Jenkins Creek Park sits directly across Shoal Line Boulevard from Linda Pedersen, on the same tidal creek, and the two are joined by an aluminum footbridge. This side has the boat ramp and a hand launch, so it is the one to use if you would rather slide in off a ramp than carry your board down. A low pedestrian bridge over the creek caps the size of what can get through, which keeps the big powerboats out and the paddling quiet. From here the creek opens into a web of backwater bays, Rice Creek, Centipede, and Rock Island, and you can work south toward the Chassahowitzka country if you have the tide and the time for it. The same winter manatees that use Linda Pedersen pass through here. Mind the tide, because the creek goes thin and muddy at dead low. The county lists fee parking but does not state the current amount.
Where do I park, and is it free?
- Cost
- Current amount unknown
- Parking
- Unknown
- Restrooms
- Listed in the checked source (checked 2026-08-20)
- Dogs
- Not allowed
Hernando County lists a small-boat or canoe launch, boat ramp, canoe and kayak launch, restrooms, fee parking, and 24-hour access. The current parking-fee amount and capacity are not stated.
Access sources: hernandocounty.us (checked August 20, 2026).
How clear is the water?
Tidal creek, shallow at low water.
What will I see?
- Manatees moving through the creek in the cold months, same as across the street
- Redfish and snook along the mangrove edges, sheepshead off the pier, wading birds on the flats
What's the fishing like?
Tidal creek: redfish and snook along the mangroves, trout on the flats, sheepshead off the pier.
How do I share the water here?
This creek is part of the same warm-water manatee refuge as the parks around it, and the backwater bays are shallow seagrass. Stay in the deeper creek channels at low tide instead of dragging across the grass, and give any manatee a wide, slow berth.
See how it scores before you drive out.
Check Jenkins Creek Park on the live map