Honeymoon Island State Park- BEACHES/ SUNSET/ BIRD WATCHER’S

You should visit an exotic and romantic place like the Honeymoon Island hotel in Florida. Most especially if it is your night, have your honeymoon there. A gopher tortoise in beautiful wildlife, visit the four-mile park, a view you would never erase.

Since its inception, it is consistently receiving more than one million visitors each year. And everything you need to know about the hotel, ranging from services with amenities, you got the answer here.

Honeymoon Island State Park is a beautiful state park located in Dunedin, Florida. It covers over 4,000 acres and is located on the barrier island of the same name. The park is known for its beautiful beaches, nature trails, and abundant wildlife.

Some of the activities you can enjoy at Honeymoon Island State Park include swimming, fishing, kayaking, and hiking. The park also offers picnic areas, a playground, and a nature center where you can learn more about the local wildlife and ecosystems.

One of the main attractions of the park is its beach, which is known for its soft white sand and clear, turquoise water. Visitors can rent beach chairs, umbrellas, and other beach gear from vendors on the beach. The park also has several nature trails where visitors can explore the island’s natural beauty and observe wildlife such as ospreys, bald eagles, and gopher tortoises.

Overall, Honeymoon Island State Park is a great place to visit if you’re looking for a beautiful, natural escape in Florida.

The Honeymoon Geographical Survey

Honeymoon Island state park

The Florida Island hotel, a consisconsists state park called a Honeymoon Island state park, it has a barrier island across St. Joseph’s.

It has a park about1.6km in land area with 10km submerged and 6km of beach. It lies between the western ends of Causeway Boulevard. The address of the state park is 1 Causeway Boulevard (Blvd). Its nearest city is Dunedin, with the coordinates 28⁰ 04’08’N82⁰49’52’’ W.

Its beaches are natural, beautiful and relatively very expensive. The ecosystem is unique. The Island flora is lush, delicate and exquisite. Birding is certainly ample on Honeymoon Island.

The birds get most of the glory, but plovers, ibises, sandpipers, pelicans, gulls and many call the atoll a home. But so too does ground-dwelling wildlife. It has something rare and prized among other parks which is a dog beach.

Swimming, fishing, shelling, hiking and bicycling are all activities that make the state park an ideal vacation resort or place. It is a launching point to Cal Desi Island state park. The park concession consists the Osprey trail which is two miles long and the pelican cove trail about ¾ miles long circle the forested, eastern side of the Island.

On this trail you can find palmetto trees, an eagle nest, slash pine and on the pelican cove trail are some sea life and wading birds. The sunset on the Honeymoon Island is as epic as anything you will find on the  Florida gulf coast. It fades like breathing watercolors as the blazing ball of descending.

It has some features of site seeing like the quick journey to see dolphins, manatees, breaching rays and more when you navigate the crystalline waters. The beaches range from sandy to cover in large chunks of fossilized coral. Some parts may have water paddles that emit a stench during some times in the months but this does not prevent swimmers from using the exotic beach.

There is no hotel located on Honeymoon Island State Park. The park offers camping sites and a variety of outdoor activities, as mentioned in my previous response, but there are no accommodations on the island itself. However, there are plenty of hotels and resorts located in nearby towns such as Dunedin and Clearwater, where visitors can stay and easily access Honeymoon Island State Park. Some of the hotels in the area offer shuttle services to the park for their guests. Visitors can also enjoy the nearby attractions such as Caladesi Island State Park, Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks, and downtown Dunedin.

Must Read: Erotic Beaches

Things You Can Do At the Honeymoon Island Hotel

Things you do while in the state park are very much hilarious; you get to spy- impressive fish hawks even great horned owl and watch as bald eagles soar overhead. The armadillos sometimes get close enough to be touched, but that is against the law of the park.

You get the opportunity to hop the ferry at the south end for a beautiful ride on the Cal Desi Island ferry, the relaxing and wonderfully scenic ride is short on time and long on a reward which at times include playful dolphins leaping in the craft’s wake.

