Tampa Bay

Honeymoon Island has a big, natural beach where you can get away from people, but also offers a cafe, bikes and kayaks to rent and a playground. Recently, the beautiful sandspit beach that extends miles north split in two! Erosion has connected the Gulf to the Intracoastal, and it’s still shifting. Don’t worry: There are still miles of beach to walk.

The beach is spectacular here — wide white sand, clear blue-green water. But the Old Florida charm of Pass-a-Grille, a community within St. Pete Beach, is what makes it stand out.

From beach camping on a tropical island to camping on rivers in dense forests, you might be surprised by these Florida state parks with camping in the state’s second largest metropolitan area. (5th in a series)

Visiting here, I found myself amazed that places like Anna Maria Island survive — a low-rise beach town with quaint cottages and a spectacular beach. Daytrippers will be happy to learn they can skip the weekend traffic and parking hassles with an affordable new ferry service from Bradenton.

Who doesn’t love the Florida State Fair? From livestock tents to magical midway — and food! Lots of food! And some of it is not good for you, which is, of course, the appeal of a state fair.

Emerson Point Preserve is an exceptional county park, off the beaten path on the southern end of Tampa Bay. There is excellent hiking and kayaking, and the real gem is the Portavant temple mound.

Florida’s largest outdoor festival. Opening weekend acts include Beach Boys, Black Eyed Peas and ZZ Top, more. See our complete guide for more information.

In Dunedin, we love bicycling the Pinellas Trail, but this charming Tampa Bay area town has more to offer, with eight breweries plus great restaurants and coffee shops in its walkable historic downtown. Twenty minutes away are two excellent state parks with award-winning beaches.

J. B. Starkey Wilderness Park flies under the radar for most people planning Florida trips. It’s not a state park and it’s not near a population center. But this vast water-management preserve offers tent sites in the woods and rustic cabins you can rent quite cheaply. There are miles of trails, including an excellent paved bike trail.

Myakka is one of the oldest and biggest state parks, a great place for seeing wildlife, from huge gators to flocks of birds in winter. Go here for its log cabins, appealing camp sites, excellent kayaking, extensive hiking and good bike trails. It’s also a good spot for nature neophytes, who enjoy the airboat ride and canopy walk.

Here’s a great destination for hot summer weekends. Three new art museums in St. Petersburg – each built to house extraordinary private collections – make this a Florida city with lots to do indoors. Opening Aug. 3, the Dali Museum also will debut a dome with a 360 degree immersive art experience.

Floridians survive the heat and humidity of our brutal summers by turning to the state’s wealth of cool, clear, refreshing springs. But you need to get to the best Florida springs early, especially on weekends.

Crystal River is the only river in Florida where you are allowed to swim with the manatees, and it’s undergoing a remarkable restoration.

The Hacienda Hotel again reigns as the glamorous star of downtown New Port Richey. It’s a stunning restoration of a historic gem, a gracious hotel with modest prices.

Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park in New Port Richey is not well known outside its area. But it’s a good place to kayak both to see springs in the park and to paddle into the Gulf to see historic stilt houses.

Caladesi Island State Park off Dunedin is a pristine white-powder beach with clear water. It’s a perfect kayak destination & one of the top 10 beaches in the US.

This tiny fishing village wedged between Bradenton and Anna Marie Island celebrates its rich heritage as a commercial fishing hub.

It’s hard to imagine the world then – Florida before Disney. But the photos of a Sarasota photographer, Joseph Janney Steinmetz, can help transport you to an Old Florida Christmas.

There are few parks in Florida with as much to offer as Pinellas County’s Fort DeSoto Park. And no park in the state, not even Everglades National Park, attracts as many visitors.

Safety Harbor has a rich history in its mineral springs and pioneering citrus industry. This homey outpost on Tampa Bay also has a colorful art scene and diverse eateries.

St. Petersburg is full of Old Florida treasures, from a beautiful brick 1927 comfort station next to the new bayfront pier to the Sunken Gardens, a cherished roadside attraction complete with a flock of flamingoes. St. Pete has grown younger and livelier, but it retains much of its original charm.

Camping, kayaking, hiking, biking and a humongous swimming pool are the top features of this state park that straddles the Hillsborough River.

Egmont Key is romantic, remote and historic. Located in the mouth of Tampa Bay, accessible only by boat, it is home to an intriguing fort, gopher tortoises, beautiful beaches and more.

For paddle boarding, it would be hard to find a better destination than Tampa Bay. In addition to beaches and bays, you can paddle amid mangrove islands, in tannic rivers with alligators and, within a two hour drive, one of the most spectacular clear spring runs in Florida.

The Pinellas Trail is a long, well-marked paved bicycle trail that connects St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs along Florida’s Gulf coast.

Tarpon Springs is best known for its Greek sponge docks. But a boat trip to Anclote Key, one of Florida’s most remote state parks, is even better. Anclote Key is a perfect island beach, perhaps more tantalizing because it’s not easy to visit.

Colt Creek State Park is one of Florida’s newest parks, part of the massive Green Swamp Wilderness near Tampa, with RV and tent camping, backpacking, kayaking, fishing, hiking and off-road bicycling.

We’ve selected nine public campgrounds near Tampa Bay for their scenic beauty, low prices and prime opportunities for hiking, biking, kayaking and canoeing. We think you’ll like these choices.

Travel writer Vicki McCash Brennan has a passion for craft beer, museums and art galleries, and they all come together along St. Petersburg’s historic Central Avenue.

The Manatee River is wild, natural and serene in its eastern section. Just a half hour from downtown Bradenton, the Upper Manatee Paddling Trail is another world. Your trip can include a stop at a preserve where a pioneer cemetery marks the site of an early town.