What a gem!! This county park is beautifully maintained and expertly staffed. It is very quiet and peaceful. The beaches are loaded with seashells and there's gorgeous birds of all kinds everywhere. I visited on an overcast weekday and counted less than 30 vehicles in the whole park, not counting the campground (which looks really nice, I'd love to come back with my RV). I found the best shells on North Beach along with a huge flock of ibis. The gulf waters are clear and pretty shallow, you can walk a ways out and only be up to your waist, plus there's occasional sandbars. I saw dolphins swimming and cresting along the coast at North beach and again later at East beach. There is a big dog park that is popular with locals. The fort is of historical note and there are miles of bicycle trails. I was impressed by the Barrier-Free Nature Trail which is made to be not only ADA accessible but also made for the blind (a sensor detects your presence and triggers an audio recording describing the features of the area). 10 stars and all the thumbs up. This park is a great addition to your Tampa/St Pete area itinerary.

This is worth coming here and spending the day. For only a$5 parking fee you can come into the park. What used to be an old military base from the Spanish-American war and reopened in World War II now has become a National Park. They say it has one of the most beautiful beaches and they are one hundred percent correct period there is also a very long bicycle trail where you can rent bikes or bring your own. The beach is worth the stay, but the outside museum of the old bunkers is worth seeing and easy to get to with children. People with a handicap. They have a peer in which you can go fishing or just take a nice walk. This place is just amazing for people who like the outdoors.

Sandy walking trails parallel to the beach makes Fort De Soto Park a perfect place for visitors to be in awe of the views with taking in the beauty of bird watching or admiring the many different seashore treasures you’ll notice along the water. I was visiting friends who have dogs and we took them here with us and they also enjoyed the walking paths. I saw tropical bright green parrots here and was so surprised. In warmer months this would be a great place for a nice picnic or a beach day without crowds of people. Bathrooms are onsite next to the parking lot.

Beautiful place, highly underrated (keep it that way, don't let everyone discover this gem;)) The North beach is beautiful, not even crowded. And there is also a long fishing pier. And fishing is very good. There are millions of small fish, so I suggest not using a live bait or organic bait as it will be eaten by small fish in seconds. You'll have a better chance using lures, silver spoon etc. to catch good fish. Sand is beautiful, its like flour, literally. Lots of parking space, all day parking is 5 dollars. Beautiful terrain, beautiful water. Oh man, this place is really beautiful.

Love this beach. They have two fishing piers, plus you can shore fish. A few swimming beaches. A campground. Picnic area. Gift shops. Snack bar. A dog park. An old fort you can explore. Hiking trails, and bike paths. There's a $5. parking fee when you enter. A great place to enjoy with the family.

Nice park. It's rustic. Heavy foliage. Shower houses and washing machines are dated. No sewer hook up at site. Low hanging branches. Parked on the pet owner loop. Backed up to the road and had a swamp with mosquitoes. Staff will not let you trim branches to keep off your rig. Their comments were your camping, you're going to get scratches. Office staff wasn't the warmest. When I asked the office if I could move to another spot the answer was no. Even though there was spots open my entire stay.

We enjoy camping here, the sites are nice and we enjoy the waterfront sites. The beaches are beautiful and it's pet friendly! This past time, unfortunately some of the other campers had dogs that barked incessantly, they left their dogs unattended to bark for hours at a time and it made this specific experience less than ideal, but we would nonetheless come back and camp here again! I recommend booking in as far advance as possible as the sites tend to book up quickly.

Wow, any beach you stop at here is amazing! We love Gulf pier and snorkle the armory that fell, and under the pier. The manatees and dolphins love to swim here and are a beautiful sight ❤❤ North Beach is awesome at low tide to find sand dollars (dead ones you can keep), awesome shells and amazing creatures all over the sandbar! You will never have the same visit twice!!

I enjoyed this area. I was there on a weekday in Oct. There were not a lot of people there. The people at the beach were having a good time. The fishing off the pier seemed good. I even saw a dolphin. It was interesting to read about the fort.

We went to the park as tourists with no gear, so about all we could do was to drive about, look at the beaches, and do some hiking. It was a nice change to see a barrier island that wasn't crammed with buildings, roads, and people. It gave us the feeling of what the islands may have been like decades ago before being all built up. And, since it sticks way down into the entrance of Tampa Bay, you get great vistas of Anna Maria Island, Terra Ceia, and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. It appears that there's a lot of outdoor stuff to do including camping, fishing, picnicking, hiking, etc.

