Fort De Soto Park Campground

Just left Fort De Soto Campground in Tierra Verde (near St. Petersburg) for our third time and it was just as good as the last two times! We were in site 197, which was perfect for our 45’ fifth wheel toy hauler, Ford dually and golf cart. Site was alittle snug to get into but the shaded trees and waterfront view was worth the extra time to get into the site. We stayed there for 5 nights and it is never long enough. The beach was crystal clear with sights of dolphins and other sea creatures. We picked up some beautiful shells and our daughter played in both of the park playgrounds, which are nice, well taken care of and shaded. The site was just amazing with so many trees for privacy and we were even able to hang our hammocks for ourselves and our little one right by the water! The site had 50 amp electric and water hookup with good pressure...no sewer. There is a dump station on way out. Verizon cell phone service was good (not great , but good enough to use hotspot to stream TV and for our daughter to do some of her virtual school right by the water!) Campground was full, but quiet...great for families or couples. We rented a fire pit and bought some fire wood from the camp store for the cooler nights. We visited Johns Pass boardwalk, which was about 30 mins away. Recommend going there and eating at small restaurant called Boardwalk Grill. Cute shops and restaurants on the boardwalk with beautiful water views. You can even rent jet skis, go on boat cruises, or buy fresh seafood. Parking was steep at $35 for the day. I have said this many times, but if you haven’t camped here, it is definitely a place to visit!

We stayed at the end of the local spring break week. A cold front came through so it was cloudy, windy and a little chilly. We live in the area-this is our second trip here. It is impossible to get reservations even though many spots are empty.

This is a terrific campground. Lots of privacy. Water view in our spot. Quiet even during spring break. We must come back!

Love this place. The sites are huge and private. Most sites have water views. One large loop is dog friendly. Camp store has lots of necessities for things that were forgotten. Great for kayaks/canoes, bikes, beach, and some history too.

I give the 4 stars for noise because the kids at the playground during our week were out of control. Very loud as early as 7am Saturday morning.

We came in the beginning of February (8-11th) which seems to be a popular time due to the rarity of available spaces, but we were able to reserve online right after Christmas and got a block for three nights. Good time of year to come - not yet too humid, no bugs at all, warm days. We were pleasantly surprised at how quiet it was in our area. No parties going on or crazy loud families which seem to be our camping destiny of late (people don’t seem to know how to behave when they are camping). Seemed to be a more adult crowd, retirees, couples and friends who like to enjoy being outside. If you like to fish, kayak, or just hang out on the beach, this is a perfect place to relax. Our site was spacious, deep, and lots of privacy as there was a good amount of foliage between us and the neighbors. One warning, however, we noticed poison ivy in the wooded areas, just beware if you have kids or are susceptible yourself. Gave it four stars instead of five due to that and the outdated bathrooms. They suffice, but have a bad layout. The showers are okay, but there is no private changing area. You step out of the shower into a common changing area. Not much space to put your stuff in the shower. They are cleaned often, but there is no humidity control so it’s always damp and slippery in there. There are two washers and dryers at each bathroom location, $1.75 each and do a good job. If you need quarters, go to the camp store as there are no change machines. Overall a nice place, easy to get to, not too far from others stuff, great beaches.

We finally decided to start camping, we left our kids home and decided to rent an A-liner (technically it was an A-frame flagstaff) and we loved every moment of it. Maps can be deceiving, because when we initially chose a site based on the campground map, it looked like we were right on the water. It was not the case, but we didn't mind it.

We could barely see the ocean from some spots of our campsites. It was still a short few minutes walk to the beach, where we fished and watched the sunset. The best thing about this campground is the vibe and location, we did visit the State Park near by, but we realized all the fun is at the campground.

It was a very memorable experience after all.

It's not just the campground that makes this great, it's all of Fort DeSoto with a huge boat launch area, numerous kayak/paddleboard launch sites, kayak & bike rental, miles of beach & multi-use trails, wildlife, a dog beach, Fort & museum...the list goes on.

For first-timers here are a few pointers:
Sites 86-164 is the only section where pets are allowed. This area has only one-way in with the exit being midway back directly back out to the highway. This is the only way to get back to the dump station & entrance.

Coming from St. Pete, there are two tolls ($0.75 and $1.00 for cars, more for RVs) to get to the campground. There is a $5 fee to enter Fort DeSoto park itself (1 mile past the campground entrance) but your site tag covers the fee for your day of arrival through departure.

Sites 1-85 (non-pet area) is much better suited for smaller/lower rigs as there are many narrow areas with low branches, Even a class C will hit lots of low hanging stuff.

Currently, the office is closed - the hosts post your pass on the electrical box so just proceed directly to your site. If you are moving sites, they may issue your new site tag if you ask in the morning.

The only issue I had was with cellular - seems Verizon is your best bet (based on other reviewers) but my AT&T hotspot was very slow. While T-Mobile was better out in the open, inside and under all the trees it was also very slow. The vegetation and trees are so dense, while there are many OTA stations, it is difficult to pull them in consistently. Even with a MIMO antenna and booster, my ability to connect was very intermittent.

No contact arrival, just go to your assigned campsite from your email, your parking pass is affixed to your power pedestal.

Glad to see they separate and enforce the pet free camp area. The family a crossed the road from us were asked to leave the non pet area for brining a dog. It was really nice camping with out the sound of barking yipping dogs all day.

This is an alcohol free camp, I had heard of employees doing cooler and cup checks looking for beer or wine. With that said, we never had an issue, but we were not howling at the moon either.

The campsite was great, shaded most of the day and backed up to the sound side and a short 20 yard walk a crossed a mowed grass area to the water. Just far enough from the neighbors, but you can see and hear them. The surface was hard packed sand and clear of debris on our arrival.

Power and water quality was good and no issues with either. There is a heavy raccoon population, just be aware.

The shower house was clean and the water pressure was good with plenty of hot water. The restroom side could have used a could of more stools as I found the three to be occupied ever time I went to use them. If

They did not seem to enforce limits on per campsite occupancy as one of our neighbors had 4 tents and guessing 10 people on the site. They did not bother us so it wasnt a big deal.

If I had a complaint it would be they need to close the gate and only allow campers into the campground, there seemed to be a high number of drive through tourist types

This a great state park to visit and explore. Amazing sunset experience on north beach. Plenty of trails to bike/hike/run. Several beaches and piers to visit. Dedicated dog beach. This park is also a great place to fly a kite. The campground is well maintained but always seems to be busy. A lot of sites crammed in here. Obviously some are better than others. Most offer some privacy between sites with natural foliage. We come here for what the park has to offer not necessarily the camping area itself. Hot showers are great and you regularly see workers maintaining all the facilities. A few tolls on the way bring some quarts for exact change tolls.