Advice on spoil islands camping Dunedin causeway

Very soon I will be travelling to and launching from The Dunedin causeway to one of the spoil islands in the bay, but before making the long trip, I was wondering?


1. Are all of the islands high and dry at high tide?

2. Are they usually occupied by noon on the weekend with campers, or is there usually at least one or two vacant spots?

3. Is there enough sandy beach to erect a fair sized teepee tent?

4. Any wisdom (especially from locals) is appreciated and thanks in advance.

That's where I primarily sail and although I don't camp on the spoil islands I occasionally stop on them for a lunch break.

Many of them are dry during high tides with some room for tents. Some are overgrown with mangroves, some have great places for camping and many fill up on the weekends. Occasionally they turn into a party haven (My son told me about some of the parties that take place at night on islands).

It's a beautiful part of Florida for sailing .... I'm launching from the causeway this morning and heading out to Three Rooker.
I'd be glad to meet up and sail with you some but we're taking our TI to Maine and Vermont next week.

Oh yeah, not sure but I believe you need some sort of overnight permit to park on the causeway if it's even allowed. Just fyi

Jim

>1. Are all of the islands high and dry at high tide?

Most are, but some are only a little bigger than your TI at high tide.

>2. Are they usually occupied by noon on the weekend with campers, or is there usually at least one or two vacant spots?

The islands South of the causeway are usually more crowded. The first big island South has good camping, but is frequently full.

>3. Is there enough sandy beach to erect a fair sized teepee tent?

Yes

>4. Any wisdom (especially from locals) is appreciated and thanks in advance.

I live less than 5 minutes from the causeway in Ozona and sail out there regularly. My daughter has camped out there several times. North of the causeway is probably your better bet for camping, but south is better for beach launching. South is good for launching, and socializing. Many catamarans, and a few other TIs launch south on the weekends. Launching to the south and sailing north side is not really a big problem with the TI as you can go under one of the bridges to get to the other side. You would have to lower the mast to make it under the second bridge. If you're adventurous, and the weather is nice you may also go around Honeymoon island. There is also a small launch spot to the North before the first bridge, but it is shallow and may involve dragging the TI a bit since at low tide you might not be willing to get your tires into the soft sand. Pop Stansell park is also a north side launch option depending on tides and winds.

The second island North of the causeway is very nice, and is big enough, and wooded enough, for a few groups of campers without getting in each other's way. The east end has a little wood platform built which could keep you off the sand. Sand fleas are pretty bad this time of year. That island has some sandy beach as well. Some of the islands have sharp oyster shell beaches. Google Map labels it Horseshoe Island since it has a small cove to the north. The finger shaped island just northeast of Horseshoe is also pretty good for camping. Staying on the west end of the finger island is nice. It has some good beach, and maybe some breeze depending on the wind direction to keep the bugs down. Three Rooker just north of Honeymoon is a very nice spot to hang out on the weekends as CaptnChaos mentioned, but no camping.

If you want to camp south side the first island is big enough and has some good spots, but is also usually pretty crowded with people stopping for lunch and camping. The boat traffic by that island or any south side island is not what most people want when camping.

I may be out this weekend, I'm not sure of my schedule yet. pm me if you have any specific questions.

Ken

I appreciate the input..... I will be down there before too long again and try to see if we can all do a fleet action!

My wife and I will out there sailing on Saturday the 29th. Plan is to launch from north side just before bridge and head north to 3 rooker. Hope to see someone else with a TI or AI.

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2015-Tandem Island

I have heard the 2nd island North of the dunedin causeway is an awesome island, but since we can't fit under the drawbridge, we never sail /camp there

The big island just south of the dunedin causeway is a great island, park on the south or south west side.

The 4th island south is also a good island for parking/camping but is very small so can be a bit overcrowded and bathroom use can be tricky with all the people coming and going off that island (it is across from the dunedin marina)

The 8th island south (just north of the seminal boat ramp) is also a perfect island for camping. You can find more info on camping https://travelsites.com/camping/