A Local Gem: Fort Desoto County Park

Shhhhh ... I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Almost everyone knows about the fabulous beachside locations of many of Florida's most popular state park campgrounds. You are pretty much out of luck if you want to snag a spot for even a night at Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys, Anastasia State Park on the Atlantic coast, or any other state park campground that has easy access to Florida's pristine coastline beaches.

But the locals know about the ''hidden gems'' of Florida campgrounds. So when we strike up a conversation with a camper from the area, one of our first questions is usually, ''What is your favorite Florida campground?'' And more often than not, Fort Desoto County Park is the answer.

We briefly visited Fort Desoto last year when we were exploring the St Petersburg area, and we were impressed with the serene setting of this county park. That visit, however, was too short to really explore this barrier island, so we decided to go back to discover why the locals rave about Fort Desoto. Surprisingly, reserving a site at this county park was more successful than trying to get into Florida's popular state park campgrounds. Doug was able to reserve a spot in one of Fort Desoto's smaller tent/van sites for five nights (Sunday through Thursday) during the week. Weekends, as we expected, were completely booked. He booked two five day stretches leaving the weekend in between open, so I started researching our boondocking options in the Tampa Bay area. I was quite successful, but will leave those details for my next blog entry. For now, come enjoy the vegetation, wildlife, beaches, and sunsets that make Fort Desoto County Park a local gem ... and one of our new favorite Florida ''homes''.

First off ... The campsites are AMAZING! Even in the section deemed too ''tight'' for anything bigger than our Class B van, we enjoyed a spacious and private site. Every site has water and electric hook-ups. A number of the sites had bay views, but I was very content with my tree-filled yard that came complete with live lawn ornaments!

Secondly ... This park is HUGE! With over 1100 acres, there is plenty of space to camp, bike, walk, bird-watch, and just enjoy being a beach bum. Many days we would just move our ''home'' three miles down the road from our campsite to one of the numerous day-use parking areas and enjoy the beach for the day.

From there we walked the relatively flat sandy beach in search of a fortune in the form of $and dollar$ and other sea treasures. I found more than I will ever need (or can store in our van), so it was even more fun to give my treasures away to the little kids searching for shells on the beach. One sweet little girl looked at me like I had just handed her a million dollars when I offered her an unbroken sand dollar.

Because this park is so big, it was very easy to walk the miles of beaches and feel like we had the whole island to ourselves. It is a popular local destination, so the park fills up on the weekends, but during the week we enjoyed leaving the only footprints in the sandy beach.

  

Thirdly ... Nature ABOUNDS in the form of interesting wildlife and colorful flowers! Everywhere we looked, there were blue herons, ospreys, and egrets patiently waiting to snag their next fish dinner.

The blooming flowers that decorated our path reflected a hope that spring will soon be making its way north,

... although I am not sure that the cardinals are convinced that it is safe to head north just yet.

And we can all learn about healthy eating habits from one of our local favorites, the gopher tortoise. It is always fun to watch this ''living lawnmower'' enjoy his nutritious lunch of green grass and weeds.

Fourthly ... You can take a three hour tour to a DESERTED island! Across the water from Fort Desoto lies another small island with some big history. Egmont Key State Park is a National Wildlife Refuge and contains the ruins of a fort, the cobblestone roads of an abandoned town, and a still operational lighthouse. We took the 30 minute ferry ride out to the island one afternoon and fell in love with a place where history and nature compliments each other.

We started out at the lighthouse square,

... and followed the cobblestone path

... to the crumbling foundations of a once vibrant town.

Later we marveled at how the ospreys have taken over abandoned chimney stacks for nesting,

... and were happy to realize that the gopher tortoise is king in this deserted island paradise!

And finally ... The sunsets are SPECTACULAR! Our days at Fort Desoto County Park would not be complete without a three mile bike ride out to the beach to catch an ever-changing and always spectacular sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.

Whether illuminating kayakers,

... or highlighting the ripples of the ocean,

... or filling the palm of Doug's hand,

... Sunsets, like life, are best when shared at a favorite local gem like Fort Desoto.

But, shhhhh ... don't let anyone else know ;-)

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