Egmont Key State Park

Egmont Key State Park & National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location	Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Nearest city	St. Petersburg, Florida
Coordinates
Area	328 acres (1.33 km2)
Established	1974
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Egmont Key
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates
Area
Built	1840
NRHP Reference #	78000946
Added to NRHP	December 11, 1978

Egmont Key State Park is a Florida State Park located on Egmont Key, at the mouth of Tampa Bay, in the state of Florida, United States. It lies southwest of Fort De Soto Park and can only be reached by boat or ferry. The Egmont Key Lighthouse and the ruins of Fort Dade, a Spanish–American War era fort, are located in the park. Egmont Key is in Hillsborough County in a narrow strip of the county that extends along the Tampa Port Shipping Channel.

Located on the south end of the island is the Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1974. It is one of the three 'Tampa Bay Refuges' and is administered as a part of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Egmont Key was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 11, 1978.

Fauna

Among the wildlife in the park are gopher tortoises, hummingbirds, and seabirds.

Recreational activities

Activities include sunbathing, swimming, shelling, boating, picnicing, touring the fort, and wildlife viewing. Amenities include beaches, nature trails, and picnic tables. Food, water, and restrooms are not available in the park.

Hours

The park is open from 8:00 am until sundown year round.

History

Egmont key was surveyed by Spanish explorers in 1757. In 1761, the English named the island Egmont Key for the Earl of Egmont. With the rest of Florida, it passed back and forth between Spain and England and finally to the United States in 1827 In 1847, concerns with hazardous navigation at the mouth of Tampa Bay led the construction of the first lighthouse. The Great Gale of 1848 swamped the island and all but destroyed the lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper reportedly rode out the storm in a rowboat tied to a palmetto. After the storm had passed, he rowed to Fort Brooke and tendered his resignation. In 1858, the lighthouse was replaced.

Defense considerations during the Spanish–American War led to the construction of Fort Dade. Egmont Key remained a military reservation for years. In 1974 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took over and turned the island over to the State of Florida in 1989 and it became a state park. In 2009, budgetary concerns led to a proposal to close the park.

Harbor pilot station

For over 70 years, Egmont Key has been the location of a pilot station serving ship traffic into and out of the port of Tampa.

Images

• Egmont Key01.jpg

  Beach on east side of island. Sunshine Skyway Bridge in background.

• Egmont Key02.jpg

  Aerobeacon lenses from old light.

• Egmont Key03.jpg

  View looking east toward Fort De Soto Park.

• 

  Looking north along eastern beach of Egmont Key.

• Egmont Key05.jpg

  Brick road, Fort Dade ruins.

• Egmont Key06.jpg

  Gopher tortoise by nature trail.

• Egmont Key07.jpg

  Beach with dead palm trees on west side of island.

• Egmont Key08.jpg

  West side of island.

• Egmont Key09.jpg

  Ruins on west side of island.

• Edmont Key Guardhouse01.jpg

  Reconstructed Guardhouse, Fort Dade

• Egmont Key10.jpg

  Egmont Key from ferry

References

• Egmont Key State Park at Florida State Parks
• Egmont Key State Park at Absolutely Florida
• Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Hillsborough County listings at Register of Historic Places
• Hillsborough County listings at Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs

External links

• Egmont Key Alliance website
• An island of history: Egmont Key