Wait for the weirdness…. As a history lover, Fort De Soto was a super exciting attraction while living in St. Petersburg. The site has an incredible half-sunken lookout, as well as cannons, bunkers and detailed informational plaques explaining the history of the 200-year old fort. The attraction also has a gift shop, and snack bar for tourists and anyone exploring the site. Fort De Soto park has beautiful, crystal-clear water and a plethora of shells for collecting… however…. During a walk along the beach, i noticed a very off-putting odor coming from the water. There was a great deal of decaying-sponge sea life baking in the sun that beach-goers need to be careful to step around, and definitely avoid when laying down a towel. WORST PART ….. these fist-sized pieces of meaty flesh had washed up on shore. It took me a while to figure out what they might be, but when I realized that they were rotting pig feet, I decided I definitely didn’t want to swim in the water. Bummer. Not sure if it was shark bait had made it to shore but regardless… it’s reason enough to find a new beach. 👎🏼 History = 5 stars Beach = 1 star (maybe)

Took Hubbard’s ferry out to Shell Key. It was about a 20 minute or so Ferry ride. Really cool people and really knowledgeable of the area. Went snorkeling & found some really cool shells and a few sand dollars. Weather was perfect and the crew on the ferry was very prompt when it came to the time to pick us up.

Can never get enough of this park and beach. The north park beach, which is quite a hike from parking is THE best!! Amazing gorgeous clear water, lots of shallow flats, and killer shelling...especially for whole sand dollars. Saw a large number of migrating birds, large white pelicans and another.

Awesome campground. Very quiet and relaxing. Some sites have much better views than others, so check that out before you book. Staff is very friendly and helpful. If you like a fire at night it's allowed but you have to bring your own firepit. Also if you have pets you need to pay attention what section you are in. Only one section allows pets. Looking forward to returning

The 1000' fishing pier in Fort De Soto Park is a must-see at sunset. It can be a little smelly due to the people fishing and cutting the fish they catch, but it's tolerable for the breathtaking views. There's also views from the beach area which are amazing as well. If you walk the pier, you may see dolphins, manatee and stingrays. It's a wonderful place to visit!

Pristine beaches with no hotels and condos. Tolls to get there are $1.75 plus a $5 parking fee when you get on the island. But there's lots of space to spread out. Biking trails crisscross the island. They also have a dog park and beach so you can bring your furry friends. Best beach in Pinellas County.

Used to be great to fish until 11pm now they close it down at sunset when you have the best fishing time. So disappointed me and others are hoping they open back up until 11pm very soon.

Shhh don’t tell anyone. This is a beautiful place with so much to do. You can experience so much Florida from the Fishing Pier, the Historic Fort, secluded beaches, bike paths, kayaking, mangroves, picnic shelters, the list goes on & on.

Just another beautiful west coast Florida area. Since the Brandon has prices are so high we will spend our cash in Florida. The beaches are gorgeous and the dog park is awesome along with the dog beach. The only bad part was the noseeums were bad at dusk and early morning. Definitely would camp here again.

If you don't understand what this is you're probably going to be bored. If you do understand how important this fort was during the early 1900s, you're going to be fascinated by it and love the history behind it. Fun fact, this site is where there were test runs dropping dummy bombs for the nuclear bombs that ended up being dropped Japan. So it's little nuggets like that that when you understand them, you understand how important this place is. Only one of the buildings still stands, one of them crumbled into the gulf but the remnants were still there and you can actually touch and go on them when you go to the beach.

Lots to do in this park and it's great that this little natural oasis is close to St Pete. We usually come for the dog beach but there is plenty of sand for humans, an old fort to explore, biking, kayaking in the mangroves (or to Shell Key), fishing piers, biking, camping, and a ferry to Egmont Key, which is a must.

We absolutely LOVED our stay here. Bathrooms are clean, showers are great, theres electricity for the campsites, rangers going around all the time. I felt safe at night here although animals in the bushes and stuff can scare you. I’m definitely going to come back again to camp! Can’t wait!!

I visited for the first time and I was really impressed. Very nice beach and clean. This is a very big park that offers many different things to experience. The Fort is a good place to visit and there is a restaurant and a snack shack on the beach. Great place for families and couples.

Went to fort desoto Park to do some pier fishing. Driving to the park You can see that is a beautiful park. there are two fishing piers there and I went to the largest one. The pier was crowded but the people were very friendly. I had to use a restroom which was decently clean. I also visited the camping site which was beautiful. There were places where you could actually camp next to the water and bring your boat up to it. I'm definitely going to go back and explore more of fort desoto Park.

