Anclote Key Preserve State Park

Anclote Key Preserve State Park is four islands – Anclote Key, North Anclote Bar, South Anclote Bar and Three Rooker Island – three miles off Tarpon Springs in the Gulf of America. The park is given as 11,773 acres, and its amenities page puts the Gulf waters in it at nearly 12,000 acres; at least 43 bird species have been recorded.

There is no entrance fee. The park is open 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, and can be reached only by private boat or ferry service. The office is on 727-241-6106.

Effective 3 October 2024, the dock, the boardwalk and the lighthouse are closed for storm recovery efforts. The park asks visitors to follow staff instructions and avoid closed areas. The notice dates from 2024, and it is what the park publishes today.

The 110-foot lighthouse, built in 1887, is in any case open to the public only during special events. For the monthly lighthouse tours the park refers visitors, in a notice of 13 February 2025, to the Friends of Anclote Key.

Primitive camping is permitted on the very north end of Anclote Key. There is no water and there are no other amenities, so everything you need comes with you – the park offers no provisions on the island and asks visitors to bring their own water and supplies. Ferry services do not drop off visitors for overnight camping, which leaves a private boat as the way to camp here.

There are two compostable toilets on Anclote Key, one at the north end of the island and one a short distance from the lighthouse compound. On the beach there are no lifeguards on duty.