Fort DeSoto, FL
Fort DeSoto Park and Campground is located at the corner of the Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. As we drove across the causeway, we noticed the huge boat launch at the front of the park and great areas to launch kayaks over to Shell Key. Almost right after the boat launch, we found the campground. The campground sits inside the V Shaped island of Fort DeSoto, providing protection and calm waters. Many of the sites are along the water, some with boat accessibility, many with kayak launch accessibility, and some inside sites not directly on the water. Our site was directly on the water in the pet friendly area and we could launch our kayak from the site. The water area by our campsite was a no wake allowed, so it was super calm for kayaking. We saw a lot of people on the outer loop that had tied up their boats right at their sites.
The campgrounds are made up of three areas. Area One has 85 tent and small pop-up sites, right along the water. Area Two has 78 pet friendly sites, of which about half are along the no wake zone waterfront. Area Three has 71 sites, most are on the water and perfect to tie up your boat right at your site. The sites are all electric and water, but no sewer. The campground has a check in office, a general store, and two dump stations. Although the sites do not have a fire ring, you can either bring your own or rent one from the camp store. The camp store was small, but had all of the last minute essentials you might have forgotten, including fire pit rentals and bikes. While we were purchasing delicious ice cream cones, we watched a last-minute syrup purchase save a fellow camper’s morning pancake breakfast. It was late morning, so completely acceptable that we were enjoying ice cream while someone else was just eating breakfast. The area has a lot of trees and brush, keeping the sites private. The campgrounds are separate from the rest of the park, so you will not have the traffic of day guests inside the campgrounds.
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