STORY AND PHOTOS BY MICHELE MILLER
What’s What New Port Richey
“Love the picture. Where are you?!” the sister from south Florida was wanting to know.
In a local park. About 15 minutes from the house. Along the west coast not far from where we used to live before we experienced a few hurricane seasons and decided it might be best to move out of a primary evacuation zone.
Ah, Florida life. The downside.
“Never realized you had such nice parks there.”
Ah, Florida life. The flip side.
“How lucky am I?” you gotta figure while snapping selfies and photos of the Pasco shoreline from atop of the look-out-tower at Key Vista Nature Park in Holiday.
Simply said, it’s stunning.
Off in the distance to the left, you can see the Anclote Gulf Park fishing pier poking out from the mangrove-lined shore and the white towering stack of the Anclote Power Plant.
Take a gander to the right and it’s the wide-open gulf.
The 101-acre park boasts hiking trails that meander along the shore, through pine scrub and wetland habitats. The trails are dotted with park benches for resting and loads of natural flora and fauna to take in.
The lookout is definitely a bonus stop-off spot and a focal point of Key Vista, a Pasco County nature park located off Baillies Bluff Road in Holiday.
We embarked along an easy trail that tracks the shoreline through the mangrove coastline and over a boardwalk that had been installed in 2020 as part of a Pasco County Parks improvement project.
Come out on the other end and you are at Anclote Gulf Park where there are a variety of amenities including a playground, a fenced dog park, a picnic area, restrooms and the fishing pier that is popular with anglers and sunset seekers alike and was named one of the 20 Best Places to Fish Coastal Florida Without a Boat, by Florida Sportsman.
So, it’s a bonus “twofer” kind of outing.
y PHOTO | MICHELE MILLER
The hike offers some tree canopy for shade and some sun (wear a hat, apply sunscreen, and carry water), and offers a fine vantage for birders seeking to spot shorebirds.
According to the Florida Birding Trail, this is a must-see park in Pasco County, with some 220 species listed there.
Many nestle or sun themselves in the scrub oak or the tropical mangroves that provide natural protection from storm surge and erosion, and provide a nursery of sorts, for sea life that will one day stock the gulf.
Reflected in the brackish water, the mangroves are a picture worth pausing to take for photo buffs. Unfortunately the mangroves and their pegged roots are also a collection spot for human castoffs – soda and beer cans, plastic cups, plastic bags, and other litter – that become entangled in the roots and are unveiled with the ebbing tides.
(Note to self: Look up “Coastal Clean-up.“)
The boardwalk connects to Anclote Gulf Park and the fishing pier where there is a picnic area and restrooms, playground, and dog park.
Walk out to the end of that pier and you can catch sight of the Key Vista lookout tower using a pair of binoculars or a long lens on your camera.
It’s kind of a cool shot to catch before heading on back.
But this one might be better.
Ah, Florida life.
If you go…..
Key Vista Park is located at 2700 Baillies Bluff Road, Holiday. Open dawn to dusk. Amenities include restrooms, dog water station, picnic area and grills, handicap/RV and bus parking, nature tails, boardwalk, fishing access, and park benches.
Pasco’s Coastal Cleanup: The 2020 event will be held on Saturday, September 19th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. For information, click here.
Also of interest….
PHOTO | MICHELE MILLER
Catching a Sunset, What’s What NPR, August 2020)
PHOTO | MICHELE MILLER
In Photos – A Walk in the Park | March 2021. What’s What NPR, (March 2021)
Onward | Fimdomg Treasures Close to Home, What’sWhat New Port Richey, (Oct. 2020)
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