Dog Friendly Fort De Soto Florida

Love the beach? And your pup likes it too?

Great!

Then let me introduce you to the best dog friendly beach in the St Petersburg FL area.

Please note: This page contains Affiliate links and /or advertisements, which means I get a commission if you sign up or purchase anything through my links provided, at no extra cost to you!

Please read our Disclaimer for more details.

Fort De Soto State Park

Fort De Soto park is made up of five interconnected islands (actually referred to as “keys”), and it’s full of wildlife!

You will see plenty of bird, turtles and even dolphins.

It has more than 7 miles of waterfront, beautiful white sandy beaches, an historic Fort, 2 fishing piers (great for sunset viewing), an awesome campground and bunch of other stuff.

Fee to get into the park is $5 (it could change though so have plenty of cash with you).

Check out this video to get a glimpse of the park.

Note: I apologize about the speed. I had to speed as some parts of it to upload it here.

As an other important note, the areas on the video are not pet friendly. See the pet friendly areas below.

From this park you can also take a ferry to Shell Key and Egmont Key.

None of them are pet friendly unfortunately, but they are a must see!

You can also rent kayaks and bikes at the park.

Dog Friendly Fort De Soto

There are 3 areas you can go with your dog.

Campground

Note: I personally haven’t tried camping here yet, but I heard it’s beautiful. The information about the camp site below are from people I know who have camped here. To get more info about camping here please visit the park’s website.

If you are looking to camp at Fort De Soto you are in luck!

A section of the campground is actually dog friendly, but you have to keep your dog on a leash at all times. Be sure to let the park know you are bringing dogs when you are making your camp site reservation!

The campground has bathrooms, washers and showers as well.

If you are not planning to camp in the park, there are plenty of beautiful hotels in the St Pete area that accept dogs.

There are some dog friendly hotels or Airbnbs in:

Downtown St Petersburg (see my other article about Dog Friendly St. Petersburg FL for more info)

Gulfport FL (between Downtown and the Beach)

St Petersburg Beach

The closest hotels to the State Park are in St Pete Beach.

Dog Beach

There is an awesome dog beach where you and your pooch can enjoy the white sandy shore and the beautiful clear water.

There is no fence though, so it might not be the best option for you if your dog tends to run away.

My beagle is one of those curious dogs that love to chase after everything, so I had to keep him on a leash.

If your dog is anything like mine, I recommend you bringing a heavy duty tie out stake with a long cable. This way he will be able to enjoy the beach without running off from you, or bothering others.

Also there is no drinkable water on the beach so you should bring plenty with you.

An other thing you should bring with you is a sun umbrella. The sun in Florida is very powerful, and it will burn you quick. The sun and heat will also dehydrate your dog very fast, so provide plenty of shade and fresh water for him.

Oh, and wear sandals! The beach is covered in beautiful (but sharp) shells!

I do have to warn you though that the beach does have its dangers. I have seen crabs, stingrays and starfishes lurking around, so keep an eye on your dog at all times.

Dog Parks

There are two dog parks by the beach. One for small dogs and one fro large dogs. They are both huge!

They are your standard dog parks, so not much to say about it.

In the dog park there is a water hose to wash off your dog when he is done playing on the beach.

If you are done visiting Fort De Soto for the day, and you still have time, I recommend you checking out Downtown St Petersburg!

For more travel tips on pet friendly places please don’t forget to subscribe to my monthly Newsletter!

I hope you found this blog helpful.

Have a great vacation!