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Fort De Soto Park

Photo: timdawe / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 · source

🏖️ Beaches

Fort De Soto Park

Tierra Verde, FL · Tampa Bay

About

Fort De Soto Park spreads across five connected keys at the mouth of Tampa Bay, pairing nearly three miles of soft white-sand beach with a Spanish-American War coastal fort. Climb the old gun batteries, then cast off the Gulf Pier or paddle the canoe trail through mangroves. Ferries run from here to undeveloped Egmont Key and Shell Key, and the park has its own beach dog park.

Highlights

Almost three miles of white-sand Gulf beach across 1,100-plus acresHistoric 1898 fort with mounted coastal guns you can exploreTwo fishing piers, the Gulf Pier and Bay Pier, each with bait and snacksFerries to undeveloped Egmont Key and Shell Key for shelling and snorkelingBeach dog park, paddling trails and the accessible Barrier-Free Nature Trail

Getting there

3500 Pinellas Bayway South, Tierra Verde, FL 33715

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The Best Florida Beaches20 places

The Best Florida Beaches

Florida has more coastline than any state but Alaska, and it spends it well. This is the definitive run: the sugar-white quartz of the Panhandle's Emerald Coast, the shell-strewn Gulf islands you reach by boat, the surf and skyline of the Atlantic, and the impossible turquoise of the Keys. Some you drive to and park; some take a ferry and a plan. All of them earn it. The best beaches in Florida, coast to coast.