Location: North Creek trail, Alafia River State Park, Lithia, Florida
Florida is flat. Everybody knows that. So when you want real climbs on a mountain bike around Tampa, you head to Alafia River State Park in Lithia, an old phosphate mine where the mining left behind some of the steepest elevation changes in the state.
On May 4, 2013, I rode the North Creek trail there with the camera rolling. No music, no narration, just a personal record of the ride. Here it is, plus everything you’d want to know before you ride it yourself.
A phosphate mine that turned into a bike park
Before it was a state park, this land was the Lonesome Mine, named after the nearby community of Fort Lonesome. Fort Lonesome started out as a frontier outpost of the US Army during the Third Seminole War, which is a pretty great name for a place to go ride bikes.
Mining reshaped the whole landscape and left new landforms behind, including small lakes and steep grades. The mining companies donated the land to the state, and the park opened to the public in February 1998. Those leftover hills are the reason riding here feels so different from the rest of Florida.
Riding the North Creek trail
North Creek is listed as an intermediate trail in the park’s mountain bike brochure. In the video it’s tight dirt singletrack winding through the trees, with green undergrowth crowding both sides and wooden bridges along the way.
There are man-made features too. At one point the trail runs right alongside a raised wooden ramp, the kind you can ride or roll right past. I had company out there, with other riders on the trail ahead of me.
Volunteers build these trails
Alafia’s mountain bike trails are built and maintained by volunteers, starting with SWAMP (the Southwest Association of Mountain Bike Pedalers), the Tampa-area club behind the original system. Today the park manager puts the bike network at close to 20 miles, with options from novice all the way up to expert.
If you ride here a lot, the park has a volunteer trail crew, and joining it is a good way to give a little of that back.
CONCLUSION
You don’t have to leave Florida to find hills. Alafia River State Park is an old phosphate mine in Lithia with about 20 miles of volunteer-built trail, and it costs $2 if you ride in. Start on North Creek if you’re an intermediate rider, check for trail closures before you go and bring a buddy. Hit play on the video above to ride along, and if you’d rather have a motor, read about dirt biking the Croom Motorcycle Area about an hour north of Tampa.
