Beach Guide: Pine Island—Perfect for Families

A. At 10840 Pine Island Drive in Spring Hill, off County Road 495 west of Weeki Wachee, on Florida's Nature Coast. Its full name is Alfred A. McKethan Pine Island Park, and it is run by Hernando County. See the county park page.

First, clear up a name collision. This is not the Pine Island in southwest Florida near Fort Myers, which is a much larger island with no Gulf beach to speak of. This one is a compact three-acre county park, and it is the only public Gulf beach in Hernando County.

A. The park opens at 10 a.m. and stays open until sunset, seven days a week. The county moved the opening time back from 8:30 a.m. in July 2026 to allow for morning maintenance, so some listings still show the older time.

There is a parking fee, and the machine takes credit cards only: no cash. Holders of a handicapped placard and disabled veterans are exempt from parking fees at all Hernando County parks. RVs, buses and trailers are not permitted in the lot.

A. Shallow, and shallow for a long way out. That makes it unusually good for small children, who can wade a considerable distance without getting out of their depth.

It also means the tide matters more here than at most Florida beaches. At low tide the water can be too shallow to swim in at all. Check a tide chart before you drive out, and aim for the higher end of the cycle if swimming is the point of your trip.

Two other things worth knowing. There are barnacle-covered rocks in places, so water shoes are a genuinely good idea rather than a precaution. And there are no lifeguards here; the beach is unguarded, and swimming is at your own risk.

A. More than three acres would suggest. There is a designated swimming area, changing rooms, restrooms and showers, which is a rarity at a small county beach.

Beyond that: picnic tables, shelters and barbecue grills, pavilions on a first-come basis, a playground, a volleyball court, an observation point and a concession stand. Birdwatching is one of the county's listed attractions for the park.

A. No. Under the county's parks ordinance, animals other than service animals are kept out of Hernando County parks except at designated dog parks, and they are not permitted on beaches or in swimming-area waters. The ordinance sits in Chapter 22 of the county code. Parks and Recreation can confirm the current rule at 352-754-4031.

A. The Nature Coast is one of the best places in Florida for it, and this stretch is right in the middle of the action. Scalloping is what fills the local boat ramps every summer.

Hernando County falls in the state's Levy, Citrus and Hernando zone, where the 2026 season runs July 1 through Sept. 24. The daily limit is two gallons of whole scallops in the shell or one pint of meat per person, capped at 10 gallons in the shell per vessel. Seasons are set annually and can differ sharply between adjacent zones, so confirm dates on the state's bay scallop page before you go. Most scallopers use a boat to reach productive grounds, and you'll generally need a Florida saltwater fishing license unless you qualify for an exemption.   

A. Not at Pine Island Park, which has no ramp. The launches are a short drive north along Shoal Line Boulevard.

Bayport Park has two boat ramps, a canoe and kayak launch, a fishing pier, restrooms, a rentable pavilion and a boardwalk with Gulf views. Jenkins Creek Park is open 24 hours a day and has a fishing pier plus a ramp suitable for small boats and canoes. Linda Pedersen Park, across the road from Jenkins Creek and open 8 a.m. to sunset, covers 135 acres and connects by aluminum boardwalk; it is the county's pick for manatee viewing. The county marked a paddling trail through Jenkins Creek.

A. On the Weeki Wachee River they are strict, and worth reading before you paddle. The Weeki Wachee Springs Protection Zone runs 5.61 miles from the Rogers Park boat ramp up to the headspring inside the state park.

Inside that zone, anchoring, mooring, beaching and grounding vessels are all prohibited. Swimming, snorkeling and floating on a raft or tube are permitted. The county explains the boundaries on its protection zone page, and the state's boater guidance covers the rest.

A. Sea turtle nesting season here runs May 1 through Oct. 31, with loggerheads the most common nesters. Hernando County is not one of the state's index nesting beaches, so nesting activity here is lighter than on the Atlantic coast or the southwest Gulf beaches.

The good habits still apply anywhere on the coast: take your gear off the sand at the end of the day, fill in any holes you dig, knock down sandcastles, and keep lights off the beach after dark. See the state's sea turtle nesting information.

A. Weeki Wachee Springs State Park is the headline act, a few minutes inland. Mermaids have performed in the spring there since 1947, and the park also has Buccaneer Bay water slides and paddling on the Weeki Wachee River. Note that the Wilderness River Cruise has been paused during daytime hours since December 2025 because of low water levels.

North of there, Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge protects around 31,000 acres of bays, estuaries and brackish marsh. Most of it is reachable only by boat. The one land access is the Salt Marsh Trails on Mason Creek Road in Homosassa, open sunrise to sunset, with an observation tower and a paddle-craft launch but no facilities at all. Pack in, pack out, and camping is not permitted on the refuge.

A. Here the calendar works differently from southwest Florida. Summer is the peak, not the off-season, because scalloping runs July through late September and the whole coast fills with boats.

Spring and fall give you mild air, thinner crowds and comfortable water. Winter is quiet, and the Gulf gets cool enough that most people are not swimming. Summer is hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms, so mornings are the better half of the day, though the park now opens at 10 a.m.