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Pinellas County Beaches - Egmont Key
If you enjoyed exploring the ruins and experiencing the
"old Florida" beaches at Fort Desoto Park, you should also arrange a
visit to Egmont Key. The island is visible from Fort Desoto, but
there's no road to take you there. You'll either have to use your
own boat, rent a boat, or catch the ferry.
Even though Egmont Key is a Florida State Park (Fort
Desoto is only a county park), it does not offer much in the way of
facilities. There are no vending machines or trash cans, and just
one outhouse-style bathroom near the lighthouse. But the park does
offer Old Fort Dade, with enough old concrete fortress ruins to allow
hours of exploration.
Most of the ruins are on the northern end of the island
(the southern end is a bird sanctuary - no humans allowed) and on the
western side, facing the Gulf of Mexico. There's a path that
begins on the beach, near the ferry drop-off point, and connects all the
gun batteries and a few old concrete buildings.
You may be surprised by the architectural styling put
into these old concrete buildings. After all, they were built in
the late 1800's.
This is what it looks like inside one of the mortar pits.
The huge cannons have been removed (unlike at Fort Desoto, where a few
still remain). Unless signs advise otherwise, you're free to climb
and explore.
Other buildings haven't survived quite as well, and every
time a hurricane sweeps through the area, more of the park's history is
damaged or washed away.
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