Town 'N' Country: Nature Trails, Parks and Local History

Town 'N' Country combines nature trails, park amenities and a local history that spans the area’s earlier landscape to its development as a suburb. If you’re looking for a hotel for your stay, these different themes can shape how you view the destination: nature trails, sports in the park and history each offer a distinct focus. You can start by considering which side of the area best matches your travel interests. The following sections cover specific trails, park amenities and stages of development.

Trails and Natural Areas

The pedestrian access point at 8304 Montague Street leads from the Upper Tampa Bay Trail to a one-mile hiking spur in the Town N' Country Nature Preserve. This provides a specific access point at a street address and leads into a clearly defined hiking section. The length given refers to the spur, not to the entire Upper Tampa Bay Trail. The trail itself runs along the western shore of Channel A. It begins near Memorial Highway and Montague Street, continues north via Waters Avenue and Linebaugh, and reaches Gunn Highway, Ehrlich Road and Peterson Road Park.

For orientation, there are two different scales to consider: a street address with a hiking spur of a specified length, and a trail route spanning several streets and northern waypoints. Another trail runs along a canal that passes through Town 'N' Country. The Town 'N' Country Greenway was fully implemented and opened to the public at the time.

Sports at Town 'N' Country Park

Town 'N' Country Park offers a different focus. It covers 25.74 acres, and its facilities include pickleball courts, a basketball court and a softball field. The area given describes the park as a whole, not the size of individual sports facilities. This offers a clear distinction for planning: the Preserve centers on a hiking spur, while the park features the sports mentioned above. You can decide which of the two places better suits your travel interests by considering whether you prefer hiking or sports in a park.

From Natural Areas to a Suburban Community

Before the 1950s, Town 'N' Country consisted largely of natural areas and cattle ranches. In 1958, the LaMonte-Shimberg Corporation bought a 525-acre dairy farm from the Webb family near the intersection of Hillsborough Avenue and Memorial to build the Town ’N’ Country Park development. The project made the area one of Tampa’s first suburban communities. The area’s earlier landscape and farming character and its transition to a planned development therefore represent distinct stages in its local history.

If you’re looking for hotels in Town 'N' Country, this distinction can help you choose what to explore first: perhaps trails and nature are your priority, or perhaps you’re more interested in sports facilities in the park or the history of suburban development.

Discover more destinations: Sun City Center, Temple Terrace, Riverview, Tampa, Seffner, Apollo Beach, Ruskin, Brandon

For the broader travel overview: Hillsborough.