Pasco: Coast, wilderness, and local history

In Pasco County, coastal landscapes and preserves are as much a part of the region as its hiking trails, museums, and recurring festivals. When planning your trip, you can first consider whether you’re mainly interested in experiencing nature, spending time outdoors, discovering local history, or planning around an event. These different themes offer different reasons to explore Pasco.

Coast and protected landscapes

Pasco County has 20 miles of coastline and four miles of beaches on its offshore barrier island. The Nature Coast Aquatic Preserve also stretches along the county’s coast. Anclote Key Preserve State Park encompasses Anclote Key, Three Rooker Bar, and North Bar, and lies off the coast of Pasco County. Possible activities there include sunbathing, wading in shallow water, and watching the sunset and moonrise. Water conditions can vary.

Preserves also shape the landscape inland. Starkey Wilderness Preserve is one of the largest undeveloped areas in Pasco County and protects ecologically sensitive land in the county’s rapidly growing west. Its natural habitats range from pine flatwoods and cypress domes to freshwater marshes, creek and lake swamps, sandhills, and scrubland. Visitors interested in different types of landscapes will find a natural setting here that differs from the coast.

Trails, wildlife, and outdoor activities

Withlacoochee River Park has a canoe launch, a pier, and five miles of hiking trails. The park also includes campsites with an RV area, a playground, and various multi-use trails. Activities there include hiking, biking, and fishing on the Withlacoochee River. The paved Suncoast Trail adds another option: it opened in 2001 and is part of Florida’s statewide Greenways and Trails System.

Hiking, biking, and wildlife viewing are possible at Little Gator Creek Wildlife and Environmental Area from September 1 through January 31. The area provides habitat for gopher tortoises and wood storks. Little Gator Creek also has a long history of use: Indigenous groups mined chert from limestone formations there as long as 9,000 years ago. Chert, a stone similar to flint, was worked into tools. This makes it possible to combine a nature outing with a look at the area’s early history.

For those interested in comparing different kinds of activities, Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park offers paddling, fishing, hiking, and nature viewing. In some areas, the salt springs are more than 351 feet deep. Giraffe Ranch offers guided safari experiences in four-wheel-drive vehicles, camel expeditions, and Segway safaris. The Lift Adventure Park is located on a spring-fed lake and offers cable wakeboarding and an inflatable jungle obstacle course.

Museums and local history

Dade City Heritage and Cultural Museum is located in a historic railroad depot dating to 1912. Its exhibits include model trains from the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard railroads, as well as memorabilia from Dade City’s World War II prisoner-of-war camp. Pioneer Florida Museum and Village is dedicated to preserving local history through restoration projects, educational programs, special events, and preservation efforts. The two institutions have different focuses: exhibits about railroad and wartime history at one, and historic work through projects and programs at the other.

Another trace of the area’s earlier history can be found at the lighthouse on Anclote Key, which dates to 1877. Together with the state park’s location off the coast, it offers a different way to explore the region’s heritage than the inland museums.

Festivals and regional specialties

The Annual Kumquat Festival takes place in Historic Downtown Dade City on the last Saturday in January; the specific event date is set each year. The festival features arts and crafts booths, a car and truck show, a farmers market, a children’s zone, and a quilt challenge. Organizers also list more than 300 vendors and sponsors. Offerings range from fresh kumquats, cakes, cookies, smoothies, and ice cream to marmalade, preserves, and donuts; craft beer and sangria are also available. Individual offerings may vary from year to year.

The recurring program at Pioneer Florida Museum and Village includes the Scarecrow Festival, Farm Festival & Quilt Show, Raising Cane Festival, and Moonshine Festival. Event dates may change. If you’d like to include a festival in your trip, check the date for the year in question.

Pasco as a starting point for planning your trip

If you’re looking for hotels in Pasco, your reason for traveling can be a useful starting point: the coast and preserves, trails and wildlife, museums, or a festival each offer a different focus. Consider which specific destinations you’d like to visit before choosing a hotel location. That way, you can tailor your search to your own travel plans rather than grouping every experience into a single travel profile.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Port Richey, Zephyrhills, Hudson, Dade City, Holiday, New Port Richey, Bayonet Point, Trinity, Wesley Chapel.

Go to the main travel overview: Florida.