Living in Tampa Bay. Loving it!

My daughter is enjoying a ride on the round-a-bout. In the background you can see the swings, and the fence enclosure with the blue canopies in the far back is the spash park.

Located around a large lake, Zephyr Park in downtown Zephyrhills, offers something for all ages. There's a variety of play equipment including a play gym (with slides and short rock climbing wall), round-about, swings, etc.; a swinging bench (great for watching the birds on the lake, people watching, or catching a sunset); a paved path around the lake (good for walking, biking, skateboarding and more); two covered picnic areas with several picnic tables; a raquetball court; tennis courts; and a fun splash park. Entry to the park is entirely FREE, including the splash park.

PROS

• The park is full of big oak trees covered with spanish moss, so there is a lot of shade from the sun. Much of the equipment, as well as the raquetball court, is protected from direct sun. The spash park is in full sun, but the benches are under canopies.
  
• There is one very large and very old oak in the middle of the play equipment that is great for climbing.
  
• The baby swings and big swings are in separate areas. As a mother, this is very nice. I'm sure for big kids or adults wanting to swing, this is very nice, too.

CONS

• My daughter particularly likes the round-about, but there is rarely a time that this piece of equipment is not loaded with much bigger kids and therefore not safe for her to be on. She did have a rare opportunity to ride it today, though (see picture above). If you're a big kid, though, this could be a plus.
  
• Being such a shady park, there is a lot more dirt than grass, and it's full of fire ants. Although ants are commonplace here in Florida, I do find that I have more difficulty avoiding fire ant bites at this park than I do at others around town. If you're allergic to ant bites, you will want to be extra vigilant here. And if you have little ones, make sure they don't roll around in the dirt or go running off without you.

If You Go:
The park is located directly off S.R. 54 in Zephyrhills. As you head East, it is on your right just before you enter downtown Zephyrhills. There are a number of ice cream shops nearby, too, including Mike's Ice Cream and Twisty Treat right on 54 as you near Zephyrills from Wesley Chapel.

TIPS

• Make sure kids have rubber shoes on in the splash park area! I've seen a lot of kids slip and fall, including my own.
• Being situated around a big lake, you do need to be aware there could be alligators. That's just a fact of life here in Florida.

Blog penned by: Nicole Doyle

A.J.'s Assistant, Meet me at http://www.ajsellstampa.com/MeetMyAssistant