82297851
45-49 Years; Adults Only; Canoe; Caucasian Ethnicity; Day; Florida - US State; Fort De Soto Park; Horizontal; Kayaking; Leisure Activity; Mature Adult; Nautical Vessel; One Man Only; One Mature Man Only; One Person; Outdoors; People; Photography; Rear View; Serene People; Shore; Sitting; Solitude; St Petersburg; St. Petersburg - Florida; Summer; Tranquility; Unrecognizable Person; USA; Water;
Kyaking in Fort De Soto Park, a park made up of five offshore keys or islands.

John Coletti

Fort DeSoto Park

Top choice


With 1136 acres of unspoiled wilderness, Fort DeSoto is one of Florida’s premier beach parks. It includes 7 miles of beaches (including a dog beach), two fishing piers and an extensive nature trail hopping over five interconnected islands. Of its two swimming areas, the long, silky stretch of North Beach is the best, with grassy picnic areas, a cafe and a gift store (open 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday, to 5pm Saturday and Sunday). The cafe organizes hourly bike ($10) and kayak ($23) rentals.

East Beach, meanwhile, is smaller and coarser, and consequently less crowded.The fort after which the park is named, and which dates from the 1898 Spanish-American War, is in the southwest corner of Mullet Key, which was once inhabited by Tocobaga Native Americans. Union troops were later stationed here and on uninhabited Egmont Key during the Civil War. You can visit Egmont’s ruined Fort Dade by ferry from the park. Once there you can explore the fort and abandoned houses, say hello to the protected gopher tortoises, and go shelling and snorkeling (equipment hire $5) off the beach.

Fort DeSoto Park is signed off US 682/Pinellas Bayway (exit 17 off I-275). Parking costs $5.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Egmont Key State Park

2.43 MILES

Union troops were stationed on uninhabited Egmont Key during the Civil War, and you can visit Egmont’s ruined Fort Dade by ferry from Fort DeSoto Park…

2. Pass-a-Grille Beach

5.43 MILES

The epic sliver of sand that is Pass-a-Grille Beach is the most idyllic barrier-island beach, backed only by beach houses and a long stretch of metered…

3. Pine Avenue

5.85 MILES

Headed up by former Florida governor Lawton Chiles' son Ed, the restoration of Anna Maria's 'historic boutique business district' has the island abuzz…

4. Anna Maria Island

7.03 MILES

The perfect antidote to party-loving Siesta Key, Anna Maria Island appears beached in a 1950s time warp, with sun-faded clapboard houses, teenagers…

5. St Pete Beach

7.56 MILES

Anchored by the huge, historic Moorish Mediterranean Don CeSar Hotel, St Pete Beach is a long, double-wide strand with parasail booths and chair rentals…

6. Florida Maritime Museum

10.61 MILES

A tidy museum dedicated to how Florida's coast has defined its past and will shape the future, including a shell collection from the Gulf of Mexico, an…

7. Treasure Island

10.8 MILES

Even wider than St Pete Beach and more jam-packed with fun-seekers, concessions and motels. Very built up, with lots of public access, volleyball courts…

8. Chihuly Collection

12.13 MILES

Dale Chihuly's glass works are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London and the Louvre in…