Fred Howard Park

This Park is gorgeous my family an children all loved it the water is clear an it has showers as well as restrooms available lots of small seashells everywhere to look at an if you go near the rocks you will see some small fish.

Our home away from home! Yes this is the closes beach to us and we love it! We are aware it is not the softest or whitest of sands but it is still a great beach. Best thing about this beach. IT’S quiet! Lesser known area which is great. The wife and I will grab some Publix subs and make a nice day out of it.
There are a ton of seagulls though. You might witness an occasional… umm…bird love making session which wouldn’t bother anyone if the little bastard wasn’t so loud about!?! No booze is «allowed» or animals. $ 5 to park for the day. Parking has never been an issue for us. GREAT SPOT for sure!

For a flat $ 5 parking fee to park, you can enjoy Fred Howard Park all day, just outside Tarpon Springs, in the Tampa Bay Area. Fred Howard Park features beautiful views of Anclote Key and Three Rooker Island. There are biking trails, kayak rentals, bike rentals, water bike rentals, kayak trails through the mangroves, running trails, and picnic areas. Dogs are allowed on the causeway Beach. There are lifeguards on duty. The water is kind of shallow which doesn’t make it ideal for swimming and it never gets too Wavy so you can’t really boogie board or skim board here. The 2 islands within visible view break all the waves unfortunately but that makes it ideal for kite surfing or kayaking to the nearby islands. You can see sharks and dolphins here regularly year round. There is lots of parking bathrooms and showers. There’s a snow cone stand here all the time if you need to cool off. Some chick even saw a seahorse here. Sea men can rent sea bikes here even. The only other beach in this area is Sunset Beach and it is tiny in comparison. The next big beach next door is Honeymoon Island but it’s 8 bucks to park there and it gets full quick.

Nice little beach. We are on spring break And stopped two different days. Beach is nice, water was a little chilly the first day we went but two days later it wAs so much warmer. Only two complaints– the seagulls are the worst And bring singles for the parking machines they are not the best.

Really loved this place. Charm of old Florida, not too touristy, and super calm. We will go back to check out some of the hiking areas further inland off the beach area!

Clean, quiet and beautiful. A peaceful place with small hideaway areas-​not just one long strip of sand with the water-​it bends around and you’ll find rocks, trees and white sand. I didn’t see kids running around wild-​just some people sitting by the water, walking around and a few were fishing.

We live about 15 minutes from Fred Howard. Usually when we have family come down to visit it’s around spring or Easter break. Almost impossible to get to Clearwater Beach during peak seasons so we take the family to this beach. There is plenty of shade and sun. Restrooms are clean and there is a vendor there who sells hotdogs, burgers, sausage, fries and drinks. It’s our favorite place to go and just relax. Seniors park free if you have a handicap tag.

Found this place only because our family photo shoot was going to be there so our photographer recommended it. We ended going back there the next day to spend the day on the beach. The water is great. My toddler can wade out a little ways and its still pretty shallow. The whole family had a great time! This is closer to home that Clearwater so I’m so happy to find a nice beach nearby without the ton of traffic trying on get into Clearwater Beach. Wonderful accidental find.

This beach is amazing! It’s an ‘island’ that you can drive on to. The beach goes all the way around. There’s plenty of sand.
Definitely bring snorkeling gear!!! I saw many fish, a starfish, a horseshoe crab, and a hermit crab! One of my new favorite places!
ALSO ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS!

I didn’t know this park existed until hubs drove us here last night to watch the sunset. What a beautiful beach! Fred Howard Park consists of a typical county park with typical park facilities: picnic tables, shelters, etc., and then a causeway leads out to the beach area. And the beach isn’t very wide here, so it’s a short walk through the super soft sand to the waves. Looking southwest across the water, you can see Three Rooker Island, and Anclote Key State Park to the northwest. And the beautiful Gulf in between where the sun sets. Very idyllic spot.
Parking is $ 5 at pay stations (not sure how long or if all day), and you can also park along the causeway for similar views. In fact, we saw several camera tripods set-​up along the causeway, but none on the beach. The bathrooms on the beach were clean and well-​stocked, especially considering that it was late in the day.
Since it was the last Saturday in October, the beach wasn’t crowded, although the weather was quite balmy (we were in shorts). I’m interested to see how packed this place gets in July.

Nice location, regularly quiet, nice parking, sand well cared for. Some palm trees for shade when needed. Water shallow, bathrooms nearby, reasonable parking fee. Nice stretch of water for cars, dogs, fishing along the causeway.

Wooded and windy
Playgrounds and pavilions
Bring the whole family
Your friends, your children.
This park is great
The perfect place to play!
For just 5 bucks
You can chill all day!
The beach is sandy
But the water is grassy.
I love Fred Howard
He’s so sassy!
There are paddleboard rentals
And a trail for your kayak.
Come here once
And you can’t wait to come back!

