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Colt Creek State Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,540 Google reviews · Running trail in Lakeland, Florida · Posted hours
Runner's snapshot
- Surface
- Paved
- Loop distance
- Not reported
- Shape
- Loop
- Shade
- Tree cover
- Access
- Posted hours
Confirmed from Colt Creek State Park's own listing, the park or land manager's website, and runner reviews. Blank cells mean we could not verify that fact — we would rather say "not reported" than invent one. There is no Easy / Moderate / Hard rating on this page on purpose: a one-word difficulty score tells you nothing about whether a trail suits your run. Surface, distance, shade and hours do.
Wilderness area on 5,000+ wildlife-filled acres for various recreations, fishing & backpack camping.
What runners say about Colt Creek State Park
“I also biked through the Family Campground which looked very nice and clean and campsites where large enough although there's not a lot of privacy between sites.”
“This is such a nice park and campground with beautiful grounds, clean bathrooms, with electric, fire pit, grill, and water spigot on each camp pad.”
“There is a small quarter of a mile shaded hiking only trail which was a nice escape from the sun!”
“Beautiful, peaceful, place to visit and camp, walk, ride bikes, and enjoy nature.”
Great Park. One of the newest state parks in FL. Everything is new and clean. 50 feet or more between camp sites. Sites have water and power. Some shade at most sites. Usually not crowded. Two nice dump stations, never a wait. Nice fishing/boating lake. No swimming due to the local reptiles. Lots of hiking trails.
We visited Colt Creek State Park on Sunday evening to explore the park and take a walk within it. The park is approximately 30 minutes from where we live. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a park ranger.After paying the entrance fee, we received the park map.
Excellent park. Huge and very very well maintained. Fishing, hiking, biking and camping. I did the trails. Easy and very scenic. Did almost 10 miles. So relaxing and the smell of the pine trees and natural essential oils was great. First think l thing I saw was 6 adolescent white tail deer.
We were in Zephyrhills visiting and were looking for some hiking opportunities. My wife found Colt Creek State Park about 20 minutes east which had lots of hiking trails. The park sign must have blown away with the last hurricane, but there were highway signs that pointed us in to the entrance.
Trail conditions & character
“This is such a nice park and campground with beautiful grounds, clean bathrooms, with electric, fire pit, grill, and water spigot on each camp pad.”
“This is such a nice park and campground with beautiful grounds, clean bathrooms, with electric, fire pit, grill, and water spigot on each camp pad.”
“Beautiful, peaceful, place to visit and camp, walk, ride bikes, and enjoy nature.”
“There is a small quarter of a mile shaded hiking only trail which was a nice escape from the sun!”
“Also I would have preferred the fine gravel of the normal tent sites over the concrete of the handicap accessible ones.”
“The bathrooms are central in the loop, so not far from anyone.”
“I know cuz I stepped on a snake, night walks are amazing with the fireflies, The lake is full of alligators they ate my bait and my hook so I stopped fishing.”
“The only 2 non-glamping sites are handicap accessible, so l felt a bad for taking a campsite that is meant for handicap individuals.”
Plan your run at Colt Creek State Park
The practical stuff
- AccessPosted hours — posted hours below; park gates sometimes close earlier than the listing says
- SurfacePaved — asphalt or concrete. Fast and predictable, runnable year-round, and fine with a stroller
- DistanceNot reported. Trail systems often quote total path mileage rather than a single loop, so measure the route you actually want before you drive out.
- ShadeRunners describe real tree cover here — it makes a summer afternoon workable
- LightingRunners report lights on the path — useful for pre-dawn and after-work miles. Lighting and opening hours are separate things, so check both.
- At the trailheadparking, restrooms — reported by runners
- Stroller / wheelchairReported as smooth and step-free enough for a running stroller or a chair.
- Websitefloridastateparks.org
- Phone(863) 815-6761
Hours
| Monday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Tuesday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Wednesday | 8 AM–6 PM |
| Thursday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Friday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Saturday | 8 AM–7 PM |
| Sunday | 8 AM–7 PM |
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