Upper Tampa Bay Park provides a look at
pre-developed Florida and is a popular picnic, canoeing and fishing
location. Park hours are 8 AM to 6 PM. An entrance donation of
$1.00 is appreciated by the park. AS OF 2010 THE PARK APPRECIATES A
MANDATORY $2.00 ENTRY FEE. (NOT KIDDING)
After finding the cache, be sure and visit
the educational center. Much of the park is based around natural
coastal wetlands - the salt marshes and mangrove swamps which form
between the low and high tide zones. Over the past few years, Tampa
Bay has lost a lot of its coastal marshes and mangroves due to
development.
The cache is located at the original
location selected by the original owner, Syds Humans, about 50 feet
or so off of the Eagle Trail under a palmetto with a minimum of
bushwacking required. Perfect for families to hunt. Limited Parking
is available at the trailhead. Cache on!
MORE INFO:
Upper Tampa Bay Park is a 596 acre peninsula bordered on the
east by Double Branch Creek and on the west and south by Old Tampa
Bay. Man has been drawn to this area for thousands of years by its
biological richness. Indians harvested shellfish in such quantities
that the discarded remains can be seen today as shell mounds which
lie throughout the park... The park property has changed little
since those early inhabitants left. The sea level has been rising
by about one foot every 100 years. Hunters and fishermen have been
the most frequent visitors. Cattle grazed here and pine sap was
collected for turpentine. Until recently, however the area has
received very little attention. As its communities changed from
Indian villages to major cities, Tampa Bay has always been an
attractive place for people to live because it provided abundant
food, recreational opportunities and waterfront living. As a result
its shores are now almost completely surrounded by urban
development. Recently it has become apparent that some aspects of
this development have had a devastating effect on the health of the
bay, threatening those very qualities which made it a desirable
place to live. Dredging and filling of wetlands and water pollution
from sewage and stormwater runoff are now known to be major causes
of a serious decline in food production and water quality. The site
of this park was once to have been a housing development, but
recently gained knowledge of the importance of preserving coastal
wetlands resulted in its development as a park.
NEFGA