Terra Ceia Preserve State Park

Places to Canoe/Kayak

Pictures and Information

Location

Terra Ceia Preserve State Park is in Terra Ceia, FL.
Map showing Terra Ceia Preserve

Description

Terra Ceia Preserve is on the south side of Tampa Bay. It's about 10 minutes from the south end of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The boat ramp & canoe/kayak launch is at the end of Bishop Harbor Road. There are no restrooms, water hoses or any other facilities. This area is all relatively shallow so it's best paddled around high tide.
This is certainly one of the best places in Tampa Bay to take your canoe or kayak. Bishop Harbor borders the east side of Terra Ceia Preserve and is very sheltered with lots of mangrove islands and mangrove channels as well as a few "holes" that can be reached only by paddling your canoe or kayak through a narrow channel. There are countless nooks and crannies to explore around Bishop Harbor. Hells Half Acre is a small cluster of small islands on the east side of Bishop Harbor. It's a very shallow area that you wouldn't want to be in on a low tide. If you have to get out and drag your kayak because of the shallow water, you'll soon find that there isn't much hard bottom in Bishop Harbor or Hells Half Acre, it's almost all soft mud & grass flats.

Except during the coldest months of winter, this is also a great area to see manatee. Plenty of other wildlife is in the area and it is also a very popular fishing spot among the locals. Tuberculosis Bay is part of Terra Ceia Preserve and the entrance to Tuberculosis Bay is a really neat spot to kayak because of all the small islands and channels.