Operating Hours & Seasons

Operating Hours

The Visitor Center is open daily (9:00am to 5:00pm). Park grounds are open dawn to dusk, but the parking lot gates close at 5:00pm. Vehicles left within the parking lot after 5:00pm will remain there overnight and may be ticketed. There is no overnight camping in the park.

De Soto National Memorial is closed on New Years Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The park may also be closed for periods of time during hurricane season if the arrival of a hurricane is imminent.

 

De Soto Landing reenactment held annually in April at De Soto National Memorial.

Winter Season Activities

Camp Uzita

Camp Uzita is where the majority of the parks living history programs are held. Programs are provided four days a week: Thursday through Sunday from December to Mid-April (10am - 3pm). Park staff and volunteers recreate a working 16th Century camp experience. Here you can try on Armor, watch us demonstate Archery, Atlatl and hear the roar of an arquebus. Programs and demonstrations run 10am,11am,1pm & 2pm. Topics include 16th Century European and Native American cultures, the legacy of the expedition story, as well as about the people who came here with De Soto in 1539.

Our Winter season concludes in April with the annual De Soto landing reenactment. Landing takes place on our beaches. Come witness an historical recreation of Conquistador Hernando de Soto's landing in Tampa Bay. The landing event is held twice at 10am and 1pm.

Please check our events calendar or call 941-792-0458 to check for times and details.

 

Junior Ranger Summer Campers learn about coastal ecology.

Summer Season Activities

**We follow guidance from the CDC and recommendations from state and local public health authorities in consultation with NPS Public Health Service Officers. All Summer Season Activities may be cancelled or rescheduled at any moment depending on these recommendations.**

Ranger-led Kayak Tours

Weekends from May to October De Soto National Memorial offers a free kayaking experience. Come see the park from a different perspective. Explore Florida's historic waterways (estuaries, rivers and bays). Our Park Rangers will talk about the ways native people and early settlers used these waterways to live, trade and fight. Learn about Florida's unique coastal ecosystems as you move through three different and unique coastal systems. All equipment is provided, but you must make reservations ahead of time on Recreation.gov

Junior Ranger Summer Camp

Throughout the summer we offer free Junior Ranger Day Camps for ages 6-10. Day camps focus on learning about conservation, ecology, history and the National Parks. At the end, they will earn their own Junior Ranger Camp badges that marks them out as one of De Soto National Memorial's awesome Junior Rangers.