Fort DeSoto Beach Park in Pinellas County

Ft. DeSoto Park is one of Pinellas County’s crowning jewels. Located at 3500 Pinellas Bayway South in Tierra Verde, this secluded piece of sandy paradise is Pinellas County’s largest and most admired park. In fact, it’s been featured on numerous national “best of” lists over the years. Visitors love it (and keep coming back) for its relaxed atmosphere, hypnotic white sands, and crystal blue waters. Most visitors would agree a visit to Ft. DeSoto Park is the closest a person can come to a Tahiti vacation without leaving the country.

Opened on December 21, 1962, Ft. DeSoto Park attracts over 2.7 million visitors each year. The area on which the park now sits was originally surveyed by Robert E. Lee in 1849, and became an important Union stronghold for the blockade of Tampa Bay during the Civil War. The famous fort for which the park is named was opened in 1900 (though construction began two years earlier). The original Fort DeSoto was built as a military outpost to protect Tampa Bay from invaders. The fort remained active until 1910, with only a caretaker and a sergeant stationed there from 1910 until 1914. When World War I started, new forces were shipped to the fort, but by the early 1940s, the fort was abandoned by the federal government. Pinellas County purchased the property in 1948 and has held it ever since.

Today, Ft. DeSoto Park hosts a plethora of picnic areas, two swimming areas, and two fishing piers. It also has a nature trail, camping area (complete with a camp store and laundry facilities), a pet park, a multi-purpose trail, and a canoe trail. For those who are more interested in history than recreation, the original fort still stands at the park and tours are available. A gift shop and snack bar are located inside the structure. A quartermaster storehouse museum is also at the park for history buffs.

For anyone looking for a spectacular day in the sun with their family and friends, Ft. DeSoto Park is only a short drive away, and has something for everyone. Whether you want to relax on the sand while you soak up the sun, take a vigorous hike through some of the most scenic coastal scenery in the area, or relive the park’s dramatic past, you can do it all at Pinellas County’s favorite park.

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