This beach is on my list of favorites. As long as you are comfortable wading through the soft sea grass, it’s wonderful (there are some sandy areas too). Even if swimming isn’t your thing, there are so enough crustaceans to keep you busy for days. So bring a bucket and goggles. There are a few rocky ledges that are perfect places to set up your stuff and during low tide the view is lovely. There’s not much around it and no tables that I could see, though, so picnickers beware (unless you REALLY like catching your own raw scallops)

While not my favorite beach in the area – the sand doesn’t compare to the barrier islands – but it is a wonderful package deal for the family. To me, it’s best aspect is it’s easy-​to-​manage size: the entire park is an island, accessible by a causeway. There is no trouble for kids to get into, so you can freely let the older ones and teens ramble and explore. And there is plenty to explore: rocks, tide pools, water sports, waves… Fred Howard Park has it all! Don’t come expecting miles of shiny white sand, but you’ll love the entertainment the area provides to your older kids – way better than just the beach!

Great place for humans, not so great for dogs. Our first day in the area we wanted to take our dog to the beach and the only area here you can take your dog is at the pavement parking areas. It’s very slippery trying to get in the water and I slipped and fell and have a huge scrape on my thigh, we ended up taking our dog to honeymoon island instead so he could actually play. The next day we went to the beach part of Howard park and it was very nice,

Great place to jog, walk, ride bikes etc. There are two lovely play areas, a ball field, lots of pavillions and walking trails. A great place to come when you need some fresh air. Highly recommend!

It had been a beautiful sunny day, so what better thing to do than to take my visitor to the closest beach to the house.
We drove to Fred Howard, but sadly, what had been a sunny day suddenly became cloaked in a deep sea fog, and you couldn’t see much of anything.
For a flat $ 5 fee, we were able to park and enjoy the beach for the full 20 minutes we stayed there, (we passed the parking pass along to someone who was confused by the pay meter) and marveled at how clean and neat the space was.

Living near the beach on the east coast of Florida there are plenty of opportunities to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean while enjoying a nice cup of coffee on the mostly secluded beaches, of course that comes with getting up early and racing to catch the first light as the sun rises from the water. Its a special treat to be able to catch the sun fall back into the Gulf of Mexico on the same day and whenever I know I am going be be traveling across the state I alway keep this option open. On this particular day I found myself traveling south on US 19 with the sun dropping to my right so I was looking for a great spot to watch this spectacular event that happens daily but goes mostly unnoticed. While looking for that special spot I knew it would be close but this park was within range so I set the route and pushed the pedal down a little more, once I approached the causeway leading to this remote five-​acre island stretching more than a mile into the gulf I knew this was going to be special.
The causeway was completely void of cars which I must admit was a little surprising since there are parking spaces for hundreds of vehicles, once I approached the island beach it was apparent this was going to be perfect, only about a dozen cars were scattered around the parking lot and the beach was almost completely empty, except for a few people. It was oblivious everyone was here for the same reason «Mother Natures» last grand statement of the day and she never disappoints. So if you find yourself in the area at the end of the day take a few minutes and do something for you it’s the best therapy there is and it’s free. Howard Park provides you a place to do this in amazing fashion.
Fred H. Howard Park, named in honor of a former Tarpon Springs mayor, is one of its best kept secrets. The park is located in the northern part of the county and is situated on 155 acres fronting the Gulf of Mexico. Dedicated in 1966, it has gained popularity over the years, with almost two million visitors each year coming to enjoy the park’s Gulf access, unparalleled beauty and spectacular sunsets.
A one-​mile causeway links the mainland park to the nearly five-​acre island where the beach is located. Most weekends will find the causeway crowded with outdoor enthusiasts taking advantage of the fishing, wind surfing, and launching area for canoes and kayaks.

This is a locals park/​beach. It’s as long of a drive from Tampa as Clearwater Beach, but there’s no tourists because you have to know where you’re going to get there. It’s small, intimate and quiet. The water is shallow enough for little kids to enjoy themselves. The fishermen and jet skiers each have their own areas and they stay away from the swimming areas. The water is warm and inviting. Definitely much better than the big tourist beaches.
There’s a beautiful park, but I’ve always gone just for the beach. It used to be completely free but now you have to pay for parking.

Nice park, no entrance fee, all day parking is $ 5. It was busy but there were plenty of parking spots available on a weekend in June. I do not like all the vegetation in the water — there is a small area of water with sandy bottom and then you are in murky aquatic plant zone which creeps me out, especially when the water temp is super warm.

Wir haben hier geheiratet.

Pas terrible. Comme parc ce n’est pas mal du tout mais la plage n’est vraiment pas sympa. Trop d’algues, impossible de se baigner, rien à manger. J’y était en août.

In diesem Park gibt es eine Badeinsel, die über ein Damm mit dem Festland verbunden ist. Auf der Badeinsel sind Duschen und Toiletten. Der Strand ist nicht bewacht.
Alles ist sauber und ordentlich. Der Strand hat Palmen und schönen Sand.
Mann kann weit hinausgehen und kleine Fische schwimmen auch nahe am Strand. Meine Tante schwimmt hier jeden Tag.