Al Lopez Park Guide

Al Lopez Park, at 4810 N Himes Ave. in Tampa, is open from sunrise to sunset, while the Hunt Community Center inside it keeps separate weekday and Saturday hours.

The City of Tampa describes Al Lopez Park as approximately 132 acres offering a nature trail, freshwater ponds and a community center, and lists the address as 4810 N Himes Ave., Tampa, FL 33614 (City of Tampa, Al Lopez Park). The city trail page adds GPS coordinates of 27.989636, -82.502936 for anyone setting a navigation pin (City of Tampa, Al Lopez trail page). The city page posts no entry fee for the park grounds.

Three phone numbers cover Al Lopez Park: (813) 348-1172 for the Cordelia B Hunt Community Center, (813) 274-8615 for Park Administration and (813) 274-8184 for Shelter Reservations. The shelter number also appears on the city's picnic shelter page (City of Tampa, picnic shelters).

The two city pages for Al Lopez Park carry different dates: the main park page shows Updated: 03/16/2026, while the trail page shows Updated: 10/01/2023. They agree on the address, the sunrise to sunset hours, the approximately 132 acres and the three phone numbers, but they describe the park differently: the trail page lists a nature trail, freshwater pond, athletics and a community center, while the park page lists freshwater ponds and no athletics (City of Tampa, Al Lopez trail page).

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the Al Lopez Park, trail, shelter, dog park and Hunt Center pages on tampa.gov, plus the FWC license page and the Hall of Fame record.

The main trail at Al Lopez Park is a lighted 1.2 mile asphalt loop, 15 feet wide, around a lake and wooded areas, with a nature trail branching off its northeastern edge.

The City of Tampa trail page lists the amenities along the Al Lopez loop as parking, restrooms, picnic shelters, grills, fishing piers, two ponds, fitness stations, a community center and a dog park (City of Tampa, Al Lopez trail page). Even with the overhead lighting, the park itself closes at sunset (City of Tampa, Al Lopez Park), and the trail page advises that care should be taken when exercising alone.

The park page calls the paved loop a safe space for walking, running, biking or skating, and notes VitaCourse exercise stations along it, each with printed instructions on a panel (City of Tampa, Al Lopez Park). The greenway section has shady boardwalk areas around the lake with benches and picnic tables for rest stops.

Arcade, a steel and wood pedestrian bridge that the city also lists as an art piece, dated 1990, is part of the Al Lopez multi-purpose trail. The city files the park under the West Tampa Greenway in its greenways and trails list, where the Cypress Point Park trail carries the same West Tampa Greenway name.

Al Lopez Park has a fenced, leash-free dog park with separate areas for small and large dogs and dog water fountains, and dogs must stay leashed everywhere else in the park.

The park page calls it the Jim Urbanski Dog Park (City of Tampa, Al Lopez Park), while the city dog park list names the same facility the James Urbanski Dog Park at 4810 N Himes Ave., 33614 (City of Tampa, dog parks). Both names refer to the dog park inside Al Lopez Park.

City of Tampa rules for every dog park apply at Al Lopez: dogs must remain leashed at all times outside the designated dog park or leash-free area, per city ordinance, and dogs are not permitted to be unleashed in the parking lot on the way to or from the park. Dogs that bark persistently are treated as a nuisance and will be removed from the premises, and all owners must follow the city Dog Park and Leash-Free Area Rules and Regulations. The city also reminds visitors that they and their pets may encounter wildlife during a park visit.

Al Lopez Park shelters can be reserved through the City of Tampa at least 3 business days and up to 365 days ahead, online, by phone at (813) 274-8184 or in person.

Reservations are not needed, and an unreserved Al Lopez shelter can be used first come, first served, but the city always recommends booking because shelters have limited availability during peak season (City of Tampa, picnic shelters). The Shelter Reservation Office is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Al Lopez Park is one of eight parks with its own shelter map on the city page, alongside Ballast Point, Copeland, Cypress Point, Lowry, Macfarlane, Picnic Island Beach and Rowlett parks.

Changes to an Al Lopez shelter booking, including a new shelter, location or date, must be made at least seven days before the reservation date and cost a $15 rescheduling fee. A reservation can be rescheduled only once. Cancellations with refunds may be requested up to 14 days before the date, with a $15 processing fee, and no refunds are given inside 14 days. If bad weather prevents use, the city allows a reschedule or refund when the office is contacted on the first business day after the reservation.

The Al Lopez shelters come equipped with picnic tables, grills and trash receptacles, in various sizes (City of Tampa, Al Lopez Park). The city suggests visiting the park first to find a shelter that fits the group size before booking.

The Hunt Community Center at Al Lopez Park has a fitness center, computer lab, craft room, game room, kitchen and multi-purpose room, and runs a summer camp but no after school program.

The City of Tampa lists treadmills, spin bikes, ellipticals and free weights in the Hunt Center fitness room (City of Tampa, Al Lopez Park). The center hosts a Summer Camp each year, and the city states that an After School program is not offered at this location, so families looking for weekday after school care need another Tampa recreation center.

The Hunt Center programming schedule on tampa.gov, updated 10/02/2026, lists open gym in the cardio and weight rooms, open play pickleball, spin and Tae Kwon Do sessions, with a yoga class priced at $7 (City of Tampa, Hunt Center schedule). Adult Fitness classes at the Hunt Center are open to adults 18 and up, and Tae Kwon Do carries additional fees with limited availability. The schedule gives the center address as 4810 N Himes Ave. and the phone as (813) 348-1172.

Al Lopez Park has a fishing dock on its freshwater ponds, and the park shares its name with Al Lopez, a manager in the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1977.

The city describes a spacious dock with wooden railings and benches as a place for freshwater fishing or watching wildlife at Al Lopez (City of Tampa, Al Lopez Park). On its license page the FWC lists who is exempt from a recreational fishing license, among them anyone under 16 and Florida residents 65 or older with proof of age or residency (FWC, Do I need a license?). The same FWC page lists further exemptions beyond those two, and no City of Tampa page checked for Al Lopez Park adds a separate fishing permit.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame lists Al Lopez as a manager and records that he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977 (National Baseball Hall of Fame, Al Lopez). The City of Tampa park pages checked October 18, 2026 do not tell the story of the naming, so this guide does not repeat the dates for the park's past uses that circulate in news archives and private history sites.