, with 6.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
1,850 conserved acres
23% of Gibsonton’s land. Water is left out: Gibsonton has 12.8 square miles of land and 2.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Gibsonton’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city1,808 ac
County19 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits16 ac
Private owners7 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,178 acLocal Other or Unknown · 416 acLocal Conservation Area · 215 acLocal Park · 26 acPrivate Conservation · 16 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | Town or city | 1,178 | Open |
| The Kitchen Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 416 | Open |
| Fred and Ida Schultz Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 130 | Open |
| Ekker Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 85 | Open |
| Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 16 | Closed |
| Jb Gibson Park Local Park | County | 10 | Open |
| Gardenville Recreation Center Local Park | County | 9 | Open |
| Mosaic Park Local Park | Private owners | 7 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Gibsonton
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Gibsonton
Gardenville Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Gibsonton
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Gibsonton
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.3 mi
Golden Aster Scrub Nature Preserve Hiking Trail6.8 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
9.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
9.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.2 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
2Baseball
2Tennis
1Basketball
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 Gibsonton
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 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 8.0 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 6.6 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 2.4 |
November is the driest month (1.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 9.1 inches fall in August, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gibsonton →
Next door
Gibsonton and its neighbors
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibsonton | 23% | 1.1 | 89 | 84% | A |
| Riverview | 13% | 0.7 | 35 | 68% | A− |
| Apollo Beach | 24% | 1.2 | 66 | 67% | A |
| Progress Village | 5% | under 0.1 | 2 | 98% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gibsonton
Where can I hike in Gibsonton?
The longest trail networks: Golden Aster Nature Preserve, 6.8 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gibsonton is conserved land?
23% 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 Gibsonton’s trails?
Golden Aster Nature Preserve and Mosaic Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gibsonton?
9.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 9.5 of painted or protected lanes and 0.2 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gibsonton?
31,097 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gibsonton or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,673 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gibsonton have?
Ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #24 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 Gibsonton 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 →