Fort De Soto Park
Fort De Soto Park is a Pinnellas county park located just south of St.Pete Beach,Pass-a-Grille,and St.Petersburg Florida on the north side of Tampa Bay.
3500 Pinellas Bayway S., Tierra Verde, FL 33715
Park Office- 727-893-9185 Campground Office- 727-893-9185
Automated Information Message- 727-582-2267
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Fort De Soto Park in Florida is a beautiful park made up of five keys. Madelaine Key, St. Jean Key, St. Christopher Key, Bonne Fortune Key and the main island, Mullet Key, (you can also take a short ferry ride to Egmont Key State Park). Fort De Soto was Named America’s Top Beach for 2009 by Trip Advisor for the second consecutive year, citing a “spectacular combination of soft white sand, calm, clear water and a laid-back atmosphere”. Dr Beach named Fort De Soto the nations #1 beach in 2005.
North Beach at Sunset
Fort De Soto Park’s history goes back to 1849 when Robert E. Lee (the famous American Civil War commander) and three other US Army Engineers surveyed the area and recommended Mullet and Egmont Keys become fortified. Both keys could only be reached by boat, since they were islands off the mainland. Union troops were stationed on the two keys during the Civil War (1861–1865) to aid in the Union blockade of Tampa Bay. The keys were again abandoned by the military and in 1882 military reservations were officially created on the two keys. Nothing was constructed there, however. read more…
Arrowhead Area
Fort De Soto Park offers many amenities including…
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Two swimming areas North Beach and East Beach with food concession area at the North Beach Swim Center
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238 site family camping area
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Two fishing piers one on the Gulf of Mexico and one on Tampa Bay with a ferry ride to Egmont Key both with food and bait
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A Kayak/Canoe trail 2.25 miles long with rental Kayaks and Canoes
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A 1-mile nature trail in the Arrowhead Picnic area, and a 3/4 mile nature trail in the Soldiers’ Hole area provides a glimpse of some the native fauna and flora.
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2,200 foot Barrier-Free Nature Trail
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A Dog Park
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Fourteen large group picnic shelters incorporating award-winning aesthetic and functional design features.
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Twenty storm-resistant public restroom buildings featured in several national publications.
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The Old Fort including the only four 12-inch seacoast rifled mortars on US soil and two 6-inch Armstrong rapid-fire rifled guns
Heron on North Beach
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