Fort De Soto Park was honestly one of the biggest surprises of our Florida trip. The second we arrived, we could see why so many people love this place. The beaches were absolutely beautiful with soft white sand and clear Gulf water that looked straight out of a travel magazine. Even though it's a popular park, it still felt peaceful and relaxing. One of the coolest parts was how much variety there is here. You can relax on the beach, bike the trails, go kayaking, fish, camp, or explore the historic Spanish-American War-era fort. Walking through the old fort while looking out over the water was such a unique experience and made the park feel completely different from a normal beach destination. We also spotted wild Nanday Parakeets flying around the park, which made the whole place feel even more tropical and unforgettable. Seeing bright green parrots while standing near the ocean was definitely not something we expected. Everything felt very clean, well maintained, and easy to access. Fort De Soto Park is the kind of place where you could easily spend an entire day and still not see everything. We would absolutely come back again and highly recommend adding this spot to your Florida bucket list. Check out our video on our socials @reessroots read more

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We went to dog park by Bay Pier at De Soto. The signs are clear. The ground around the bathrooms are little untidy. The beach is clean. read more

Easy parking, clean enough bathrooms. If it weren't so dang far this would probably be the main beach spot for me and my friends! Can't say it's a hidden gem, but it's certainly not as touristy as Clearwater or Treasure Island so it's a great beach to go to. And $6 flat rate parking for the beach is amaaazziinnggg!!!! Lots of pavilions and different areas for activities like camping. We were there for a spikeball tournament. Always something going on! read more

Fort De Soto Park has a beautiful beach! Parking is $6 per vehicle and there is a pretty long walk from the parking lot to the actual beach but once you get to the beach it's stunning. I like that it's not over crowded like other beaches on the area. There were also several areas blocked off for preservation of the birds. read more

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This place is awesome for camping however bring enough bug spray to shower in it, the mosquitos and noseeums here are on another level, came home full off red spots even after wasting almost 4 cans of off spray. read more

Reserve early these spots fill up! But this is a fantastic spot. 50 amp service plus water and a dump station- water everywhere great fishing, Dog beach at fort DeSoto and a big dog park traveling with Fido, this place is great! We have become regulars this is a great place to put the RV through its paces a few weeks before heading to New England. read more

Fort De Soto Park - Tons of room at these sites! - Parks Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Very cool loved it here. It's big and you can go swimming after walking the fort. Plenty of parking. You can walk above the fort and then explore the bottom and insides of it. There are showers and restrooms read more

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There were hundreds of birds, lots of pretty shells, even spots of jellyfish (they looked like blobs until the sun hit them just right and I could see the "sun" shape in them.) It was pretty cold when I was there, which probably deterred people, so we had the beach pretty much to ourselves for the most part. I definitely need to make it back down the next time I'm in Tampa. read more

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This is an amazing state Park to view wildlife, enjoy the beach, bike ride , boat- you name it! They have a few different concession spots around where you can get basic food- fries and a burger etc which is nice! The pier is nice for fishing and spotting dolphins and manatees. Bathrooms are scattered throughout the park. The fort is great for history lovers and provides awesome views! Plenty of shelters and grills off of the parking lots and even a few nice playgrounds for kiddos .All in all a great place to visit and enjoy with family and friends! read more

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A friend and I brought the kids here to get out some energy. We enjoyed walking along the beach while the kids explored the trails. As this was a while ago, we sadly were not able to go to the fort. At the time it was closed. The kids would have enjoyed exploring there. Maybe next time. 11.07.2025 read more

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This was a beautiful spot to spend the morning. We could have spent all day here had we come prepared for a beach day. We walked along the beach and found awesome shells, we explored the fort and hung out on the pier watching those there to fish. read more

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Fort De Soto is a great uninhabited park to get away from the packed popular beaches along the west coast of FLA. Parking was easy, the weather was perfect, and there was plenty of room to have some privacy. I saw the most sand dollars along the shore. Lots of shells! Be sure to bring a lunch, you won't want to leave! read more

