Stuart, FL
Bathtub Reef Beach
A worm-rock reef sits just offshore and turns the water inside into a warm, calm, waist-deep pool full of fish at low tide.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 3+
- ~3h
- Free
Things to Do 3–4 Hours from Tampa Bay with Kids
9 kid-friendly adventures about 3 to 4 hours from Tampa Bay, nearest first.
- Under 1 hour (9)
- 1-2 hours (8)
- 2-3 hours (14)
- 3-4 hours (9)
About these times. Each estimate is a straight-line measurement from downtown Tampa, roughly central to the Gulf beaches either side, padded by 17% for winding roads and divided by a 55 mph average — so “about 3 to 4 hours” means roughly that, not a routed time. Traffic, where in Tampa you start, and the last few miles of park road can all move it by half an hour. Check a map before you load the car.
about 3 hr drive
about 3 hr 15 min drive
St. Augustine, FL
Anastasia State Park
Four miles of Atlantic beach plus a warm, shallow tidal lagoon that is close to perfect for beginner paddlers, ten minutes from St. Augustine.
- Swimming
- Ages 3+
- ~5h
- Paid
about 3 hr 15 min drive
Hobe Sound, FL
Jonathan Dickinson State Park
Paddle Florida's first Wild and Scenic River through cypress, and climb the sand pine ridge for a view over the whole coast.
- Kayaking
- Ages 5+
- ~5h
- Paid
about 3 hr 30 min drive
Jupiter, FL
Blowing Rocks Preserve
At high tide on a windy day, waves force seawater fifty feet into the air through blowholes in the largest limestone outcrop on Florida's coast.
- Nature
- Ages 4+
- ~2h
- Paid
about 3 hr 30 min drive
Riviera Beach, FL
Peanut Island Park
An island reached only by water taxi, with a rock-protected snorkel lagoon shallow enough to stand in and a campground on the far side.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 4+
- ~4h
- Paid
about 3 hr 45 min drive
Jacksonville, FL
Big Talbot Island State Park
Boneyard Beach is littered with the bleached skeletons of whole oak and cedar trees, toppled off an eroding bluff onto the sand.
- Hiking
- Ages 4+
- ~3h
- Paid
about 3 hr 45 min drive
Boynton Beach, FL
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
The last intact northern Everglades, with two short boardwalks over cypress swamp and sawgrass marsh and alligators on the levee at dawn.
- Nature
- Ages 3+
- ~3h
- Paid
about 3 hr 45 min drive
Boca Raton, FL
Red Reef Park
Snorkel a shallow boulder reef twenty yards off the sand in water rarely more than six feet deep, with angelfish, parrotfish and green turtles.
- Snorkeling
- Ages 5+
- ~3h
- Paid
about 4 hr drive
St. George Island, FL
St. George Island State Park
Nine miles of undeveloped barrier island beach with almost nobody on it, plus calm bay-side water and excellent shelling.
- Swimming
- Ages 2+
- ~5h
- Paid