Topwater Kayaks is top notch! It is conveniently located conveniently inside Fort DeSoto with direct water access (no hauling kayaks to a launch spot, no dredging through a crowded/murky marina). We rented 2 paddle boards and 3 single kayaks this morning and headed out for a very lovely morning on the water! This was our first trip out of this area, and it appears to be quite popular with kayakers and paddle boarders. The scenery is all nature and all beautiful, shallow water that was a little on the murky side today until we got out of the mangroves and into more open water where the bottom was visible. The launch area is secluded and surrounded by mangroves, and the sights are beautiful from the minute you launch. On our way out, we saw a bright red water snake and some crabs along the shore. Along our kayaking route, we spotted lots of small fish, friendly cormorants, manatees, and (possibly) a large tarpon. We saw a quite a few manatee snouts poking up from the water along our route, which was very cool...to see them, you kind of have to sit quietly and still for a bit and skim the water. Something very large got spooked under my son's kayak causing a huge stir in the shallow water, which scared him half to death and for a moment we thought he'd actually tipped over. The guys at the rental counter said it was most likely a large tarpon. They (the staff) were GREAT...super helpful and super friendly. They provide all the equipment you need, single or double kayaks, paddle boards, oars, life jackets, bottled water available. Don't forget to bring a water resistant Bluetooth speaker, towels, and some sunblock. We will definitely be returning to Topwater soon! read more

Best customer service and had such a blast fishing and kayaking here. We had a manatee swim right up to us. read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Great little adventure at fort DeSoto. Key things: Opening time: supposed to open at 9am, we were there at 9am and they weren't. We went and walked the fort and came back at 9:30am and they were there. Small annoyance. Don't bother calling. They are busy putting people and boats in the water--you'll drive yourself crazy calling and never getting a pick up. Afterwards head down to the North Beach sandbar for some beaching. BYO chairs and umbrella. Also bring the beach cart as it's a little of a hike from the parking lot. read more

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Nicest people ever! We showed up an hour before closing they gave us a discount and sent us on our way. They were so friendly and helpful I will definitely be back again. read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

Super friendly and helpful staff. The location is easy to find and access. Kayaks did not require a reservation. We spotted a few different cranes, dolphins, manatees, and a ton of fish! Along the way, there was a paddle boarder that took our picture for us (she said she helped at the shack). Mangroves were beautiful and well maintained shore around the area! read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Mangrove tunnel - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

Kristi was so friendly! She let us know there were baby manatees - and we were lucky to be part of such a rare experience of seeing 2 babies and their moms! Don't worry, we didn't chase or try to pet the babies, just observed from afar. Kristi let us know what wildlife to look out for and what we would see. I definitely recommend adding this to your vacation experience read more

What an amazing little spot to kayak! They have a wide variety of kayaks, paddle boards, and canoes you can choose from. Our family decided on a single and a double kayak. The guy at the counter was super nice, and he genuinely cared about our safety out on the water and in the Florida heat. When were on the water, we saw a TON of wildlife. Our favorite part was the manatee that popped up right next to us! It was a pleasant and fun surprise for our family. read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

When you park at the Topwater building you really have no idea what you're about to experience! We rented two paddle boards and once we began paddling through the mangrove channels my jaw dropped. We saw so much wildlife and the water was beautiful! The channel path is numbered 1-18 which allows for super easy navigation. Topwater has super friendly staff (shoutout Tony and Eric)! They have super affordable prices and provide a great experience! I will definitely be coming back! read more

Always such a fun kayaking day, thank you to Eric & Kristi for always being so kind & helpful, we truly appreciate you!!! read more

What a wonderful and quiet place to kayak. Eric and Kristi were incredible and accommodating. We had 4 kids with us (ages 2-14) and they were able to accommodate all of us. Thank you! read more

Tony was awesome and gave us good tips. Great launching site, equipment very good & an easy protected paddle. Encountered lots of wildlife including a group of manatees! read more

Had an amazing time today out on the water! The owners were so nice! We saw manatee & a ton of jumping fish! Very easy to rent/return! Will definitely return! read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

Ahh! We had soo much fun! The guys at the shack were super helpful and accommodated all 6 of us. They even gave us a discount since there was a wind advisor and we didn't quite get too far. They held our keys are they counter so we didn't have to stress losing them. Just a great company! read more

Fantastic people and a great area to kayak and fish. I highly recommend renting a kayak, canoe or SUP at Topwater! read more

