US-1880

Honeymoon Island State Park

Over 2,400 acres at the northern end of the Pinellas peninsula, reached by the Dunedin Causeway, with Gulf beaches west and Tampa Bay east. One of the most visited state parks in Florida, holding some of the best preserved slash pine forest in the region. Excellent operating — with a serious insect problem.

At a glance

Entry: $8 per vehicle (limit eight people). $4 single-occupant vehicle. $2 pedestrians and...
Hours: Open 8:00 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year.
Operating position: See park page →
Tables: Yes
Shade: Good
Restrooms: Yes
Water: See park page →
Grid: EL88ob

Official park page Florida State Parks → Trail maps, closures, facilities and current alerts, kept current by the agency. Activation history POTA.app — US-1880 → Every activation, activator and hunter log for this park. This guide covers conditions on the ground, not the logbook.

Useful for activating

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

Beach
Roofed pavilion
Hiking trails
ADA accessible areas

Full details on the Florida State Parks site →

Getting in

Parking

Drive in over the Dunedin Causeway. Arriving at opening meant being the first car in the park, which made for a clean operating environment.

Hours

Open 8:00 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year.

Access

Florida state park.

Setting up

Where to operate

A picnic table inside a covered shelter in the picnic area, well back from the beach, with the antenna planted about 20 feet away and a full radial field spread around the base. The shelter shade matters here — operating in direct sun with no breeze was described as genuinely uncomfortable by late April.

Antennas

An 18.3 ft telescoping vertical with all eight radials deployed, about 20 feet from the shelter. No SWR figure recorded.

Cell coverage

general: Poor at the picnic area. A live stream dropped repeatedly and was abandoned. Do not plan on a reliable data connection here.

Before you go

Conditions to plan for

Insect pressure is heavy throughout the picnic area, not just near the beach, and starts in the parking lot. Apply repellent before you arrive and reapply outside the vehicle — never spray inside a closed car. Heat and humidity are significant from late April onward, and there is little natural shade outside the covered shelters; mornings are the practical window.