Honeymoon Island State Park
Honeymoon Island State Park is a Florida State Park located on Honeymoon Island, a barrier island off Dunedin in Pinellas County. The park covers 385 acres on land, with about 2,400 acres of water surrounding it and four miles of beach.
It’s the most-visited state park in Florida, drawing more than a million visitors each year. The island and nearby Caladesi Island were once part of a single barrier island that split during a 1921 hurricane. The waterway between the islands is called Hurricane Pass.
History notes: the island was once called Hog Island. In the early 1940s, honeymoon-themed huts were built and the name changed to Honeymoon Island. A 1960s plan to expand the island into a large residential area was never finished, and the state bought most of the land in the 1970s. Honeymoon Island State Park opened on December 7, 1981. A ferry from Honeymoon Island provides access to Caladesi Island; Caladesi is also reachable on foot from Clearwater Beach.
In September 2024, Hurricane Helene damaged the park, and it remained closed for safety assessments.
Wildlife and habitat: the park protects plants like Florida slash pines and mangroves and is a home for many animals, including osprey, terns, plovers, herons, and other wading birds. Dolphins are often seen near shore. The waters host various fish, sharks, stingrays, and jellyfish, while the shallows sometimes reveal starfish and sand dollars. Bald eagles nested on the island in 2008. Mosquitoes and rattlesnakes are common.
Activities and amenities: visitors enjoy birding, fishing, hiking, and sunbathing. The park offers picnic pavilions, bathhouses, a park concession, nature trails, bird observation areas, and a dog-friendly beach. A ferry runs to Caladesi Island for visitors staying on Honeymoon Island. The Rotary Centennial Nature Center has exhibits about the natural and cultural history of Honeymoon and Caladesi Islands and an elevated observation deck. The Osprey Trail is about 2 miles long and the Pelican Cove Trail is about 0.75 miles, circling the eastern forested area. Parts of the beaches have been rebuilt to reduce erosion, and some areas feature fossilized coral on the shore.
Around 10 miles offshore is the Circle of Heroes veterans memorial. Florida state parks are open daily from 8 a.m. to sundown. Park entrance is $8 per vehicle or $4 per person; an annual pass is also available. The Caladesi Island ferry costs about $14 per adult in addition to the park entrance fee. There are two concession areas: Café Honeymoon and the South Beach Pavilion.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 06:16 (CET).