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Fort De Soto Park has something for everyone: beaches, piers, fishing, lots of green space, camping, swimming, snacks, museum, bathrooms, and a fort. We had a good time exploring. And all for a $6 parking fee per vehicle, you can drive and park wherever until the park closes at 8pm. We mainly focused on North Beach, pier, and Fort. You explore the fort at your own pace. Very clean and taken care of. Respect it!! Not packed on Friday after Labor Day so a relaxing uncrowded time. Definitely. Bring bug spray. I hated to leave. I definitely recommend this place for a nice day out. read more

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We loved coming here while we were vacationing in St Pete. Huge fenced in dog park area, dog friendly beach, clean/large bathrooms, lots of parking, well maintained, friendly people, awesome wildlife, so many places to launch kayaks, etc. read more

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Ok so we had a reservation with the Shell Key trip but it was cancelled for weather. Totally understandable and appreciate their integrity. Instead we did the beach, fort, pier and had a great time. It's beautiful and not too crowded and the fishing was exciting to watch. All the people we interacted with there were great and helpful, too. Just a small plea: treat the bathrooms (the ones by Hubbard Marina; Fort SeSoto Boat Ramp) for mosquitoes more aggressively, please. I realize it's a losing battle and there is standing water and total skeeter conditions. It's FL. BUT--- this was what happened when one of us was in the bathroom for no more than about 30 secs. They came out saying they couldn't be in that bathroom. I thought maybe it was exaggeration until I saw this. For us, it's not so much about the annoyance, it's the crazy diseases you can get from a mosquito bite. We had prepared for the day but didn't think we'd need bug spray for a bathroom stop. read more

Fort De Soto Park - Over 10 mosquito bites in a quick bathroom stop on Fort Desoto. The bathroom by the Hubbard Marina; the Fort DeSoto Boat Ramp. - Parks Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

Lots of great beaches in the park and a good spot for renting kayaks as well. There is tons of parking and it's only $6 from the Park Mobile app. Beach definitely gets crowded as the day goes on but there was still plenty of parking even in the afternoon. read more

Fort De Soto Park - Parks Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

This is an excellent place to relax. The beach is amazing! The also have a small museum, very small. But it was interesting to read some facts about the Spanish war. There are a lot of parking areas and the cost is only 6.00 Going back soon! read more

Great for kids and people of all ages beautiful view of the water outlet and excellent place to walk in exercise

You must visit here when in the area! The beaches are so much more undisturbed than just north of it. I wish we'd have visited earlier in our trip with it being so close, we would have made it a daily activity! There was one old man walking along the shore crunching all the shells early in the am that we and others were there for. The lot had a good amount of cars at north beach end, but the beach did not at all feel crowded. read more

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Is a nice beach park with campgrounds and showers everything that you need is a great place to hangout

I've always loved this Beach Park. Not only can you enjoy the beach but they also have bike trails, scenic areas, playgrounds and picnic areas. The area is always clean, even the restrooms. Parking is now mobile pay -- you scan the QR upon parking and pay $5.35 for all day parking. Very easy! The North side tends to attract the most people so we tend to go to the East side. The sand is white and there are so many shells. We found a live clam and scallop! Very cool. We also found some starfish. There are several sand bars after walking out in the water which my daughter loves. She's even found live sand dollars out there. Beautiful beach! Highly recommend. read more

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I love this place! This park has something for everyone. We wanted an uncrowded beach area. We chose the closest place by the Ft De Soto Store. It was perfect. The store had a picnic area. The park also has picnic tables a short drive from the store. If you have pets, there is an area that is pet friendly. There is also an area for camping. You can also walk on trails. We researched each area by watching You tube videos. It costs $5 to park all day. I saw a pay station at the park entrance and by the store. We walked around the park. There was a section of trees full of parrots. If you are bringing snacks, take a cooler or a chill bag with a zipper. The seagulls have one mission: stealing your food. If you step away from your bag, they will aggressively snoop through your stuff and take anything. They can untie knots on cloth bags. I am pretty sure they would shank you for a bag of chips. The beaches are awesome. This location is a wonderful treasure. read more

