weedon island preserve

Stopped by on a Sunday afternoon and must say the place was totally unstaffed and there were no brochure maps available ! They DID have signs at the main parking lot but after 10 minutes of walking trails... would you remember ? We walked the boring boardwalk and saw all of one turtle and many, many mangrove trees which grew tired rather quickly. On the boardwalk there are also no signs so you just have to guess whats at the end (IF there's an end) of side trails. We had to ask to a young couple if where they were coming from led to the parking lot-it didn't- it went 100 or so yards to a dead end with a view of a marsh. Another couple asked US which way back to the parking lot and 2 elderly women asked us if the path we were on led to the bay...had to tell them we had no clue ! The lack of signage reminded us of Miami. We finally found the parking lot and won't advise anyone to visit here -unless maybe they are planning to rent a kayak and go yakking!

This is one of our favorite places to come on a weekend. Kayaking the Mangrove trail is great, as you get to see all sorts of birds, fish, crabs even dolphins on a lucky day, but even just taking the boardwalk and going up to the tower is fun with the kids. The nature center has some good programs for children too. This is a great little oasis in our town.

We spent a few hours here, walking along the boardwalks, viewing the wonderful wildlife (turtles, all kinds of shore birds). We also rented a kayak which we paddled through the mangrove swamps. It was magical, and a great place to explore for people of all ages and abilities. We saw most of the wildlife while we are kayaking, including a spectacular number of white pelicans on a small island. It's hard to believe that you're so close to an urban centre when you're in this quiet environment home to so many birds and reptiles. I highly recommend this as a beautiful break. We brought a bag lunch with us. The information centre was closed when we were there but we enjoyed ourselves immensely. You have to pay a private company to rent the kayaks which are on the road just past the main parking lot at the information centre. Well worth it!

I think you must have to kayak to really enjoy this place. The board walk is OK but not much to see besides the Mangrove trees. Because of that, we did not spend a whole lot of time here.....walked the boardwalk rather quickly. Observation tower afforded a very nice view of the area.Florida botanical gardens in Largo is far more interesting.

A two mile boardwalk trail goes all around the preserve, making it an easy walk for everyone. We took the bay boardwalk trail first, and saw some nice views of the bay and some small fish jumping out of the water. Then we did the tower walk next. We climbed up the tower and were able to see St. Petersburg and Tampa.

We are arrived by 3 pm for a two hour paddle and when we took our kayaks out around 5 we were swarmed and bitten by thousands of no see um gnats. They are terrible, I recommend going on a day that has a decent breeze and wear long clothing with bug spray or meet the same fate! Yikes! The tunnels wee cool.

This is a preserve, but it's not easy to say what they are preserving. We were told all the wildlife is nocturnal, which may be why we didn't see anything interesting. There weren't even common birds flying around. I think we saw one egret. It's OK, if you want to be in a very quiet place.

We stopped here with a few hours of time on our way to the airport. It is very QUIET, with an above average visitors center and displays. The trails through the mangrove swamp was quite relaxing. I wish we would have had time to kayak through the maze.

We spent a morning here.Our first walk was to the lookout tower. From here we could see Tampa & Clearwater townships. Beautiful 360 views.While we were there we were lucky enough to see an Osprey bird eat a fish it had just caught.We never saw much in the way of wildlife but that might have been because of it being on marshland.Lovely boardwalks all over the park which makes it easy access for families with strollers or people with disabilities.Only downfall is that the paths and map isn't very well sign posted. We had trouble finding the lookout and we weren't the only ones and that is the best part of the park.

The tides were not good for going through the tunnels, but the open water paddling was very nice, I will go back for the tunnels when the tides are more favorable.

This could possibly be the best kayak paddle in the area. Thick mangroves with narrow passages make for a surreal outing. Snook fishing was great to add to the paddle.

The well marked paddling trail leads through mangrove tunnels and some, mostly sheltered, open water. If you take your time, it's about a 2 hour paddle. Make sure to check the tide so you'll have plenty of water. You'll see lots of crabs on the mangrove roots and wading birds out in the flats.

Our recent trip to St. Petersburg was filled with nature walks and our half day spent here was a highlight. This is a wonderful place to get in touch with some of Florida's finest natural species both animal and plant life. You can walk for hours (or run) as many people were enjoying. This would not be a great place for those who have walking impediments expecially on the natural paths rather than the raised decks. We enjoyed seeing flamingos, turkey vultures, stone crabs, horseshoe crabs, fish, cranes, turtles and several salamander species. It was interesting reading about the original host of the grounds - the St. Pete's airport back in the day and seeing what is left of the ruins. There is also a culture and natural history center however it was not open the day we hiked nor were the kayak rentals. However a great day was had. Take water and a hat and be prepared to enjoy. There is no fee so this is a wonderful way for a family to enjoy an economic interest venue.

This was a tremendous walk with great wildlife. Saw one gopher tortoise on its mound and another in a field just chowin down! Saw a Herron wading, caught a fish, aligned it and swallowed it right in front of us! The perfect shape of the board walk meanders peacefully through the mangroves with small points of informative facts posted about (mosquito canals were both positive and negative on the environment). In order to really enjoy the quiet hidden nature you must walk slowly and really look around. Small children will get easily bored and lose attention. Facilities were closed which is a real problem if you needed a rest room. Lots of great kayaking. Bring your own water.

I have lived in St. Petersburg for over twenty years and had never been here until my walking group chose it for one of our activities. Lots of trails and boardwalk paths and an observation tower that gives a wonderful view of St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa. I've only ever been on Sunday when the historic centre is closed but plan to return when I can tour it. I've been back twice and it's very peaceful and never crowded. Kayaks are available to rent so you can paddle through the mangroves. This is a wonderful retreat from the hustle and bustle of city living.