If you interested in history of this park there is a great article on their county's main page. A lot of interesting facts and details about it - Fort De Soto Historic Guide
Brief history if you didn't want to read from the link above.
The park is made up of 5 island anchored by the main island, Mullet Key where the fort and main beaches are located.
This park has few different sections and areas to visit. You can even do camping there. We explored 3 area - East beach, Fort and North Beach.East Beach is a great area to come with small kids. Water is very calm and clean. Beach is the least
crowded and there is an incredible view of the Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay.
Next stop was the Fort
In 1849 Brevet Col. Robert E Lee and three other US Army Engineers surveyed the area and recommended Mullet and Egmont Keys become fortified. They both can be reached by boats only.
Both Keys had been a military outpost for Union troops trying to block ships of Confederacy from coming to Tampa Bay. But at that time they didn't have a fort. It wasn't built until the Spanish American War. It was build our of shells and concrete, because the rock for its construction didn't arrive in time. It was finished and named after Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto in 1900. In 1910 fort was abandoned until World War II , when it was used as a bombing range for MacDill Air Force Base.
In 1949 Pinellas County purchased it and made it as a park.
View from the top of the Fort.
Pier is right next to the Fort
Our last stop in this park was The North Beach.
This beach is the most popular for shelling, swimming and picnicking. The sunset from there was amazing!
We brought our own food with us and had a great time eating right by the beach. Girls enjoyed watching seagulls and I tried to feed it :)
Walking on the beach and waiting for sunset.
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