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This is probably one of my favorite out of the way locations relatively close to home. With a large park, beach, with trails and picnic areas there are a lot of choices to do things or jsut to hang out. You used ot have to pay for entrance and parking at a booth when driving in, but now you can pay at machines in the parking lots or use an app. When you drive in the road splits off, to the right iot gfoes to the north beaches and to the left it goes to east beach. I'd rather NOT tell you how nice the beach is as I like it to stay relatively crowdfree if possible... Its clean here with bathrooms and other amenities that will keep you comfortable. Notably, cerain beachses didn't seem to have lifeguards so that's something to consider But otherwise, you can spend a LOT of time here by yourself or with friends/family and enjoy the natural beauty of Florida nature. As a bonus, if you're familiar with Air Fest and are visiting during that time of the year: if you're on the beach during the festival you can watch the jets flying around MacDill AFB (and not deal with the crowds on base. Ft Desoto is defintiely a place you should add to your list to visit. Whether you are from Florida or not, this is a great place to visit! read more

Fort De Soto Park - Parks Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

We visited for De Soto State Park recently. We made a beeline for North Beach as we heard. It was the best for shelling. Parking is five bucks. As we approached North Beach, we heard a live band and a lot of fanfare. There were tons of people. It turns out that this was an event sponsored by a local church and was baptism on the beach. We decided to check out other parts of Fort De Soto Park, so we returned to the Gift Shop, Snack buildings. The beach there was less populated and a better experience. Unfortunately, the gift shop was closed as it was already 6 PM. Overall a good experience. read more

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One of my happy places Love, walking up and down the beach and picking up shells Can't wait till we get back me and my besties and spend the day walking the beach picking up shells and quality time together. Love you. read more

The Campground, here at Fort DeSoto has to be one of the prettiest I have ever seen. Lush palm trees abound, giving the ample RV sites, really cool privacy. We have good water pressure and 50Amp electric. It's a sandy spot, and backing in around the trees, requires a little skill, but very worth while. read more

Fort De Soto Park - Airstream, Our "Travler" at Fort DeSoto, Florida - Parks Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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If you are coming here for any historical enlightenment, don't bother. The Fort and interpretative part of the park has fallen into disrepair. However, if you want to see some amazing beaches yes definitely come here if you don't mind paying for parking. When we were here the park staff were out here in force ticketing vehicles. read more

Drove one hour there in hope to catch the sun rise at the beach at 6:37. Unfortunately, the gate wasn't opened till 7am. However, the sunrise view was acceptable. read more

I went to a Audubon bird walk here on April 22. It was relaxing and fun and my first time at this huge county park. The walk started at 7:15am and I live an hour away so I got up quite early. It was worth it! There were a dozen or so people and we saw all kinds of interesting birds starting in a huge tree next to the main parking lot! We literally walked 20 feet and bam, beautiful scarlet tanagers and rose breasted grosbeaks and more! By the way, parking requires $5 and I was told you will get a ticket if you don't pay. I paid so no problems. The machine requires your license plate and doesn't accept cash. We went to three locations and had a bird filled morning! The guide explained this park is the Mecca of birding in the area, especially during fall and spring migration season. Life is great when you see 11 new bird species I had never seen before! read more

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This is a very cool park/beach area. There is a small general fee to get inside and there's a $6 parking fee. There are still renovations going on, but much of the area was perfectly fine. The pier was a really nice area to walk on and I got to see a dolphin playing around it! I think it was attracted to the fish that were attracted to the bait of all the people fishing on the pier. The fort was nice to walk around and climb up the steps to the top to see a better view of the beach area. It's a self-guided tour at the fort and museum there, but the format seems a little outdated, I'd need to look into if they have tour guides available. Hopefully, more is added in the future to help people engage with the history of the fort. We drove further to North Beach and set up our stuff there. The water was calm and the sand is very soft and powdery. We saw a school of fish, so this seems like a good place to bring goggles to see more. I'll definitely need to come back with those. read more

