53 Florida State Parks Remain Closed Due To Hurricane Irma

TAMPA, FL - The aftermath of Hurricane Irma is still having an effect on life in the Tampa Bay area. Three state parks in Hillsborough County remain closed along with five in Manatee County. Lauren Engel, communications director at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said the reason for closure depends on the specific park or location.

During Irma, Engel said 167 parks across Florida were closed at one point. The Hillsborough state parks that remain closed are: Hillsborough River State Park, Cockroach Bay Preserve State Park and the Ybor City Museum State Park.

In Manatee County, the closures include: Lake Manatee State Park, Madira BiSouth Fork State Park, South Fork State Park, Myakka River State Park (also in Sarasota County) and Wingate Creek State Park (Manatee County). In Polk County, Colt Creek State Park and the General James A. Van Fleet State Trail (also in Sumter and Lake counties) are closed.

Click here for the full list of state park closures.

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Some parks in the Tampa Bay area have opened for day use, including Anclote Key Preserve State Park (Pinellas and Pasco counties), Caladesi Island State Park (Pinellas County), Egmont Key State Park (Hillsborough County) and Honeymoon Island State Park (Pinellas County).

“We’re seeing things from heavy debris to building damage. We’ve also got some parks closed due to flooding or lack of power, which is used to operate the water and septic systems at certain parks,” Engel said in an email to Patch.com.

Engel said that since Hurricane Irma made landfall, Florida State Park staff have been hard at work to cleanup and reopen parks as quickly as possible while ensuring visitor safety.

Photo via Florida State Parks