Weedon Island Preserve
It’s hard to know where to begin on this one. The area once used by an airport and a film studio, it now is home to a power plant, a wheelchair-accessible network of trails and boardwalks, and a history center near the parking lot and restrooms. One can also rent kayaks to travel around the bay in. There are suggested routes, some of which cut right through the island (actually a peninsula) through oversized ditches. Information boards along the paths teach about plants and other things.
In some places, the boardwalks stretch quite a distance in nearly straight lines while all around is green. From the observation tower one is able to see Saint Petersburg, Tampa, and all the way across the bay to the Big Bend power station in Apollo Beach just peeking above the treetops. The boardwalks lead to several observation platforms that jut out over lagoons where crabs, snails, and wading birds feed. Some are completely enclosed by mangroves. Others are open to Tampa Bay only by narrow straits. Throughout the park are smaller pools and ditches among the mangrove roots. Fiddler crabs are everywhere. As are many half-tame tortoises and armadillos. You will want to go more than once.
In some places, the boardwalks stretch quite a distance in nearly straight lines while all around is green. From the observation tower one is able to see Saint Petersburg, Tampa, and all the way across the bay to the Big Bend power station in Apollo Beach just peeking above the treetops. The boardwalks lead to several observation platforms that jut out over lagoons where crabs, snails, and wading birds feed. Some are completely enclosed by mangroves. Others are open to Tampa Bay only by narrow straits. Throughout the park are smaller pools and ditches among the mangrove roots. Fiddler crabs are everywhere. As are many half-tame tortoises and armadillos. You will want to go more than once.
Written by Daniel Noe