In the Honeymoon state park, from Dunedin Causeway folk’s truck in their own kayaks, stand up paddle boards and small sailboats to journey across the beautiful St. Joseph’s themselves. Also, nightlife in the Honeymoon state park is awesome because you get to feel the cool breeze from the waves on the beach side which keep the state park at night cool and breezy.

In the Honeymoon state park, you get to hike around the sandy beach to keep up with the pleasure of your honeymoon or visit to the state park. You get to enjoy the south beach pavilion due to that it provides bicycles to rent by the hour or day and kayaks are available at the café Honeymoon.

You would enjoy the food service because it has the best continental dishes and offers a very conducive environment to relax and eat. While at the Honeymoon state park, Florida your pet, you get to enjoy the park to the fullest with it because there is something to do for everyone on the beach.

Honeymoon Island state park

The pioneers do call it Hog Island, you will fall in love with the Honeymoon Island. A quick drive over the Dunedin Causeway, North of Clearwater, brings visitors to the beautiful beaches and Gulf of Mexico waters of this great and exotic state park in Florida which is one of Florida’s best-loved park. It is home to many active nesting birds, Great Blue Herons and many other species are often observed feeding in the bay, beaches estuaries surrounding the park. It has a park store which offers beverages, beach supplies and souvenirs.

For canoeing lovers, kayaks can be rented through the concession to explore the pelican cove which lies between the sand spit and nature trail. Surf and pass fishing can yield catches of flounder, snook, trout, redfish, snapper, whiting, and sheep’s head, pompano, Spanish mackerel, cobia, ladyfish, and tarpon. Surfing is very much allowed in the park, and it is usually pretty good on the North end of Bathhouse.

Restroom facilities are available in the park, several of them are ADA accessible which is a high-level computer programming language used chiefly in real time computerized control system. The hours which the state park open is 8 a.m. And sundown every day of the year including holiday.

The signage at the entrance to the park shows per- vehicle daily entrance fee of $8, single persons are only charged about $4. It has an annual pass for those who wish to save on their frequent visits. The charge to ride the ferry to Caladesi Island is about $14 per person that is adult in addition to the entrance fee. The Café Honeymoon and the South beach pavilion open from 9.00 am – 5.00 pm; but on Saturday and Sunday mornings features a pancake breakfast from 8.00 – 10.30 am.

To continue to be the best state park in Florida and beyond, there is construction work underway in portions of the beach near the North end concession area to mitigate extensive erosion. This part of the beach is closed, although there is a path that can be used to access the North beach. In order to maintain a certain balance in the ecosystem, the barrier Island park of the Honeymoon state park, is a refuge for numerous species of plants and animals including mangroves and several threatened and endangered species.

Osprey and some species of tern stop during spring and fall migration. There is Osprey trail; a well-regarded 2.2-mile loop trail which runs through of the last remaining areas of slash pine. It is a nature lover’s paradise, its route is ideal for spotting osprey, bald eagles, and great horned owls. Also is the pelican cove trail which its loop trail intercepts the Osprey trail stated above, the habitat transits to beach sunflowers, cross vine, and cabbage palms.

The Honeymoon Island state park features an area ideal for collecting a variety of pretty seashells washed in by the Gulf of Mexico. The shoreline will be an exotic area to explore while in Honeymoon state park Florida. While in the Honeymoon state park, Florida, you can have the best family activities. It is loaded with lots of fun for families, groups of nature lovers, hikers, and couples looking for an escape from their busy environments.

Must Read: Top Honeymoon Destinations

Honeymoon Island state park

While in the Honeymoon state park always take time to learn and know more about the wildlife that calls this park home to adore and reside in. You can engage in rotary and centennial nature center while in the Honeymoon state park, visit a fun packed and informative exhibit to know about the history of the park and the wildlife that flourishes within its boundaries. The observation decks offer an unbeatable view of St. Joseph.

You can also engage in cycling; cycling on paved trails throughout the park delights families and visitors of all ages. Picnicking and Play; a well-equipped picnic area with grills and a playground is very much situated on the North of the Island.

