Florida’s State Forest campgrounds begin reopening today

Last week, Hillsborough County also announced the reopening of some county parks and nature preserves starting May 4.

click to enlarge Florida’s State Forest campgrounds begin reopening today
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Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced that most of Florida’s State Forest campgrounds, primitive campsites and trailheads will reopen Friday with limited capacity.

The phased plan, however, keeps some recreation and day-use areas closed, as well as restrooms located outside of open campgrounds. 

“Our Florida State Forest recreation areas are some of Florida’s greatest natural treasures, but in an abundance of caution, we are taking a cautious, measured approach to reopening these areas while continuing to follow CDC (federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines,” said Fried in a statement. 

You can see a full list of areas that are open or closed here


The announcement comes about a week after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the reopening roughly 80 Florida state parks with some restrictions. 

Last week, Hillsborough County also announced it will begin opening up some county parks and nature preserves on May 4. On Monday, the City of Tampa announced it was reopening all beaches, and dog parks. 

Manatee, Hernando, Sarasota and Pinellas counties, all voted to reopen their beaches, as well. 

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report. 

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Colin Wolf

Colin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL's parent company, Chava Communications.
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