Ballast Point Park

Beautiful park in South Tampa. Gorgeous views of downtown and Davis Islands. As stated in other reviews parking can be a bit of pain at times. I digress. There is a playground that has a mini water area for the kiddos. There are picnic tables nearby if you want to have a nice lunch. This park can get pretty busy in the evenings and on the weekends. Great spot for fishing and boating. You can also walk along the pier and take in the scenery. It is especially breathtaking at night time. I used to visit this park with my SO. Have the simple googly, romance going on like little high schoolers. All in all a great family oriented environment.

Beautiful park! Water park is fun for the kids too.

I’ve come here several times with my boys over the years. Besides Curtis Hixon park, this is prob one of my other favorite parks I’m Tampa to bring my boys.

A beautiful park that offers so much! It’s got it all, from a playground, fishing pier and bait & tackle shop, boat ramp, walking trails, picnic tables and shelters, grills and restaurant! What else do we need?
Very nice place to spend the day with kids, family, friends or by yourself.

Spent a ton of time at this park during my youth because I grew up about a mile west of here. Sometimes we chilled during the day time having little family-​style barbeques and birthday parties, but at night time it was a different kinda party. For kids growing up in the SOG, this (and probably still is) a popular place for shenanigans, like under-​age drinking and heavy petting. Also, it’s a great place to hang out and take a sunrise or dusk walk with your significant other out on the pier. Also on the property is a city-​owned gym that is crazy affordable, and free of contracts. Pay at the beginning of the month, and you’re good for 30 days. Next month, repeat the process.

After driving the full length of Bayshore Boulevard we found this park by chance. It has a beautiful pier with a stunning waterfront view of downtown Tampa. The pier itself is vey long and well maintained. Many people were fishing and one man was casting a net for sardines. They had counters to cut bait and a bait shop at the end of the pier. A cart halfway down the pier offers pole rentals for those who want to try out fishing at this beautiful spot.
In addition, the grassy area has hanging seating in the shade making it a perfect spot to relax.

This is a pretty nice park. I was hoping it would be bigger, but everything was nice. The short walking path next to the water was very well kept and had access to both the pier and fitness area. I was hoping that there would be more access to the water, but given the boat ramp, it is understandable why there is a small sea wall limiting the access. Despite that, the entire path bumps up to the water with mangroves — a very calming walk indeed.
I didn’t go into the bait shop or convenience store, however, they seemed to be very large considering the overall park size.
While the park was busy, it in no way felt like that. Everyone was very respectful of other’s space giving a very pleasant experience.
Would I go back? Probably. It’s not too far from picnic island, which I prefer, but this is a nice place for a quick trip. Would I recommend it? Definitely — especially if you have kids.

We went on a nice bike ride on Bayshore and decided to just take it all the way and head over to Ballast Point Park. We tied our bikes up and took a nice walk on the pier. Very nice view of downtown from the pier. There were also a ton of people fishing on the pier. I noticed that they had the tables to clean the fish off but the hose on each of them was broken unfortunately.
There is a restaurant with outdoor seating and tons of fresh fish options on their menu. I look forward to checking that place out next time.
There is also a park for small children.

Hey parents… if you want a great place to take your kids that is free and always fun Ballast Point Park is the place! They have great play equipment for all ages, a splash pad for hot days, plenty of areas to set up a picnic, and an awesome pier to fish from. I highly recommend this spot for a free and fun day out.

Such a great park! Has it all… Splash pad, restaurant with ice cream, fishing, water views, great playground & a beautiful pier!

Parking can be a bear on weekends. Probably best to park nearby and bike or walk here if possible? There is also some trash and broken bottles around. I wonder if they should institute a $ 2 per carload parking free and really invest in fixing up every bit of the park to make it perfect. :)
But this is a beautiful South Tampa park with views of downtown Tampa across Tampa Bay. Some secluded spots to relax. Benches. Playground and kids water park. Some exercise equipment that needs replacing and updating. Pull up bar too low. Great area for a walk. Nice long piers with a bait shop and Taste of Boston restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. Just beautiful and rejuvenating to be on the eater watching the waves, birds, fish jumping and people recreating.

I’ve been to this park a few times now and I like it a lot. I had heard that there was a good fishing pier here, but for whatever reason I insisted on going alllllll the way to the skyway. No more! The same fish (like the trout pictured) and others are to be caught here, plus its free and a lot closer. The pier is open 24 hours for fishing and is clean and well lit, but the bait shop has weird hours that don’t work for most people who fish (they don’t open until 10 and they close at 8 or 9). I highly suggest bringing your own if you prefer live. I have also brought my 4 year old to play on the wet and dry playgrounds, and she loves it. As everyone says, it offers great views of the bay, downtown, etc, but the fishing here is the big draw for me. Nonetheless it is a very nice park which I am now a fan of.

