fort island trail park

Great drive to the coast. What an amazing place, with sand beach pier and wildlife. Great photos taken and wish could have stayed longer

On our brief visit to this park we saw a surprisingly high number of animals, including a bottlenose dolphin, manatees, white ibis, and cormorants. One much less welcome species making an appearance was the legendary Florida "no-see-um". These are swarming, biting flies the size of a pinhead, whose main goal in life seems to be to inflict a moderately painful bite that transforms into a majorly infuriating itch for days afterwards. They weren't fazed by the 30% DEET insect repellent we were using, even landing on skin still wet with the stuff. I advise wearing long sleeves and trousers.

I have hiked three of the trails that are accessible from Fort Island Trail. They are all relatively short, but offer a good overview of the local ecosystem. Be prepared to walk through some water as some of the trails are flooded from time to time

Drove down here just to see what it was. Found a pretty little park with a clean, uncrowded beach, boardwalks, and a fishing pier. We were there late afternoon on a beautiful Saturday. There was plenty of parking, and looked like boat access was good. Free, worth meandering down to visit.

On Kings Bay, its a convenient and busy boat launch but its also a nice place for a family picnic. Relatively clean. Has picnic tables and restrooms. There's a dock/pier for watching the boaters and to fish from.

Drove the road and the scenery never changed. There was really nothing to make you want to stop anywhere, not that there was anything to stop at. One park was nothing. The birding trail were tunnels into the jungle. The beach at the end of the trail did not allow pets. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME

Nice park, pavilions, boardwalk and walk through the old Florida trees. Easy to park. Convenient to RV parks and Crystal River.

So the weather is changing to lovely fall. For me that means eating outside as much a possible before Jack Frost makes his visit. There are two covered pavilions with grills. Both locations are facing a peaceful waterfront. There's a boardwalk where you can watch nature and boaters.The park has ample parking and shade... a plus for the elder family members.

Great area to visit. A great fishing pier to fish or go crabbing. Boat launch to access the gulf. Great views.

This little park has a great boat launch. Convenient on the Crystal River. Also nice bike lanes to ride your bike.

The drive is a little long but the trip is worth it, has a very nice beach, tables for you late dinner snack while you watch the sunset to the west, there is a boat launch to launch your boat or you can fish off the pier, great walk while watching the sunset.

The beach is a bit of a drive, but the scenery along the way is beautiful.The beach was nice, not a lot of parking, but it was free.There's a pretty trail to walk along.

Fort Island Trail Park is a great place to go if you want to go swimming along the Nature Coast. They have a very pretty white sand beach. The swimming area is delineated by floats and ropes. There is a modern bathroom / bathhouse on location and covered picnic tables for eating. Further along the park is a boardwalk leading to a fishing pavilion and a little beyond that is a boat launch. All in all, a great way to spend the day.

Lots of parking and an easy to use boat launch puts you on the river that access the Gulf. Picnic on the grounds and enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, being on the river with lots of vegetation nearby and very little wind, the bugs can be wicked if they love you! Take the bug spray.

The drive out to the beach/trail is winding but worth it. The little beach is great and the fishing pier gives a wonderful view of the river.