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Such a great hidden secret!!! Just south of the crowds at St Pete beach is this large county park. Fort De Soto Park is a chain of five interconnected islands, or keys, with 1,136 acres of beautiful park/nature preserve and 7 miles of natural unspoiled beach. In the middle with protected waters is mullet key bayou surrounded by mangroves. Aaron who you will find at Topwater Kayak will give you all the local tips you need to have a fab time! I saw sea otters, dolphins, tons of birds and had a lovely time in the sun!! read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Aaron and Eric are great providers of Kayaks. Eric took care of us and made everything simple and easy. Very good and comfortable ocean kayaks on a beautiful inlet with several Manatees and, on our way to Shell Key, we were accompanied by 8 Cormarans who fished under our boats. It was a great day at a great price! Many thanks, Eric, for our three kayaks! read more

I'm surprised how difficult it is to find different kayak rental places in the St. Pete area. This is inside Fort Desota. You have to pay $0.75 to go over a bridge before the entrance, then a $5.00/vehicle to gain entrance into park. The rental place is across the street from the Elmot Ferry launch. They have double sit-atop, single cockpit and single sit-atop kayaks. The "course" is simply follow the channel to the open gulf. The weather was questionable and a bit windy, so we only stayed in the channel. One hour rental was plenty to accomplish this. Other kayakers claimed to see manatees and dolphins, but we didn't. I will try again on a hot sunny day to venture out further into the gulf. read more

Aaron gave my friend from Arizona who has never kayak'd before and I the BEST experience! I have been kayaking before but this was by far the best I have had. We saw over 6 manatees and tons of fish. Aaron explained exactly how to kayak, where to go, how to get back and assisted us into and out of the water. He is extremely knowledgeable about kayaking, animals and the area around here. You will have an incredible time and I can't recommend this place enough! read more

This place is fabulous! Eric and Clayton are very helpful and informative. They are very friendly. We're definitely going to come back here and we will bring friends. Check it out. You won't want to miss this experience! read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

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Great place in the fort desoto park. No reservation needed, parking spot everywhere. They have single and double kayaks and paddleboards. We had a great time. read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

You don't need a guided tour to kayak here. Easy, safe, amazing time. Great rental at convenient location. So much to do inside this park. Saw 4 dolphins chasing fish, lots of birds, fish. Great customer service by Eran, so polite and helpful. THIS IS A GREAT VALUE, YOU WON'T BE DISSAPPOINTED. read more

The guys at Topwater Kayak are the best! They offer very reasonable rental prices, are friendly and kind to customers, and always informative for weather conditions, animal encounters, etc. I've rented from them several times and always have a great experience! My friend also brings her own kayak to launch from their space. They're very accommodating. read more

Topwater service was great. The boards were clean. The staff was friendly. The advice of the weather and water was very helpful. I will definitely be back with my whole family. read more

If I could add a sixth star I would. My sons came for a visit from Dubai and Hong Kong, and said the day spent at this outpost was the best. To their extreme delight here was a school of dolphins that played around the kayaks, and there were so many birds it was just beautiful. User-friendly, you cannot get lost and it's not fatiguing at all. Eric is a real sweetheart, and I would recommend it to everyone, locals and visitors! read more

Great energy from the staff. In a pretty area with easy access to the open water. Had a good time :)

My husband and I run a Cub Scout pack and wanted to plan a kayak outing for the boys. I called around different places to get rates and info and from the beginning Topwater set themselves apart. They were extremely friendly, helpful and had a lot of good suggestions for our group. When we arrived they were efficient and got the entire group on the water quickly. The kayaks and vests were clean and in nice shape. We saw dolphin and manatee right up near our kayaks. We had a wonderful morning! Eric is great at his job and we wanted to let them know how much we appreciated it all! You couldn't paddle with a nicer establishment! read more

Great place to rent a kayak to explore the mangroves and shell island. Rates are reasonable and the boats are in good shape. Clayton is super helpful. read more

Stopped here 10/9 for a quick kayak fix before heading to Fort De Soto beach. Great experience, Aaron who helped me out was very friendly, knows the equipment, and got me set up and out on the water right away. I'd initially wanted to paddleboard, and Aaron was frank about how windy he thought it was, but he wasn't a downer about it, which was cool. The water was a little murky, and it was a red tide day, so I think kayaking was probably the better choice in the end. I enjoyed the sit-on-top he recommended -- much easier for a short guy like me (5'4") to paddle than the sit-down ones I'm used to. Lots of birds everywhere to look at, fish jumping out of the water, and even some manatees swimming around and surfacing for air. The rental rate was reasonable especially given the "captive" nature of being the only rental outfit in Fort De Soto. When I came back Aaron was busy getting a couple out on the water but took some time to chat and point out a small shark swimming around in the little waterway there. I'd definitely recommend doing this if you like kayaking and you're heading to Fort De Soto, although if you're used to longer paddles and/or more varied sights, this area isn't that. It's worth it though just to say you've seen a manatee. Don't forget your sunscreen and water bottle! read more