Love a good National Park. Had a few hours to kill in St. Pete before trekking back to Miami and had heard of this place. Very glad we stopped but also slightly disappointed that we didn't plan to spend more time there. Definitely a place to spend a whole day--or more. With a fort to explore, a fishing pier (my fave), a beach, trails, and plenty of other things we probably didn't even get to see. We already plan to go back on our annual St. Pete film festival trip next year read more

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* Ft DeSoto is a Pinellas County Park- not state* My pups and I love the off leash dog beach and the huge fenced dog parks. read more

Fort De Soto Park - Ft DeSoto Dog Beach - Parks Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

It was great thru Hubbard's. Capt. Zip & First Mate Kim were amazing hosts! And I did see a dolphin and manatee

Great trip and experience. Was cool to learn about the history of the island and fort De Soto.

Great spot to visit! There is a beautiful beach. It is longer than wife and has good sand. There is a pier and there were people fishing, swimming, sail gliding, and playing group games. The fort is very cool and there are informational plaques to teach you about the fort. There is also a shop and a little cafe for you to buy your souvenirs and any snacks/drinks you may want. I really liked this park a lot and will visit again. read more

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We were not aware of this park but were wandering our way up to Clearwater and decided to check it out. $5 to park seemed reasonable. We went out on the fishing pier, walked around the old military grounds and the old fort. We picnicked at one of the shelters along the north beach area. That is one giant parking lot. I can only guess that on weekends in season it must be a zoo but today it was pretty empty despite the gorgeous weather. If we come back we will bring or rent bikes since there are many nicely paved bike trails. Looks like you can also rent kayaks. Lots to do in this park! read more

This is for the RV park Check-in if you need to grab your parking pass. It'll get you into the beach park, old fort etc for free. RV campsites are about a 5 minute drive from the beach or 3.5 mile bike ride. You could go RV park to beach via golf cart. There should be a golf cart rental person here, they would make a killin! Set the alarm 6 mo ahead and get ready to reserve your spot. We stayed in pet loop, waterside (over looks mullet bay) NO SEWER water and 30/50 amp hookup. Site are all sand /dirt but pretty level. Bathrooms are semi-clean,not Disney comfort stations but workable. Biggest flaw is no AC, who want to sh*t and shower w/o AC in FL? I'd knock downs star, but honestly, it's not a 'RV-resort', so I won't. Camp stocked store fishing kayak and SUP rentals. Saw manatee and dolphins paddle boarding out from out campsite. read more

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Ft Desoto is one of my top favorite shelling locations and places to enjoy the beach with my loved ones. My great grandmother tipped me off about this shelling spot as a little girl, so I have been coming here for so long that I've nearly forgotten the actual history surrounding the old fort that still stands. Something I find here that I don't find much of at other beaches along the Gulf are Wentletraps. Sand dollars can also be found in abundance here, but please leave the live ones alone. If you park at North Beach and continue to walk north, up the beach, you will find plenty of dead sand dollars to take home. You rarely even have to walk very far out into the water to find them. You do have to cross 2 toll bridges on the main road into the park and then pay a very reasonable fee of $5 to enter the park. It is very well maintained, including the abundance of bath houses. They also provide FREE beach wheelchairs, and I've seen park rangers give people in need a ride down the water. Excellent service, as everyone should be able to access our beaches. read more

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Ya'll are going to hate me for this. 3-stars? For a beach? For a park? I'm glad this is public land and isn't littered with condos, hot dog stands, and pay-by-the-hour umbrellas but...it's still Florida. That means flat, boring terrain. That means water with the opacity of mint toothpaste. You won't find crystal clear waters and don't even bother trying to snorkel. There's also people just parking their boats around here and playing loud music? So, maybe it's not so much a park experience, maybe it's just like all the other tacky Florida beaches. This place made me miss Hawaii. read more

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Beautifully clear water, white sandy beaches and clean facilities for patron use. What else do you need? read more

Fort De Soto Park - Parks Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida