Edward Medard Conservation Park Boat Ramp

CLOSED since 9 June 2025. Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation, park page read 31 July 2026: "The boat ramp at Edward Medard Conservation Park has been closed to allow the Southwest Florida Water Management District to partially draw down the Medard Reservoir." The county adds it "will reopen once water levels have reached a safe level for boats to operate in." No reopening date has been published by any agency.

FWC's Edward Medard Reservoir page, read 31 July 2026, independently states: "The public boat ramp will be closed until further notice due to low water levels - bank fishing and self-propelled watercraft opportunities are still available."

FWC's Florida Boat Ramp Inventory row for HL00162SN still carries Status "Open for Business." It is wrong and is overridden here by both agencies' own pages. The row carries no RampStatusComments and no OperationalComments.

Neither closure notice carries a publication or last-updated date; both were the published positions as of 31 July 2026.

The county contradicts itself: its newsroom post of 27 August 2025 — eleven weeks into the closure — still promotes the Edward Medard launch with no closure mention. The facility-specific park page governs. Call (813) 757-3802 before towing.

Idle speed only across the entire reservoir when it is open. FWC: "Due to the convoluted nature of the reservoir there is a no wake restriction (idle speed only) on boats for safety purposes."

Day-use gate. Spring/Summer closing is 7 PM, Fall/Winter 6 PM, and the gate is the only way out. The $30 After Hours Fishing pass is a fishing permit, not permission to launch or retrieve after closing.

The dam has three downstream emergency sirens. A monthly test — as announced by SWFWMD in 2009 — sounds the first Saturday of each month at noon for about 15 seconds. A real alert is different: alternating three minutes of sound and three minutes of silence, meaning evacuate to higher ground. No post-2009 source confirms the test schedule still runs.

4 lanesConcrete ramp

45 spotsTrailer parking

Spring/Summer 8a to 7p; Fall/Winter 8a to 6p (Hillsborough County). FWC's row records "Spring/Summer 8-7, Fall/Winter 8-6" and matches the county page verbatim — a rare positive check on this row.Hours

Directions

Craft Access

✓

Motorboat

✓

Kayak / Canoe

✗

Jet Ski / PWC

✓

Large 22ft+

Site Details

Conditions change rapidly due to water levels, prop wash, and weather. Always visually inspect before backing down.

RampConcrete, 4 lanes

Water DepthNot published. The ramp is closed precisely because the water is too low to launch, and no agency posts a depth or stage reading at the ramp.

DockBoth launch and staging dock, per FWC's row · ADA

Trailer Parking45 spots · paved asphalt or concrete, condition recorded as good by fwc

Vehicle-Only12 spots

Crowding Academic while the ramp is closed — nothing is queuing here right now. Under normal conditions this is the only trailer ramp on the reservoir, serving a park within easy reach of Brandon, Plant City and Riverview; weekend mornings and the spring crappie and post-spawn bass windows are the pressure points. No attendance figures are published.

Plan B — if this lot is full For a trailered boat there is no second ramp on this reservoir. Hillsborough County's 27 August 2025 newsroom post names Riverview Civic Center, Harney Park and Baker Creek alongside Edward Medard as county freshwater launches — those are different waters, not another way onto Medard. If Medard itself is the point, the alternative is the park's canoe and kayak access, including the rental canoes and kayaks at the entry station ($25 up to four hours, $10 per additional hour), or bank fishing, which FWC confirms is still available.

Fee$5 launch fee + $2 per-vehicle park entry (up to 8 people) = $7; annual boat ramp pass $100

HoursSpring/Summer 8 AM to 7 PM; Fall/Winter 8 AM to 6 PM (Hillsborough County). FWC's row records "Spring/Summer 8-7, Fall/Winter 8-6" and matches the county page verbatim — a rare positive check on this row.

SeasonYear-round day use in normal conditions

PierYes

StaffedYes - gate attendant collects the daily fee

AccessibilityFWC records a flush restroom marked accessible, 2 accessible trailer spaces and 2 accessible vehicle spaces, with AccessibilityLevel recorded as Unknown. SWFWMD's recreation page names a boardwalk in the park. We found no accessibility statement specific to the ramp or the shoreline under the current drawdown.

Not Available Fish cleaning

Scout's Notes

Ramp Quirks & Etiquette

Closed — Call First

The ramp has been closed since 9 June 2025. The county's park page and FWC's own lake page both say so; FWC's ramp database still says open and is wrong. Nothing published in 2026 updates the picture, so (813) 757-3802 is the last check before a long tow.

Why It's Closed

SWFWMD is holding the reservoir partially drawn down to test a drainage system installed in 2022. The District's stated position, from June 2025: no set timeline for refilling, and "The reservoir may be lowered for an extended period of time." That remains the most recent word.

The Real Cost

$5 is the launch fee, not the cost of launching — conservation-park entry adds $2 per vehicle, so $7 for a trailered boat. The annual boat ramp pass is $100, and Edward Medard sells full-price passes on site but distributes no free or discounted ones there.

Counts Disagree

FWC's inventory records 4 concrete lanes and 45 trailer spaces; the older ramp sheet on the USF Water Atlas says three ramps and 25 spaces. No county page breaks the tie, so don't build a tournament plan on the bigger numbers.

Gate Ends The Day

Day use only: the gate closes at 7 PM in spring and summer, 6 PM in fall and winter, and it is the only way out. The $30 After Hours Fishing pass is a fishing permit — it does not authorize launching or retrieving after closing.

Know The Sirens

Three emergency sirens stand downstream of the high-hazard dam. The announced test is the first Saturday of each month at noon, about 15 seconds. A real alert alternates three minutes of sound with three minutes of silence — that pattern means evacuate to higher ground.

Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation park page, boat ramps page, Conservation Parks & Boat Launch Passes page and 27 Aug 2025 newsroom post; FWC Edward Medard Reservoir site and forecast page; FWC Florida Boat Ramp Inventory row HL00162SN as supplied in the authoring brief; FWC-format ramp information sheet hosted on the USF Hillsborough Water Atlas; Osprey Observer, 13 Jun 2025. County and FWC pages re-read 31 July 2026; the FWC inventory row was not re-queried by this author and is used as supplied.

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