As for my second review I visited Ballast Point Park on busy Sunday to go walking around the Park. A lot of people there for birthday parties, BBQ, play in the water attraction, go fishing and eating at the Restaurant located at the Park. I even heard couple of young guys rapping nothing too bad.
Across the way you’ll a horse stable that offers English riding lessons and horse jumping. I walked over to that location and watched some of the ladies practice with their horses in which they let me pet the horses that was really nice for them to do so. I said thank you for letting me to do that.

This in my opinion is one of Tampa’s best parks to come to. With a beautiful scene of the bay, downtown and bayshore. This little gem is a great place to bring family and friends. With splash pad area for the little ones to play in. A great pier to go fishing off of and a dock to release boats, paddle boards or even kayaks. The park pretty much covers everything you need to enjoy your visit. There are plenty of park shelters you can reserve as well for any parties or get togethers you would want to have. I’m glad they thought out the separate play areas, one for the big kids and one for the little ones. Which is great!

This is a great park with spectacular views of Tampa Bay — one of the best views, in my opinion.
Coming here early in the morning is really peaceful as the place is pretty quiet, but it opens up and gets busy on holidays and throughout the day. The pier is a sight to see! Lots of fishermen and people walking on it at all times of the day.
This is a great place to nature-​watch and appreciate the beauty of Tampa Bay, and there’s plenty of shady spots and even a water playstation for kids for those sumer hot summer days.

Beautiful! I will come back again! I loved it here! Stopped by on a Monday and it wasn’t crowded. There is a restaurant on the park overlooking the water. The boardwalk is fairly long and ends at a big gazebo. We didn’t get to go into the gazebo since there were 2 drunks on the floor! Awful! No security guards apparently. I paid top dollar to stay in a waterfront hotel and these 2 drunks got the best views in town for free…

Love this park on hot days or cold. With two normal playgrounds — one or smaller tots, one for bigger kids PLUS a small splash pad for when that FL sun is burning too hot. Unlike some other splash areas that are only open certain months this pad seems to be temperature driven so once it gets to about 80 it’s on. If you get bored of the play areas try a walk down the pier to see what’s biting. Or bring your poles and try and catch something yourself. There’s bait for sale and an eatery here as well. Haven’t checked that part out yet but I’ll be sure to review it when I do. Oh, and there are plenty of picnic areas if you want to grill or host a birthday party here!

This is a nice park on the Westside of Tampa Bay that allows views of the Tampa skyline and an enjoyment of fishing, boat launch, picnic pavilions, pier, and a water play area for the kids. Also, during your visit you can enjoy eating at Taste of Boston.
Although small, this park packs a punch in beauty and fun. During our visit we strolled around a manicured lawn with lovely trees with periodic views of the bay. Towards the boat ramp we were able to walk out over the water to watch the boating and fishing, all with a view of Tampa. Back away from the water was a play area that slides, obstacles for climbing, and other playful activities for kids. The place had a small water park that sprayed, spouted, and dumped water for those wanting to cool off in the sun.
If you are looking for a fun place to take the family for relaxing fun that is not too far this is a good choice.

This spot is one of my favorites I am not sure if it is because I caught my first 3 fish here or its because the set up and atmosphere is so nice and relaxing.
In on area you have the park for the kids, then there is a spot to sit and watch the water, there is a nice well built long pier that we fish on and then there is this little nice spot that you could either buy bait or sit and grab a bite.
I do like this spot and this will be a frequent place to come fish or just chill.

Ballast Point Park, located just ½ mile from the south end of Bayshore Boulevard Linear Park, is truly one of Tampa’s hidden gems. Not only is it home to Taste of Boston, a restaurant with the best deep fryer in Tampa, but it also has some of the most amazing views of downtown Tampa from across the bay. It is a very small park with a playground, a dock (so you can come by boat) and a long pier for walking and fishing. Taste of Boston and a bait shop are the only two stores, and they have public restrooms. There is a small parking area which gets packed at lunch, and there is another parking area across the street for Bayshore Boulevard joggers.
I’ve posted some pictures I took while sitting down at one of the tables of Taste of Boston. This is definitely going into my Tampa Things to Do list. Eating with this kind of view is truly one of the reasons I call Tampa home.