Fort Desoto Kayak Adventure

Tierra Vede, Florida: It has been over a year since our last kayak adventure and we have been itching to be on the water. We have considered buying our own but upfront cost has put them out of our price range. So we decided to rent some kayaks and try our own adventure.

After looking around online, I decided to go to Fort Desoto Park at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Of the places I researched, they seemed to be very beginner friendly, offering a marked trail with trail map for the tour. Their kayak provider, United Park Service, also seemed to have very reasonable rates.

It didn't take much arm twisting, actually none at all, to convince my dad to come along and give it a try. He has always wanted to go but has never had the opportunity. So we packed up the van and headed north to Fort Desoto.

We arrived at Fort Desoto at almost 10 am only to find the kayak rental store closed despite their website and brochure stating they opened at 9. I called the phone number on the brochure and got passed around from the message to the bike rental shop and back to the message with no resolution. After playing the phone pass around game a few cycles, we decided to head up to the bike rental location at the gift shop and it too was closed.

We were just about to call it a day and go find something else to do and as we were passing the kayak stand on the way out, a truck pulled into the park lot to start opening up the stand. So the day was not a loss and our kayak adventure was still going to happen.

After a less then pleasant check-in, we left all the troubles on the shore and headed out onto the water. The trail travels through the lagoon and into the bay. The waters of the lagoon was deep and dark with nothing to see in the water but plenty of shorebirds along the shoreline. Then the lagoon opened up into the bay and the water cleared up and got shallow. Here is were we saw a bunch of fish and some sponges in the water. But before we knew it, our rental time was up and we had to head back to return the kayak.

This trip was far different then our last. While anytime on the water is a good time, I enjoyed our trip on Emerson Point much better. For starters, there is nothing better then a guided tour. Heading out on the water with a knowledgeable guide makes for a much better experience. I am sure there is a lot of stuff we missed out on simply because we did not know.

I was very disappointed with United Park Services. I guess the old saying of "you get what you pay for" is true. What we saved on the cost, we lost with the customer service. They were less then helpful, too busy talking to each other then tending to their customers. Plus the waterproof map and guide to help enhance the experience by telling the history and what you can see was nothing more then a hand drawn map with numbers. The equipment was not the best either, they have seen better days and the paddles were too short causing them to hit the side of the kayak while trying to paddle. 

Although my experience with the rental company wasn't that great, I still loved being on the water and look to get back out soon. I do think we will stick to guided tours from now one and I will be looking to spotlight a few local tours in the area. There are a few I have been looking at and look forward to giving them a try. Be sure to check out the site for more from them in the future.

For now, take a look at the photos from today's trip in my Fort Desoto photo gallery.