Exploring Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg

The west coast of Florida is a place I haven’t explored much, but my list of places to see on that side keeps growing. Some of the best beaches in Florida are along the west coast and there are a ton of islands and state parks to visit. You can find a lot of these little islands off of the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, one of them being where Fort De Soto Park is located.

Fort De Soto is a historic park located within Pinellas County that is a great beach and camping spot. The island has emerald green water and on my scale of sand, it falls in the ‘pretty white and powdery’ category.

I was a little surprised by the beaches because even though it’s a gulf island, I thought it would be different from the panhandle. But in fact, it reminded me a lot of the beaches you see along the panhandle (if we’re judging by water color and sand).

Where is it

Fort De Soto is located south of St. Petersburg and it’s a great place to visit if you’re looking for things to do in Tampa, Florida as it’s just a short drive away.

The island that Fort De Soto is located on is actually a series of ‘Keys’ (or islands) and is comprised of 5 keys that are connected. The main key is known as Mullet Key. The connected keys that make up the rest of the island are Bonne Fortune Key, St. Jean Key, St. Christopher Key and Madelaine Key. The entire island looks like a boomerang from above.

There’s only one way to access the island and it’s by driving in on Pinellas Bayway S/679. It’s located just south of St. Petersburg. But beware, this park gets a LOT of traffic. Over 2.7 million visitors a year. And with one way in and one way out, it can get congested. On a Saturday, the traffic was backed up and it took us about 20 minutes to go 2 miles.

About Fort De Soto Park

The first known inhabitants of Mullet Key were the Tocobaga Indians who lived here from approximately 1000-1500 A.D. They found shell middens (mounds of empty shells that are presumably from kitchens) on the island.

Back in 1849, Robert E. Lee recommended Mullet Key be used as a military base. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, Union Troops used the two islands (Egmont Key and Mullet Key) as a blockade, even though no structural fort had been built yet.

Becoming a Fort

It wasn’t until 1882 that Egmont and Mullet Key were retained by executive order as armament batteries. However, construction didn’t start until 1898 when the Spanish American War started. The citizens of Tampa spoke out about having defenses for the Tampa Bay since Tampa happens to be directly north of Havana, Cuba and it was used as a port for troops and supplies being sent to war zones.

The walls of the fort are about 8-20 feet thick and were built to withstand attacks and the guns needed a 12-man crew to fire them. However, the fort and weapons were never used for battle.

I mentioned that it would be a beautiful place to be stationed if you were in the military. But ironically, in the early 1900s, the island had a huge mosquito population. So much so that a quartermaster said, “At present, life for the men is a torture both night and day” and they could not enjoy being there.

Eventually, the land was sold to Pinellas County and a man named Percy Roberts started turning it into a ‘destination’, where people could go to the beach, tour the fort and stay at a lodge. It was a short-lived 2-year venture though, because the government bought it back in 1941 to be used as a bombing range during WWII.

It switched hands again after the war and was sold back to Pinellas County in 1948 when the war was over and there was little military need for the island. Now it operates as a county park and has lots of options for people looking to get outside.

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Things to Do

As I said before, the island is actually pretty large. At first I saw the large, empty parking lots and thought that maybe they weren’t used, but on the weekends, it gets BUSY. Here are some of the things you can do while visiting Fort De Soto:

Explore the Fort Ruins

The original fort is hidden from the coast by a large hill and the other side of the hill is where you’ll find the artillery. There were about 29 buildings at one point that were guard houses, store houses, etc. The buildings have been destroyed over the years due to hurricanes that have blown through, but the fort remains.

There are also some fort ruins that lay crumbled in the ocean along the southern end of the beach. I’m not sure what they once were but it’s a neat spot to check out as well.

Hit the Beach

There are two sides of the boomerang-shaped island and both of them have a long beach along the coast. The beaches are one of the main draws for people coming to Fort De Soto Park as it has some of the best beaches on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

North Beach

The North Beach area is a great place to go, especially if you have kids. The water is calmer on this side but it’s a bit interesting of a beach. There are several tidal pool areas that have been created along the sand that sort of block your route to the ocean.

When we first pulled up, we weren’t sure how to get around them but then realized we would just have to go through them.

The tidal pools are brown looking and some of them are deeper in areas and a little murky. We saw some fish in them but wondered if there could be other critters lurking in the deeper parts. We were able to find a shallower place to cross. But lots of families parked here for their kids to play in the shallow water.

