Seminole Waterfront Park
Central bay launch
Seminole Waterfront Park is a central-bay kayak and paddleboard launch, free to park.
Seminole Waterfront is a newer City of Seminole park on the salt side of Park Boulevard, with a slide launch into Long Bayou that drops you onto calm, sheltered water well off the Gulf. From here the bayou opens into Cross Bayou and out to Boca Ciega Bay, a maze of mangrove shoreline with very little development on it, and with the time and the tide it is about four and a half miles down to John's Pass and the Gulf. The one thing to get right is which side of Park Boulevard you are on: the water here is salt, while Lake Seminole directly across the road is a separate freshwater lake, so do not mix them up. Mind the tide, because at dead low the launch turns to ankle-deep mud and you will wade your board out before it floats. There is a rack and a hose to rinse the salt off your gear afterward, plus restrooms and a big playground, so it doubles as an easy family stop. Parking is free.
Where do I park, and is it free?
- Cost
- Free
- Parking
- Moderate
- Restrooms
- yes
Free city park with a launch pad and rinse station on the salt side. Not the freshwater lake across Park Blvd.
How clear is the water?
Sheltered bayou water, salt side.
What will I see?
- Bottlenose dolphins working the bayou and the open bay, a regular sight out toward Boca Ciega
- Herons, egrets, and other wading birds along the mangrove edges and the tidal flats
- Manatees graze the bay's seagrass in the warmer months, though they stay scarce and elusive up in the bayou itself
- Snook, redfish, and mullet through the mangroves, which is why locals fish it
What's the fishing like?
Sheltered bayou and bay: snook, redfish, and trout along the mangroves and docks, sheepshead on structure.
How do I share the water here?
This is all Boca Ciega Bay Aquatic Preserve, protected since 1968, and the bottom under you is seagrass, the turtle grass and manatee grass the fish and the manatees feed on. Stay over the deeper channels at low tide rather than dragging a fin or walking your board across the grass, and watch for the posted manatee slow-speed zones. Scarring seagrass inside the preserve carries a real fine, up to a thousand dollars.