I fell in love with this park. Beaches were beautiful and not congested. If you love biking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, bird watching, camping, or walking on the beach, this is the place. There is a dog beach and a large dog park. The campgrounds are well-cared for. Only problem was that website to book sites was not user friendly at all and the campground office was not open due to Covid. However, the website to reserve sites did go through an overhaul so hopefully that makes it easier for people. Only advice is to book in advance, because the campground was full.

Beautiful state park with amenities. We packed a lunch and sat at picnic tables in the shade. Charcoal grills are available, as well as a snack shack nearby. Enjoyed the beach day, and hope to visit again soon.

We always enjoy parks, the beach and history, so this was a triple-hit. Wide walking paths, fishing pier, lots of beaches and the old fort made for a great day at the park.

Of all the Florida beaches and parks I have been to, this is my favorite. I love walking across the water at the north end to get to the beach. Sometimes it is calf height, other times not even there. I love the wild untamed nature surrounding the beach. Crystal clear water, sand dollars and other shells, and a lot less crowded than many beaches.

No bad day on a beach in my book, except red tide. (No red tide yet so far this season) Even a colder, windy day will yield a desolate beach to enjoy, and the beauty that comes with it.

Love, love, love it. Camping, biking, kayaking, beaches, fishing, swimming all in one park. For $5 a car! Semi annual pass for $45. North Beach rivals any anywhere.

Great place to spend a day with the family without breaking the wallet. Bring a cooler and a bit of charcoal, grill at a picnic area, explore the fort, fish off the pier, enjoy the beach and RELAX. Not a crowded area. Room to breathe and not have to constantly worry about keeping an eagle eye on the kids.

The beach is so beautiful here! This was easily one of my favorite beaches to visit in all off the area. The sand is packed and easy to walk, the areas are large and the views are amazing.

I like this place. You have the boat ramp, shell key not too far either, the beach and even a campground if you manage to secure a spot. I have made a few videos of the place and my channel is the same as my name Erick Martin Sucre if you'll like to Google it or search on YouTube.

Fort desoto park is best for biking, hi king, blading, kayaking, beaching, picnics and anything else! Love the park. Live in Tampa Bay Area since 1992 and it’s number one park to go !

Always a fun time at Fort Desoto did some camping and some hiking a lot of picture taking gorgeous.

Absolutely beautiful park! explore the fort, swim, walk the beach, ride a bike on the trails. great beach, very pretty area, great campground

Great beach. Was quite in the morning so the kids were able to run all over. Toll road takes coins or “Florida pass” only so go prepared. $5 to get into the park

Where all the locals go apparently! It’s so beautiful, tons of parking and different spots to go to. Recommend driving all the way to the right at the very last parking spot. When you think you can’t go any further, keep going.

There are two highlights here at this park. The first is the nature hike near the northwest end of the park. The second is the fort itself and seeing the big guns. Lots of history here. You can also find plenty of pick nick areas, parking and fishing spots. It's a $5 entrance fee.

We love coming to the dog beach here! Always a fun time with dogs and kids romping in the water. The beach here is gorgeous since there are no hotels or condos lining it. This is one of our go-to beaches as locals. We also enjoy kayaking and paddle boarding around this area as well! The old fort area is interesting to explore too.

Largest park in Pinellas County. It's huge, but very well laid out. Something for everyone! Great for your favorite activities or just relaxing in nature.

Always consistently kept up. Beautiful huge park in a beautiful area! Great beach, fantastic fishery, mammoth well kept boat ramp, awesome campground area, shelters for rent. Sooo much to do!! Been visiting/using this park for 40 + years.

This is the most beautiful beach I've ever seen ☺️.

Great pic of history surrounded with beautiful beach, definitely worth to see

Nice recreational area

Great dog beach! Great sunset!

So many beautiful places here and so much to explore

Nothing better anywhere!

Beautiful spot to visit. Gotta pay tolls to get in. Is what it is

Beautiful area, the fort is an awesome thing to walk around, & learn about the history of it!

2 stars because at least it's clean: Tent camping-in short; it's like sleeping in a trailer park parking-lot. It cannot be considered camping at Fort DeSoto Park: Tents are set up on shell gravel lot, roadbase beneath makes driving a stake impossible, shells are sharp to sleep on, and cut up the tent. And There's a Toll Road to get in and out?! Sites are too close to the road, people walking to the the restrooms haphazardly flashing lights into your tent all night, same goes for the far too close neighbors flashing lights through your 1 foot width sparse shrubby "privacy" fence. headlights and trucks all night from the access road. Can hear chatter of nightowl campers echo through the park like a gymnasium. Shower curtain leaves a one inch gap when fully closed. It's as if this park strives against privacy and thrives on discomfort. I honestly had more fun, comfort and peace in a mangrove on the side of the highway.

