US-0772

De Soto National Memorial

A 26-acre National Park Service site in Bradenton where the Manatee River meets Tampa Bay, marking Hernando de Soto's 1539 landing. Small, free, and the operating real estate is hard to beat — picnic tables directly on the water under sea grape shade with a clear look north across the bay.

Open, with limits Park grounds are open and rebuilding is under way following hurricane damage in 2024. The visitor center is still closed. Several porta potties are in place, but there is no drinking water on site — bring your own. Check with National Park Service → Access last checked August 17, 2026.

At a glance

Entry: Free
Hours: Park grounds are open dawn to dusk, but the parking lot gates...
Operating position: See park page →
Tables: Yes
Shade: Good
Restrooms: Yes
Water: Bring your own
Grid: EL87qm

Official park page National Park Service → Trail maps, closures, facilities and current alerts, kept current by the agency. Activation history POTA.app — US-0772 → Every activation, activator and hunter log for this park. This guide covers conditions on the ground, not the logbook.

Useful for activating

Listed by National Park Service , checked August 2026. Not verified on site. This is only what affects operating — see the park’s own page for everything else.

Hiking trails
Kayak launch

Full details on the National Park Service site →

Getting in

Parking

Quick drive from St. Petersburg. Open grounds; the picnic tables sit on the waterfront.

Hours

Park grounds are open dawn to dusk, but the parking lot gates close at 5:00 p.m. — vehicles left inside after that remain overnight and may be ticketed. The visitor welcome area is open 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and sometimes during hurricane season.

Access

National Park Service site. Admission is free. A coastal trail runs along the Manatee River. The NPS interpretation covers the expedition's impact on Indigenous peoples directly.

Setting up

Where to operate

Waterfront picnic tables shaded by sea grape, with open water to the north. Mangroves and open shoreline elsewhere in the park.

Antennas

A Radioddity HF-010 vertical swept clean on 20 m with a deep dip on the FT8 frequency and needed no tuner. An 18.3 ft vertical with eight radials also worked here. Both were run from the picnic table area.

Before you go

Conditions to plan for

Wind off the Manatee River is persistent and can be strong enough to matter for a lightweight mast. There is no drinking water on site while the visitor center is closed.