Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs, Florida
Dress - J.Crew Factory, sold out, similar here, and here; flats here; cardigan - old, similar here
This past December, for the first time in many months, we decided to venture out of our neighborhood, while still maintaining our social distance. After a quick search online, we decided to visit Tarpon Springs, and as shared in this post, we loved it and vowed to come back. And back we went, only this time we decided to head to Fred Howard Park, rather than the heart of the city.
Fred Howard Park is a huge green [Florida-wild] space with a 1-mile causeway leading to a beach by the Gulf of Mexico.
While we looked it up online, we found that the park charges a fee of $5 per vehicle (via automated pay stations), and is free if visited on foot. However, once there, we realized that the actual park is free of charge if you park prior to reaching the causeway (there is a sign marking the start of the paid-entrance). Parking is ample both in the actual park, as well as on the causeway and beach.
The park is quite large and has several hiking trails, as well as picnic areas/shelters, restrooms, and playgrounds for children. As expected in Florida, you’ll also find signs warning of wildlife like gators, snakes, etc. - we didn’t see any, however, a group of girls warned us to avoid a trail we were headed on due to a snake sighting.
After strolling through the park a bit, and because it was a gorgeous day, we decided to walk the 1-mile to the beach, which on a hot Florida summer day may be tough to do as there is zero shade on the causeway leading to it.
The beach is stunning and idyllic with its white sand, lots of palm trees, and typical beach vegetation like beach sunflowers and grass, sea oats (it’s illegal to pick them), and a few spots that, at least on the day we were there, felt secluded. Generally speaking though, the beach is pretty small, and like most beaches, it can get busy quickly. The water is very clear, though seagrass seems abundant in it and on the shore.
We still managed to spend a few hours there, relaxing while staying away from people, and walking from one corner to the other taking in the views of the water and islands not far from the shore.
If you ever find yourself in the area, this park is definitely nice to visit. Worth noting is that you can rent canoes, kayaks, water bikes, etc. on the beach, though the prices per hour seemed expensive to us.
Until next time.
xoxo,
Em
