Ft. Desoto considering an admission fee...

[Big G]

I heard on the news today that Pinellas county is looking to recover some of the lost funding reduced by the State of Florida. One consideration to supplement these lost revanues is to charge a $3.00 admission to enter the park. Also, the board of commissioners is also talking about a toll rate increase from $.035 (the current rate) to $1.00. This could certainly change the number of riders on a regular bases at the beautiful Ft. Desoto spot.

Any information regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated. Please keep your ears open and post what you may know.

Big G

[JoshTaylor]

they should give kiters a break, we attract alot of people i'm sure.

plus we go there so much.

[toby wilson]

I'm all for it. Good for them, I don't mind paying $3.65 extra per day just to get out to an epic spot for a FULL DAY of riding/entertainment!

C'mon, take a look at what it costs for a typical day at a slider park or a rented boat/gas for wakeboarding. Even once you have paid your admission pass (maybe cheaper or free because you are a FL resident) you still would pay more than that for a freaking ice cream or a cup of soda (not to mention the cost of gas just to get there)...we should feel lucky that we got it for free for this long and gladly pay to keep our spot clean and staffed with Rangers...

I gotta agree. No biggie. If it means not having the ice cream stands, restaurants, a non-public marina, etc (anyone remember that fiasco), I am all four (bucks) it.
Not a big price to pay, imo, to keep it a park and keep it natural.
I am just glad we have one spot in this whole area that doesn't have a friggin' condo on it.
Maybe they will do a 15 dollar year pass? They did that at St. Augustine for the beach passes for Fl residents.

[CrazyJay]

It's always been a bargain at $.35 for some of the most epic riding in the country. I can't believe it has stay that cheap for so long.
Maybe they will offer a yearly pass for residents.
but... it's still free if u cruise across from the backside ;0)~

[bryanleighty]

per the report i read, the tolls might increase and the parking lot will no longer be free. As we dont use the parking lots its possible we wont see much of a hike besides a 50 to 65 cent toll increase.. ( I would guess that the main entrance toll would go from its current 35cents to $1.

i support the increase 10000% ..

[H]

Originally Posted by Skyway Scott

I gotta agree. No biggie. If it means not having the ice cream stands, restaurants, a non-public marina, etc (anyone remember that fiasco), I am all four (bucks) it.
Not a big price to pay, imo, to keep it a park and keep it natural.
I am just glad we have one spot in this whole area that doesn't have a friggin' condo on it.
Maybe they will do a 15 dollar year pass? They did that at St. Augustine for the beach passes for Fl residents.

Yeah, I predicted then that a fee was on it's way. I'm all for the fee too, but there should definitely be a annual pass available.

As for a parking charge, I hope they don't do that, because it will have one of two results. Either we'll end up with a lot of people parking down in our spot to avoid the charge, or the park will stop allowing people to park outside of the lots and that just doesn't make sense at all for Desoto. It's really a silly idea anyway, they should just make a single fee to get in.

I suspect parking at East Beach will now be off limits... this includes big beach as well, which sucks

HOWEVER... Jim (head ranger) is an understanding guy and is friendly with the kite boarders. We may be able to work something out with him if it becomes a problem.