17-02-2025
North Beach at Fort De Soto Park reopens following hurricanes
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — North Beach at Fort De Soto Park is back open following months of hurricane damage repairs.
Park manager David Harshbarger said damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton was worse than he expected.
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'It was really hard to fathom. What we were seeing concerned up and we couldn't put any kind of time limits on it. So, it's pretty amazing it has taken this long,' he said.
In November, 8 On Your Side toured the destruction at the popular Pinellas County spot. At the beach, some of the seawall was blown out, boardwalks were washed away, and sand was filled with debris. At the campgrounds, trees toppled on buildings, electrical outlets were unusable, and hundreds of picnic tables had to be replaced.
'It's been a monumental effort, you can see, we're in the middle of February and we're finally able to open that last corner of the park. It took a huge team effort across the board. People have put in a lot of time so it's impressive to see the turnaround,' Harshbarger explained.
According to Harshbarger, some repairs are still in progress.
'The big infrastructure projects, none of that goes away, so we're still working through that, we've got broken sea wall, broken boardwalks. If the public sees anything that's cautioned off, please respect that for their safety,' he said.
The park welcomes 3 million visitors annually.
'I know there's a lot of people that still live on the beach still struggling quite a bit so we're hopeful this little part will bring a little smile to their faces to be back at the beaches of Fort De Soto,' Harshbarger said.
The park opens at 7 a.m. North Beach, the campground and boat ramp are open. Visitors are asked to report debris at (727) 582-2100.
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