Last Weekend for Lutz Lake Fern Trailhead

Runners, bikers and walkers who can’t get enough of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail will have to find a new place to access it if Lutz Lake Fern is their trailhead of choice.

Hillsborough County has announced that the Lutz Lake Fern Trailhead and parking areas will close for good starting on Monday. The closing paves the way for construction of a new 4.35-mile section of trail.

Trail users will find, however, that a new trailhead is being built just one-mile west of the existing location. That is expected to open up by mid-summer at 7020 Lutz Lake Fern Road. The new trailhead will offer parking for about 50 vehicles and also have restroom facilities and automated pay stations.

The new section of trail will begin at Van Dyke Road and will ultimately connect the Upper Tampa Bay Trail to the Suncoast Parkway trail.

“It will proceed north just east of Gunn Highway then turn east along the trail right-of-way, accessing the Brooker Creek Headwaters Preserve,” the county announced in a media release. “The trail will meander north along the western limits of the preserve to the new trailhead.”

At the trailhead, the new section will continue east along the south side of Lutz Lake Fern before connecting to the Suncoast, which spans 42 miles and stretches from Hillsborough County into Hernando.

The Upper Tampa Bay Trail currently extends 7.25 miles, according to the county’s website. Other access points include:

• Memorial Trailhead, 7499 Montague St.
• Channel Park, 9201 W. Waters Ave.
• Wilsky Boulevard, 10314 Wilsky Blvd.
• Ehrlich Road at Gunn Highway
• Peterson Road Park, 8203 Peterson Road

Patch file photo

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