Although there are no camping or cabins in the Honeymoon state park, Florida on site, you can combine your visit with another state park which does offer accommodation. This will make you have double packed fun, more recreational opportunities and a level of a greater variety of choices for a back to nature stay.

While in Honeymoon State Park, you need not to worry about your pets, because pets, especially dogs are allowed in designated areas such as pet beach on the Southern tip of the Island and on the nature trail. But pets, especially dogs must be on a six-foot, hand-held leash at times while in these areas.

The History of Honeymoon Island State Park, Florida; in the early 1500s, Spanish explorers visited the Island and met the Islands first inhabitants. These were Native Americans who were a local Safety Harbor tribe called Tocobagos. Artifacts such as skeletal remains were found on the Island Park.

These findings indicate that the area was not only used by the Native American tribes, but also by the Europeans as a stopover point. The island that splits in half during a major hurricane hit in the year 1921. Its waterway between the Islands is known as Hurricane Pass.

In accordance with the records of Florida park service, Honeymoon Island was introduced to the American public in the early 1940s through the aid of magazines and Newsfeeds. Honeymoon Island State Park was formerly known as Hog Island. In the early 1940s, the type huts of the park were built on the Island for vacation, and the name was changed.

During World War 11, when the U.S entered the war, the thatched huts fell into disuse. In the 1960s, a developer with a plan to build a largely residential area on the Island by expanding its size to about 3,000 acres. The Causeway leading to the Island was constructed in 1964, but the plan was later scrapped in 1969 when the developer’s permit was due. The state prevented the developer from renewing the permit and purchased most of the Island in 1974, then the state later purchased the rest. On this day, December 7, 1981, Honeymoon Island State Park Florida was created.

What the Visit Would Cost You?

The cost of visiting Honeymoon Island State Park varies depending on a few factors, including the number of people in your group and the activities you plan to do. Here are some general costs to give you an idea:

  • Entrance fee: As of my knowledge cutoff date of September 2021, the entrance fee for Honeymoon Island State Park was $8 per vehicle for up to 8 people, or $4 for a single occupant vehicle or motorcycle. Pedestrians and bicyclists pay a fee of $2 per person. Fees are subject to change, so it’s always best to check the current fees before your visit.
  • Camping fees: If you plan to camp at the park, fees range from $30 to $38 per night, depending on the time of year and the type of campsite you choose. Reservations are recommended and can be made online or by calling the park.
  • Equipment rental fees: If you plan to rent equipment such as kayaks or beach chairs, there are additional fees. For example, as of my knowledge cutoff date, a single kayak rental was $25 for the first hour and $20 for each additional hour, while a double kayak rental was $35 for the first hour and $25 for each additional hour.

It’s also worth noting that there may be additional fees for certain activities or events at the park. Overall, Honeymoon Island State Park is an affordable destination for outdoor recreation and nature exploration.

The Honeymoon Island State Park is a five-star rating resort or vacation center. It has the best wildlife experience while on visits or tour. It also has a natural view of aquatic life and maintains the balance in the ecosystem.

The Honeymoon Island State Park is one of a kind with its wonderful amenities. It has numerous amenities and fun-packed activities like canoeing etc. Which are hard to come by in other state parks.

The Honeymoon Island State Park, Florida with these great amenities still charges less on fees in the park, unlike other parks whose level of facilities still below par but its fees are very high and expensive.

As a newlywed couple, looking for a very conducive, serene, and cozy environment in Florida for honeymoon and relaxation, should come to Honeymoon Island State Park Florida. Because it has an exotic and wonderful environment.

The delivery of service or service rendered in the Honeymoon Island Park, Florida is very fast and easily accessible due to the level at which the facilities have been programmed to serve the visitors in the park.

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1 thought on “Honeymoon Island State Park – Florida / Images

  1. This sounds like a lovely area to visit. Can we honeymoon after 35 years of marriage? Haha.
    There is so much to see and do here. We will definitely go visit there next time we are down in Florida.
    Did you ever find out what it was initially called Hog Island?
    Thanks for the wonderful review,

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