Topwater Kayak Outpost - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Tierra Verde, Florida

Awesome place to kayak, it's so quiet that you can float right up to the egrets before they fly away. At times manatees and dolphins will swim into this little bay area, and luck would have it, a pair of dolphins swam right up to my kayak, smiled and hopped in front of me. I've never seen real dolphins before and kayaking next to them beats Sea World any day. Go there early like 9am - 10am, beat the crowd, don't wait for a kayak, and you can enjoy the quiet of nature as you row out to the bay... Around mile marker 8, on the East Side, there is a mangrove cave, really spooky but surreal, you enter on one side and leave the other, just keep paddling, and duck when you see the low branches, if it's low tide, you may need to turn around and go back to the entry way. Sit on top kayaks are super comfy and easy to navigate. We paddled for 8 hours and had a great time. Enjoy! read more

We went kayaking at Open kayaks, located at Ft Desoto Park. It's $5 to get into the park and $23 per single kayak per hour. They also have $30 per hour for a 2 person kayak for 1 hour or $40 for 2 hours. 1 hour was more than enough time for us to get through the trail but we were paddling at a vigorous pace. The Guy there was pretty friendly and took a couple pictures for us and explained the route pretty well and where the manatees like to hang out. The water was a bit murky and hard to see through. Overall I'd say that wikee watchee springs in Crystal river is a far better experience with clear water and the ability to jump off swings built into the trees. However that is almost an hour drive from Tampa. My kayak seat didn't have enough back support and was uncomfortable for my back to rest on which really detracted from my experience. I just paddled as fast as I could through the course to be done with it because I wasn't really able to rest my back ever. Won't be coming back. It's kind of a boring trail but I did see a manatee. The trail doesn't loop around so once you get to the end, you have to paddle back the same way you came. Equipment condition 5/10, Service Friendliness 8/10, Trail Rating 6/10, Parking 10/10 Free and plentiful. read more

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This place is AWESOME!! The guys here are incredibly friendly and helpful. They have a nice selection of yaks for rent. They have fishing kayaks, but were out by the time I got there. This was not an issue because the one they got for me was plenty big enough for me, my gear, and I had a BLAST! The rental process is easy, quick, and I feel I got a great value for my money. The area is gorgeous and they give you a map with points to help you navigate. I was told approximately how long I could expect it would take me to paddle the area, which helped in my planning. This stand is located across the street from the bay pier, which is after making a right turn off the main entrance road when entering the park. My 1 person kayak for about 3 hours came to $31. I will most definitely be back to rent a kayak and fish here again. read more

Eric and Erin were extremely friendly and helpful! They gave us a great deal and as a customer Eric seemed to have our best interest, bang for our buck! Would highly recommend. We had a blast and even saw some manatees. It was a wonderful experience all around :) we will be back! ~Chelsea. read more

This is the BEST place for renting kayaks! The guys who run it are unbelievable! Friendly, informative, and very accommodating! I take ALL my guests here for an unforgettable kayaking experience! We almost always see manatees, dolphin, and a lot of beautiful birds. Highly recommended!!! read more

So friendly! Cute little mom and pop shop just wanting to see people have a good time in their area. Friendly, WAY cheaper than the competition, and super accommodating. Questions? First time? Just ask! They also sell sunscreen and such which you will definitely need. We rented stand up paddle boards (it seemed like they had about 5-10 boards, not nearly as big of a supply as kayaks) and went on our way after a quick lesson from Eric. They weren't strict at all with the time. Who knows how long we were out- we were definitely respectful of their equipment and business but if we had come back a few minutes late, I doubt we would have been charged extra; they know that it can be hard to estimate how long it will take with factors like the wind and having to navigate around other people. I came back and fell trying to park the paddle board and it must have been hilarious but instead of laughing, employee Aaron made sure I was ok. We came back just in time, a storm was on the way. I overhead them telling someone else it wasn't safe to go out instead of accepting their money and setting them up for, at the very least, a windy and bad time on the water. If you are looking for a nice ride, SUP, kayak, or canoe, I highly recommend these gentlemen. read more