East Beach

The water on the East Beach side seemed to be a little rougher. It was definitely more windy on this side of the island. A lot of kite surfers gather on this side and you’ll see more activities here. You also have a view of the Skyway Bridge from this side.

The Beach Near the Ruins

I don’t know if this beach has a designated name or if it’s just part of North Beach. But it’s located on the ‘bend’ part of the island and is the south part of North Beach I suppose. It’s a great area with calm water that’s next to the fort ruins and the pier. The water was the greenest and calmest here.

Visit the Museum

The museum on the island is very small and basically what you see in this picture. It’s terribly outdated but it’s quick to pop in and walk around. It has some things that were found on the island and some information to learn that is interesting.

The sidewalk in front of the museum leads you down a walkway past old posts that mark where some of the military buildings once were. There’s also a brick pathway that runs along it that is an original pathway from when the fort was built. If you walk the short ways to the end, it leads you right up to the beach at the end of the East side.

Take the Trails

If you’d like to take some trails, they have 7 miles of paved trails that take you around the island. If you don’t have bikes, there are some fun bike rentals that would be great for leisurely exploring.

There’s a nature trail, an interpretive trail, and even a canoe trail if you want to get out on the water.

Look for Shells

Mullet Key is a great place to look for different shells. We walked the beach just before sunset and found lots of sand dollars. Most of them were broken from washing up from the sea or being stepped on. But if you’re lucky, you may find a whole one. There were lots of different shells here and some that even had shells attached to shells.

Walk the Pier

While it’s not the most exciting, it’s something to do. There are a lot of fishermen here and we actually saw a dolphin swimming near the pier. We also saw an interesting looking bird on the post.

Go Fishing

There are some other areas of the park that are coves of the island that are calmer spots for activities. We saw lots of people fishing here and people who were out on kayaks. It’s a quieter spot and more relaxing than the busy pier. You will need a fishing license anywhere in the park.

Go Bird Watching

There are currently 328 species of birds that call Fort De Soto Park home and apparently more are being added every year. We found this little guy on the pier just watching the people go by. Because of the park’s size, there are lots of places to go to be in nature and away from the crowds.

Take Your Dog to the Beach

Fort De Soto also happens to be one of the few places that you can bring your dog to the beach. There’s a stretch of sand along the East Beach that is a designated spot for dogs to roam free. There are also 2 fenced-in dog parks (one for small dogs and one for large dogs). We had never really explored here so we didn’t bring Rocky this time, but it would be a fun weekend getaway to bring the dog.

Take the Ferry to Egmont Key

Egmont Key is the island located to the southwest of Fort De Soto that is the location of another fort: Fort Dade. Both islands were used to house artillery and protect the Tampa Bay. Egmont Key is a Florida State Park but one of the lesser-visited ones. That’s because the only way to access it is by ferry.

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Fort De Soto Camping

If you’re looking for East Coast beach camping, camping at Fort De Soto is a fun way to see the island. Our friends had a camp spot for the weekend and invited us along. The campgrounds are pretty large and the area is pretty.

It’s about $40 to camp for the night and about $45 if you have a water front spot. But much like the rest of Florida camping situations, reserve early. You’ve been warned.

The camp office is at the campground entrance and looks like the Jurassic Park headquarters. And I can’t get over how cute it is. There’s also a camp store if you need to buy things like ice or fire wood.

There are 238 camping spots that accommodate all sorts of campers. But you’ll want to make sure you get the right site depending on how you’re camping. There are specific spots for larger RVs (86-236) and sites designated for pets (86-164). So check the site for maps and important booking info.

Camping Facilities

As far as facilities go, my husband and I were pretty impressed. We’ve done a lot of primitive camping and stayed at some pretty ‘eh’ places. These spots were spacious, pretty private from your neighbors and had electrical outlets, WIFI, water faucets, picnic tables and grills. There’s restrooms, showers, even laundry machines.

The Fort De Soto camping spots are mostly along a little peninsula. Some of them have trees and things blocking the water view but some of the spots ARE waterfront. If you can snag them, you’ll get a pretty sunset view. You aren’t allowed to swim from the spots, but you can use kayaks and canoes off the shore.

And I just had to show a picture of our BLUE campfire that entertained us at night. It was so cool to stare at.

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We had a fun time exploring here for the weekend and we especially liked camping here. It was an easy way to get out and explore/learn some things but it was nice to have a camping spot to come back to for snacks. If you don’t have the time to camp, it’s still a fun place to come to for the day and definitely has enough to see and do.

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