Egmont Key State Park

Edgmont Key Old Pier “I wouldn’t paddle out there.”

That is what the guy who worked at the kayak rental shop told me when I asked about sea kayaking to Egmont Key State Park. Why, I asked?

“Full moon, out-going tide; it’s like Niagra Falls out there right now,” he said.

Well, I certainly do not want to get swept out to sea, I replied.

“I’ve been out there when the buoys were almost laid down flat from the current,” stated one of the other kayak rental attendants. “I’d suggest you go to the island in a motorboat before you attempt to paddle out there. At least wait until there is an incoming tide,” he added.

It was at this point that I began to actually question whether I should paddle out to Egmont Key. It could indeed be risky. I’d lived in the mountains a long time – maybe I was underestimating the swiftness and power of ocean currents? I had heard about the beauty and history of Egmont Key, but I had also heard that the paddle across the deep water shipping channel was only for experienced kayakers.

“Try out the kayak course behind the island,” suggested the man behind the counter.

I thanked the guys at the shop and headed back to my car. I looked out towards the Gulf of Mexico and thought, are these guys messing with me? I could see the island just 1-mile offshore. Surely it could not be that difficult?

But a voice inside of me said, perhaps you should be prudent. I continued to justify that rationale by thinking, I haven’t paddled the backside of the island yet…and I don’t want to flip out there and end up as shark bait. It was then that I decided to err on the side of caution and put-in on the established kayak course. I would tackle Egmont Key another day.

I put my Perception Carolina Kayak in the water, threw in a cooler and a fishing rod, and stuck off north towards Mullet Key and the outlet to the Gulf between Fort de Soto and Summer Resort Key.

I rode the current out and spent some leisurely time casting my rod towards the oyster banks and the mangrove roots in hopes of catching a bass or snook. At one point, I was startled by a large shape moving under the water towards me, but relaxed when I realized that it was just a manatee. I caught sight of some others and enjoyed following their sea shadows and intermittent surfacing until I lost them at the northern point of the island.

I was still bothered by the fact that I had originally planned to paddle out to Egmont but relented at the last minute. I chewed on this as I pulled over to take a swim on the front side of Fort de Soto. The water was clear and blue and stretched wide over an unending bank of shallow white sand. The water was refreshing; but I was not satisfied.

Eventually I found myself donning a spray skirt and lifejacket. I’ll just paddle a ways down the front side of the island and see how I feel, I decided. I cruised offshore, casually dipping between the waves, and progressively made my way down the length of the island. I should just paddle out to the shipping channel and see how the current is, I thought. I can always turn around.

I kept paddling until I eventually found myself directly across from Egmont Key with nothing but the 90-foot deep shipping channel between me and my target. There were plenty of boats around; in fact, some of them were actively engaged in rod-bending fights with Tarpon and other large sea creatures. I figured if anything went wrong they could at least rescue me. So, I struck off for the other side.

It was no big deal.

Sure, if you have not spent much time in a kayak and cannot roll one on your own then you should probably refrain from making the trip. But for someone who is in fair shape and capable enough, it really is not that hard. Granted, I’ve been kayaking once or twice myself, but it is really just a matter of ferrying across some current. Who knows, it is quite possible that there are times in the tide cycle where it gets worse, much worse.

Egmont Key State Park is really quite beautiful. Between the open beach front littered with palm trees, migratory birds, and turtle nests,  and the interior island with its old lighthouse, red brick thoroughfares, and ruins, there is plenty to see and do. Wander the island or simply relax and stare out across the Gulf of Mexico. Either way, there is something romantic about the fact that Egmont was a resource for settlers in the 1700s, a place where Seminole Indian prisoners were kept in the 1800s, and a base for troops during the Civil and Spanish-American Wars.

 


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