I love this place ! Very nice !

awesome place, too bad we found it 2 hours before we had to head home! definitely worth the trip

Love this place for skimboarding! North Beach is probably the best by far. Also, having the Desoto park pass speeds up admission! You can get one through the Pinellas Parks website

$5 for parking paid at entrance. Whether you want to bike, hike, swim or explore local history this place is wonderful.

Beautiful place to camp! We will be returning in the future. We enjoyed going to Shell Island, kayaking, seeing the Fort, my dog enjoyed the dog park and dog beach just down the road.

A nice campground, some sites better than others. Luck of the draw with your neighbors, we were between two parties, and the 10 o’clock “quiet” time didn’t seem to be strictly enforced. Not a good night’s sleep.....

Fort De Soto is the perfect place to relax, fish, dolphin watch, explore, learn some history and enjoy a sunset. This park is huge and has so much to explore!

I enjoyed visiting Fort De Soto Park twice in two weeks. You do have to pay two tolls before arriving at the gate which requires another $5 just to park but it’s worth it! Lots of Beach to walk, interesting sightseeing to enjoy.

The best best and best park in Tampa Bay Area. It has some beautiful beaches and the most beautiful picnic shelters. Also you can go there for fishing. I strongly recommend this park for a beautiful family gathering

Really great area. There seem to be a lot of confusion on what you could do where. There were tons of us trying to find the dog park. and tons of us in the wrong place for the dog park. It was also not clear if we had to pay for parking again. One ranger told me I just had to pay my $5 at the gate but then there's parking meters everywhere. I was trying to find a place to grill out and signage was poor for that. But that's really my biggest complaint. A ranger told me I was in the wrong place at one point. That's fine but I'm not sure how I would have known.

Definitely the best beach in the area.

Great white sand beach's. Very nice paved bike trails. Great history of the fort. Beautiful scenic drive. Great way to get away for the day or weeks. Great place to camp. You can rent bicycles, carriages, kayaks, umbrellas and lawn chairs.

Love this place. It is great for fishing and kids.

What a beautiful place!!!!

Great park! Nice campgrounds and bike path. Kayaking was nice too even with some wind

Love, Love, love it here!!

Such a beautiful and fun park where you can fish, bike, kayak, and enjoy the beach. The fort is also cool to check out. You can walk on the top and have a wonderful view of the beach. Only downside their bald park ranger guy is a DB. It's unfortunate they have someone like him working there.

Wonderful, quiet, pristine beaches and fishing pier. Great areas and convenient rentals for biking, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. Fort not much to see. Interesting history though.

We took our dog to Fort Desoto Dog Beach and we loved it!!

Beautiful place... nice family destination..two fishing piers..historic fort...

It's beautiful.

Relax, walk, bike, camp, shell - so much to do, what an amazing park!!

I enjoyed a quick visit to the fort. It was free to tour the grounds. Proximity to the beach was ideal. A couple of good photo ops with the kids. I didn't make it 5 stars because there was not enough historical information and some of the info was damaged / vandalized.

Interesting park but they close early

One of the best places to visit for a true Florida experience. The campground is one of the best!

Beautiful

Hikers will love this.

Beautiful park with amazing history

This is my favorite beach in mid Florida. Bar none. Nature is winning and in charge on this beach. I even saw a pair of American oystercatchers-- rare birds.

Beautiful

Literally best park in Florida

A hidden gem with plenty of wildlife and sea life to see

Excellent please to visit whit a lot of space to bike and go to the beach

Great park explore All the beaches

Great beach

(Translated by Google) An excellent place to spend with the family, I loved the place (Original) Un lugar excelente para pasar en familia ,me encanto el lugar

We stopped here because we were already in the park for our ferry to Egmont Key. We only checked out the Fort, which was okay, nothing super special to see. We have seen much more well-maintained and interesting forts. The park itself seemed large and there were cool bike rentals towards the end. We would come back to further explore and walk the nature trails, but the Fort itself we did not feel would be a sole reason to visit here.

I love it. Truly beautiful place. Great views. I take my dog's there to run on the beach. There's a huge completely fenced in. Its divided in half for big and little dog's to run and play.

