I love this place (which is south of St Petersburg) and recommend a lot of my friends and family visit here. It is so much more than a park or island/key/beach and it looks different depending on which side you’re looking at😊
It has been top-ranked for its beaches with its powdery white sand, and there are canoes/kayaks for rent or bikes/covered surrey bikes for up to 8 people to help you get around.
There is a small fee to enter the park, and if you turn left you will come to a nice view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. We generally just stop here for a few photos before heading in the opposite direction heading to the north of the Island. (It actually sits on “Mullet Key”.)
To the right of the island there are mangroves and wooded areas & to the left you’ll pass the fort, concessions/rentals and beaches. As you drive northward there is a road called “Arrowhead picnic area” which is worth a stop and a short walk (or longer). As you walk towards the water there are several pleasant views and we’ve frequently seen dolphins and manatees here.
We generally head back out and park at North Beach. It’s a short walk to get to the beach and there are restrooms/facilities here. We love to walk along the beach here and can find our own patch of undisturbed sand to sit. There are pools of water where birds settle, and turtles lay their eggs on the shore. You can find some pretty nice seashells here too.
Once we’ve done walking (we’re not big sun worshipers but there’s plenty of opportunity here), we head back to the fort. This was built for the Spanish American War and was started in March 1899 and completed on May 10th, 1900. On April 4th, 1900 it was named Fort De Soto after the Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto. More information about the fort, it’s buildings and battery can be found here.
You can climb the stairs to the top of the fort where there are nice views and binoculars to scour the area. There is a lot of information here too for you to read the history of the fort and descriptions of the layout and facilities.
Right next to this is the main concessions store that sells light food and ice cream, together with beach toys and novelty items/souvenirs. It’s from here that bicycles etc. can be rented.
We hope that you get to enjoy this part of Florida as much as we do😊
Fort De Soto can be found at 3500 Pinellas Bayway S, Tierra Verde, FL 33715