Once a true secluded get-away for newlywed couples, today Honeymoon Island is a great state park on Florida's Gulf Coast. Part of a coastal island chain, Honeymoon Island State Park is located north of Clearwater and just south of historic Tarpon Springs. This small key was once part of Sand Island before a 1921 hurricane passed over, splitting the island in two. Today the aptly named Hurricane Pass divides Honeymoon Island from Caladesi Island.
   A New York developer, Clinton Washburn, peddled his newly formed vacation paradise as Honeymoon Island in 1939. Seen in Life Magazine, young married couples where invited to enter a contest for a two week stay on the island. It was then Honeymoon Island was placed on the map, a much more pleasant sounding name than Hog Island. This romantic destination may have lost a little of its mystic in the mid 1960s when a causeway link was established to the mainland. Now it's an easy drive to the island, but nearby Caladesi Island is still only accessed by ferry or boat.
   Today, it's still possible to host weddings and beachside events at the park, but there are no thatched bungalows to house newlyweds overnight. Hundreds of visitors flock to the island to enjoy its white sand beaches, picnic areas, nature trails and surf fishing every day of the year. A park concession features a gift shop and snack bar, and beachside bathhouses ... some conveniences never imagined during the 1940s resort era. Bicycle and kayak rentals also make it easy to enjoy the surf and sand on the island, while beach chair and umbrella rentals save beachgoers carrying an arm-full from the parking lot. Nature lovers will find plenty of wildlife on the Osprey Trail. This 2.5 mile hike cuts through a virgin slash pine forest where gopher tortoises, eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, great horned owls, osprey and bald eagles may be spotted. A large variety of shore birds are found on the north end of the island. Here nesting sites are taken over by Wilson's plovers, ruddy turnstones, sanderlings, reddish egrets and laughing gulls. Ample parking lots and four miles of beach offer plenty of elbow room for all Honeymoon Key park guests.

     Area Map