Went to camp here and thought that spots were very close together but the Price is Right visited from Deltona and found that certain spots were only available for pet friendly other than that I thought the park was very nice

This park is amazing to visit!! We had a water site (228)very shaded with a kayak launch site. Would definitely come back. So let me give you a few things to think about or tell you before you go visit. And of course my opinion😉 The bathhouse needs a little work, needs a little more TLC, the sites are awesome like I said but they could also use some TLC maybe clean it up a little and before anyone goes crazy about it being nature and what not, what I mean is the dead palm fronds need to be cleaned up looks very unkept that is all I am saying. They are sand sites so if you aren’t use to sand sites a little messy for those not use to sand site and because by the water lots of mosquitoes so if you don’t have mosquitos spray please bring it or the coils work pretty good which is what we used. There is a grill but no fire pit but you can rent a pit for $5 a day which is cool. So the camp store on site is pretty cool they have a lot of stuff!! So if you forgot something you will be able to get it there! They have ICE-CREAM!! Lots to do! Fishing, bike riding and kayaking!! So much fun! Hope this helps and have fun!!

Ft DeSoto campground and beach were both wonderful! The beach is clear and shallow, very calm with views of Egmont key, the lighthouse, and the nearby fishing pier. The fishing is great; my husband caught both flounder and snapper. Well worth a trip over for us.

Been coming here for years. Staff are friendly and helpful. The rest of the park speaks for itself. The only negative things are the potholes throughout the campground roads to campsites. They are muder on campers. Otherwise, this place rocks. Highly recommend it. I just hope I get a chance to come back sooner than later!

We love coming here camping with our dogs. So peaceful and beautiful. The campground price is reasonable and campsites are nice. You are surrounded by amazing views. We kayak, go to the beach, and watch amazing sunsets.

$5 parking fee plus tolls to get to the park. The beach is natural with lots of space to spread out. I recommend drinking past the Fort ruins to the roadside parking just beyond the beach shop. There is a boardwalk to get you halfway to the beach with a scenic walk. White sands, shallow waters, and lots of shells to pick

Beautiful beach and do much to do ,small museum explaining history and a trail around the old areas. Trails along the beach and a walk way to admire the view. Gift shop, snacks and toilets all for a small parking fee. Definitely worth a trip but don't forget sun screen and water.

We absolutely love this park. There are many different beaches to visit, we always go to the paw park with our dogs. We've also camped here before and it was a very pleasant experience ! Payment has been difficult since they took the toll worker away at the front entrance.

There's normally always parking spots available here. Parking costs about $5. The beaches are not very well maintained. You could encounter seaweed on the beach. If you go south side of the north beach expect the sand to be heavily walked on and impacted... You couldn't counter some sea urchins or other creatures in the water. If you go to far south of the North Beach there is a lake that you cannot swim across. We set up our time kind of farther away from the water.

Great area to relax. Dog beach is off leash and perfect to take your fur babies! The campsites are well maintained, and amenities available are great!

This is an excellent park. I'm not sure when the busy season is, but it does not appear to be April. Plenty of parking, plenty of space on the beach, plenty of room on the paved bike/walk trail. This was our second trip to this park, and it's one of our favorite! They have moved to a pay station parking, which has improved getting into the park (no waiting in traffic). If you stay at the campground, one vehicle parking pass is provided for the duration of the stay. Highly recommended!

Fort DeSoto Park is definitely one of the prettiest state parks here in Florida. It's a Beach Forest, preserve. You can camp fish, walk hike, swim or just relax and soak up the sun. In field two, they have a concession stand. There you can grab a drink or something to eat. They also have a really nice little gift shop with some very unique handmade items from Artisans from around the area. There's a historical area. And a beautiful fishing pier.. Everyone seemed to be catching fish. While enjoying the beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico. There's also a place which is my favorite called Picnic Island. There you can fish the intercoastal water . On the east side of the park . They have picnic tables with built-in with cover. And also barbecues to grill on. Breathtaking views from any area of this park. You can see the famous Skyway Bridge, which is right off the dog park at the end of the beach . The Skyway crosses over from Pinellas County into Manatee County. They have a paved road that goes through the whole entire State Park as well as a paved trail that takes you to different areas of the park. The whole entire park except the sand is handicap friendly. This is definitely one of the most beautiful and well-maintained Parks here in the state. I've seen beautiful birds, turtles, and of course dolphins and manatees. You have to pay a toll to get over the bridge, and it's $5 to park. This particular park is not included in the state park pass holder. Is considered a county park. It's definitely a beautiful way to spend your day. And a great place to catch the sunset. Safe travels

This is me and my mom’s favorite beach to go too especially the dog beach we love dogs and I feel that’s where I find most my big sea shells and finding sand dollars and star fish and seeing dolphins also getting followed by a curious baby sting ray