Honeymoon Island State Park

Honeymoon Island, just off Dunedin near Tampa Bay, is one of Florida's most popular state parks — a barrier island ringed by sugar-sand Gulf beaches and home to one of the state's last remaining virgin slash-pine forests.

Beyond sunbathing and swimming in warm Gulf water, the island offers superb shelling, a dog beach, nature trails through the pine forest, and birding among nesting ospreys and shorebirds.

Visitors swim and sunbathe on the Gulf beaches, hunt for shells, hike the Osprey and Pelican trails through the pine forest, paddle and fish, and take the ferry to undeveloped Caladesi Island.

Winter through spring (December–April) brings warm, dry, comfortable weather and the best shelling; summer is hot and humid with afternoon storms. Sunsets over the Gulf are a year-round draw.

Named in the 1940s when it was promoted as a honeymoon retreat, the island became a state park in 1974, protecting one of the few stands of old-growth slash pine left in Florida.

Honeymoon Island is a dynamic barrier island of sand built and reshaped by Gulf currents and storms, part of the chain of barrier islands fringing Florida's central Gulf coast.

Ospreys nest in large numbers in the pine forest, while the beaches and flats host shorebirds, wading birds, and gopher tortoises; dolphins and rays frequent the surrounding waters.

The park protects virgin slash-pine forest, mangrove, salt marsh, and beach-dune habitats — an increasingly rare intact barrier-island ecosystem on Florida's developed Gulf coast.

A beloved Tampa Bay-area beach escape and a model of barrier-island preservation, Honeymoon Island links to neighboring Caladesi Island, regularly rated among America's best beaches.

At the west end of the Dunedin Causeway off U.S. 19 near Clearwater, with an entrance fee per vehicle. A passenger ferry runs to Caladesi Island from within the park.

The state protects the rare old-growth pines and nesting birds; stay on trails and boardwalks, give nesting ospreys and shorebirds space, and don't disturb the dunes.

Watch for rip currents and heed beach flags, use sun protection in the strong Florida sun, and stay hydrated. Afternoon lightning is common in summer.

Caladesi Island State Park (by ferry), the town of Dunedin, Clearwater Beach, and the Tampa–St. Petersburg area are all close.

Arrive early on weekends and in winter, when the park can reach capacity, bring a bag for shelling, and take the ferry to Caladesi for an even quieter beach. Stay for the Gulf sunset.