Fort De Soto County Park Florida

[Bill and Elaine]

We camped here the first week of March, 2013. The campground is surrounded by water, so many campsites have water views and water access. That makes it a great place for kayaking, birding and cycling.

Bike rentals are available, so we cycled all over the island. Kayaks can also be rented. The birding was incredible. We saw fledgling great horn owls, and baby bald eagles besides countless water birds. Shelling is another favorite activity. We missed out on some of these activities because we didn't have the best weather. OK, it didn't rain a drop, but the week we were there we experienced strong winds almost continously. For hours, the winds were INTENSE, even gale force! We were cozy inside our teardrop, but we really found staying at our campsite quite uncomfortable, cold and generally unpleasant.

Fortunately, once we got off the shoreline, we were more comfortable. The dense palm trees cut the wind.

There is a meeting room available with a huge fireplace and a supply of firewood to provide campers with a place to relax out of the wind. We used it almost daily, eating our meals there and making friends with our fellow campers. Some campers claimed the winds are always a problem. Others said the week before we got there the weather was beautiful, calm and in the 80's. We experienced daytime temperatures were 50-60 degrees. At night the temperature fell into the low 40's. You will see us dressed for the cool weather in some of these pictures. We never wore shorts or short sleeve shirts while we were there. This was not what we were expecting in Florida. However, we will give this beautiful park a second chance next year. Heck, we made so many friends sitting around that fireplace, we have to go back and see them. But next year, we'll be selecting a campsite away from the shoreline and the wind.












There are wonderful museums, restaurants and sights to see in nearby St. Petersburg, FL.


The official website:

http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm

If you want to camp here, you can either reserve on-line six months in advance or hope for a walk in campsite, which requires good luck.

[clermont cubby]

Fort De Sota is one of our favorite campgrounds. Glad you enjoyed.
Pics look great. Now you have me wanting to go back real soon.

Larry

[Bill and Elaine]

Larry, glad you love Fort De Soto. What's been your experience with the wind? We think camping on the inside campsites, or even in the pet area will eliminate our trouble with the high winds.

How about the raccoons? We've never seen raccoons in such large numbers or as aggressive. Several tent campers said the raccoons has unzipped their tents and come right inside looking for food. We watched raccoons go into RVs and vehicles too. Coolers have to be securely strapped closed. Doritos seem to be their favorite food! Crazy.

We met the nicest folks there and now we're planning on visiting each other during the summer and fall. Then we'll meet again at Fort DeSoto next winter. Camping is a wonderful opportunity to make friends which is something we never anticipated when we got our teardrop. Let the good times roll!

[clermont cubby]

We always camp at the pet approved sites so wind was not a problem. Have not encountered probelms with racoons,but mosquitos have been real bad. We own a teardrop but have done most of our camping in our class B. The teardrop is used as an extra "bedroom" for guest.

Larry

[Bill and Elaine]

What time of year do you camp at Fort De Soto? No see ums were not around when we were there, probably due to the windy conditions.

[clermont cubby]

We normally camp this time of the year. Wait for the snowbirds to return north. If there are windy conditions the bugs are less of a nuisance.
We have to stay in the pet camp sites, so reservations are more difficult to obtain. We are fortunate that we can visit Ft Desota as a day trip. Many locals
like to visit Siesta Keys. Siesta has some of the most beautiful white sandy beaches, just a little drive from Ft Desota.

Several of our other fav. parks include: Honeymoon Island, Manatee Springs, Blue Springs, Anastasia, Gamble Rogers, and Silver River. These are all part of the Florida State Park system and not a county park. Worth a look see when you are in the area.

By the way, we are originally from the Washington DC area (Virginia suburbs), and am a little familiar with the Mt Airy area. Beautiful area.

Larry

[Bill and Elaine]

Larry,

The friends we who motivated us to try Fort De Soto this year have also recommended Siesta Keys. I think they went there for a few days before we met up at De Soto. We'll plan at least a short visit there next winter. We'll also check out the other parks you mentioned too. Maybe we'll split up our camping time between Siesta Key, DeSoto and perhaps a third park from your list. Thanks for your sage advise on those parks.

If you've been away from the DC area for a time, you'd be stunned by the growth that has taken place. In the 1980's used to have to drive 16 miles each way to Frederick to buy a pair of socks. Now we have shops, a Wally World, and fast food joints. The daily commute to Rockville can easily take 2 hours one way if it rains or there is an accident. Thankfully, we are now retired and no longer making that trip.

Bill

[clermont cubby]

Bill:

We visit the No Va area once to twice a year. Our youngest lives in Manassas. After 30 plus years of traffic we moved to Central Florida and love it. Even though my wife is from No Va, we have no desire to relocate back in the area.

Larry

[WhitneyK]

Bill & Elaine,

Thanks for sharing your photo's. Nice shot of a young owl.
We visited there years ago, almost on accident, and really liked it. We're hoping to plan a trip to Florida for nature photos in the near future and will have to definitely get back to Ft. De Soto.
Again, thanks for sharing.

[Bill and Elaine]

Whitney-We saw an abundance of wildlife at Fort De Soto. That was a surprising feature to our visit. We saw more wildlife there, than we did in the Everglades.
You should have a ball!

Bill

PS-Our states map is the same one you have, and its filled in about the same too. We loved Glacier NP.See viewtopic.php?f=43&t=52194 for our photos.

[clermont cubby]

Bill and Elaine

Hoping to get back to ft desoto in the next several weeks. Built a kayak and want to try out on the backwater flats.

Try to post some pics.

Larry

[Bill and Elaine]

Larry-Have a ball at Fort De Soto. I hope the new kayak works our great for you.

We are traveling from Maryland to New England in a few weeks where we will meet up with two of the friendly couples we came to know at Fort De Soto this past March. A return trip to the campground will be planned for next winter as we coordinate our schedules with these friends. This year, we'll get a campsite on the less windy side. Ha!

[Bill and Elaine]

We are returning to Fort De Soto Park in 2014. We'll be there Feb 26-March 5. If you're in the area or camping there, please look us up.

We're camping in a T@B trailer. Our friends Bill and Joan will be there again too this year. We can't wait!

[mary and bob]

We were there about the 3rd week of November. It got real windy during the night of the day we were leaving to head up to Henderson. Branches blowing out of the trees. We were planning to leave early in the morning but decided to wait and see if the wind eased up, it didn't. We had a site on the water, 205. Nice site when it wasn't windy. We are now spending the winter on the coast of Georgia near Brunswick. Heading back north March 1 and arriving home in upstate NY about the 9th.

[Bill and Elaine]

We had wonderful weather all week long when we were there this year. We enjoy this park.