Field trip to Ft. Desoto

Ft. DeSoto Park is one of the most well-attended parks in Florida, yet it is not heavily used on weekdays and manages to provide a surprisingly natural and aesthetically pleasing outdoor experience.  The park combines barrier island habitat (and seven miles of beaches) with mangrove habitat that is very similar to the more extensive mangrove-dominated ecosystems found farther south on Florida’s west coast.  A small maritime forest of live oak, cedar, pine, and sabal palm, interspersed with mangrove-choked tidal creeks, is found near the northwest corner of the park.  Extensive seagrass meadows grow in the shallows just about everywhere that isn’t exposed to the Gulf’s surf.

The largest park within the Pinellas County Park System, this park consists of 1,136 acres made up of five interconnected islands. First opened on December 21, 1962, when the state toll road named the Pinellas Bayway was completed, this park was dedicated May 11, 1963, in perpetuity as a public park. Annual park attendance averages more than 2.7 million visitors.

The 12-inch mortar battery, located at the fort for which the park was named, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on February 7, 1978. Adding to the historical interest at Fort De Soto, two British breech-loading, rapid-fire rifles of 1890 vintage were installed in March 1982. Markers showing the original building locations and a Quartermaster Storehouse Museum, which opened in November 2000, add to the park's historic interest.