Parks

ABoyd Hill Nature Park & Lake Maggiore Environmental Education Center
Boyd Hill is 245 acres of pristine Florida wilderness. The park is one of the region's least discovered yet most remarkable natural habitats, with its five distinct eco-systems situated in the state's most densely populated county. Miles of trails meander through hardwood hammocks, sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, willow marsh and the Lake Maggiore shoreline. As part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Great Florida Birding Trail, Boyd Hill is a haven for even the most seasoned birder. There is also a new environmental center with permanent and roving diplays portraying native florida.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year round, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Fees: Adults (18+): $2; children (3-17): $1. Tram tours $1 plus trail admission.

Houses a recreation center, gym, public swimming pool, athletic fields and several annual festivals.

Amenities:
City/County Park
Parking
Natural Grass
Wood
Distance from Beach: 8 mi. to Treasure Island
Seating Capacity: 1,000 @ baseball diamond & 1,000 @ football field
Baseball
Football
Soccer
Softball
Swiming & Diving
Synchronized Swimming
Tennis
Volleyball
Performance Space: 1 baseball diamond, 1 softball diamond & 1 football field, all lighted; 4 concrete tennis courts & recreational pool
Sports Venue Details: Concessions, restrooms, press box & scoreboards

Located at the mouth of Tampa Bay, southwest of Fort De Soto Park. This 440-acre island is the home to one of the last government-operated lighthouses, built in 1858, in the nation. It is still an active navigational aide to all ships entering Tampa Bay.

Now a wildlife refuge, Egmont Key was a camp for captured Seminoles during the Third Seminole War and was a Union Navy base during the Civil War. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection cooperatively manages Egmont Key with the U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Several boats offer snorkeling excursions to this island which is accessible only by boat. Egmont Key also has a variety of significant natural resources, including a large population of gopher tortoises, and its beach is used as a nesting area by loggerhead sea turtles.

Currently there are more than 200 palms and cycades exhibited representing some 45 species from around the world. Development of the arboretum is a continuing, never-ending project. The collection will grow as new species become available. Park development is supervised by the City Beautiful Commission in cooperation with the city of St. Petersburg Parks Department.

It is the one of a kind North Shore Park, St. Petersburg's huge waterfront park, which runs along Tampa Bay from Coffee Pot Bayou to Vinoy Park. This park is awesome with scenic walking paths that run through North Shore Park, over to Snell Isle, adjacent Flora Kylies Park, and Gizella Kopsick Palm Arboretum. It has four lighted tennis courts (next to the water!), the North Shore Beach, playgrounds, benches, and even a softball field (home of Kids and Kubs). North Shore Park is a rare natural treat, smack in the middle of a modern setting.

Enjoy fishing or sightseeing on the longest fishing pier in the world! View magnificent sunrises and beautiful sunsets from the pier, which is open 24 hours every day of the year. Fishing supplies, snacks, drinks and bait are all available on both the north and south piers.

This is a recreational complex filled with activities. This park also has recreation for the canine in the family-a 1.5 acre dog park. This park includes a doggie water station, the freedom to be with out a leash and the chance to mingle amoung their peers.

Weedon Island Preserve combines a wonderful nature experience on a site with fascinating historical significance. The Cultural and Natural History Center features classrooms and exhibit areas designed by anthropologists, historians and Native Americans to reflect the art and history of the area's first people. A group of low-lying islands history goes back 10,000 years when early peoples such as the Timucuans and Manasotas made the island their home. The center combines a look at artifacts excavated from the site by the Smithsonian in the 1940s, as well as the chance to experience aspects of Native American culture including dance, cooking, art & crafts. The preserve also includes a nature experience with a four-mile canoe trail and nine-mile hiking trail along with a fishing pier and waterfront picnic sites. Weedon Island Preserve is an expansive 3,000-acre region on Tampa Bay in north St. Petersburg comprised mostly of marine habitats with some uplands. It also is a site rich in cultural history. Indigenous peoples, including those during the Weeden Island Cultural Period, occupied this site for thousands of years. Today, the Preserve protects this wide diversity of natural and cultural resources for future generations including the Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center.