Lake Frances Nature Preserve

"One of our favorite Equestrian trails. Trailer parking nice. As always this is Florida so the wet season can be wet with water on some of the trails. Be careful with the cows as I was walking my cattle dog and was charged by 7 of them. I never ran so fast in my life. It was scary. The dog barked and they veered off at the last minute thankfully Would not recommend walking with small children in the fields that have cows in them."

"Bill and I decided to go on a hike to a nature preserve today. One we had never been to. We parked, asked a sheriff where the entrance was and he pointed to the entrance. We walked for almost 3 hours, we did loose our way but backtracked and got almost to the last gate. Opened it and walked into a pasture (which was empty when we started) and saw a few cows about a football field away. All of a sudden 200+ cows came from another pasture at us, jumping over an electric fence. Now we were in the middle of 300 and couldn’t move. Yes, i was crying, shaking. We tried walking to the other gate we had to walk to and Bill warned me to watch for cow pies, i said mine was mixed in and it wouldnt matter. It was so scary, we stood there and didnt move. I called 911 and they couldn’t decide which county jurisdiction we were in. She had to ping my phone to figure outwhere we were. Bill grabbed my hand and we slowly walked between two cows. The big one had horns(females have horns). We got to the gate and got thru. I hung up from the 911 call and said we were safe. They did start to stampede and had a lot of calfs. OMG i can’t remember being this scared."

"A really nice hike in January. Wide open, little shade, so perfect for the cooler time of year. Watch out for the cows!!! They're totally tame but may freak out people who aren't used to them. Free parking!!! Free park."

"Preserve by a cattle ranch. Cows were the predominant sight and sound. I went on a guided hike as part of the Hillsborough Hiking Spree. Our group walked past a group of four unfenced bulls; that felt daring to me but the bulls were totally uninterested. If I had been by myself I would probably not have had the courage to try that. It's a preserve which means there are no facilities like drinking water or restrooms, something to know before you go. I appreciate any bit of preserved land though. But if restroom access is a must have, then drive to Brooker Creek a few minutes away. I appreciate the Hillsborough Hiking Spree guided hikes. I've visited places that I did not know existed and may not have gone to on my own."

"Hiked as part of Hillsborough County's Hiking Spree. Trail was fairly wet/muddy. Cows were present in the fields, but they are shy, and will move away if you get close."