Weedon Island Preserve is staying open. After a summer of headlines about a possible closure, Pinellas County commissioners put the preserve's funding back into the budget. The preserve does lose something soon. Guided kayak tours and rentals at the preserve end on Nov. 15, and no replacement operator has been named.
The county's rescue pays for one year of normal operations, and the first part of normal operations has already left. For anyone in St. Petersburg who treats Weedon as their backyard, the months between now and next September will decide what the preserve looks like after that.
A rescue that runs through next September
The funding fight took about seven weeks from start to finish. Here is how it went.
- Aug. 7: Pinellas County parks director Paul Cozzie emailed stakeholders that the proposed fiscal 2027 budget "eliminates funding" for Weedon Island Preserve, its Cultural and Natural History Center and Shell Key Preserve, effective Jan. 1. Friends of Weedon Island posted the notice the same day.
- Aug. 11: The Tampa Bay Times reported that both preserves sit on state-owned land the county has leased and managed since 1995. If the cut passed, the land would go back to the state.
- Sept. 14: At the first budget reading, commissioners restored $555,000 for the two preserves, according to WUSF. The money came from funds set aside for future bond payments on a new county administrative campus.
- Sept. 24: The county adopted its fiscal 2027 budget and said funding for both preserves "was preserved for one year following strong public opposition to proposed cuts."
- Oct. 1: The new fiscal year started. It runs through Sept. 30, 2027, per the county's citizen's guide to the budget.
The vote funds the preserves through Sept. 30, 2027, and settles nothing past that date. The St. Pete Catalyst reported that the decision "secured another year of operations while officials pursue a longer-term funding arrangement with the state." The cut that was supposed to take effect Jan. 1, 2027, is off the table for this fiscal year. The question behind it is still open.
Why the kayak tours are leaving anyway
Commissioners were surprised by the kayak announcement too. The Catalyst reported that at a County Commission meeting in mid-October, they said they had expected kayak operations to continue once the funding came back.
The concession's trouble started before the vote. ECOmersion, the preserve's kayak operator, had a contract that ran through January 2027, and the county had earlier told the company it would not be renewed. While the budget was undecided, the county paused its search for a new operator. A county spokesperson told the Catalyst that "the RFP was paused during the County's budget proposal process because funding for Weedon Island was not initially proposed."
ECOmersion told the county on Sept. 18 that it planned to close in November. That was four days after the first-reading vote restored the money. Three days later, the county offered to extend the agreement. The company turned down the same financial terms. It currently pays the county 27% of its revenue, and in an Oct. 2 email it proposed lowering that share to 10% to reflect the risks of operating at the preserve.
The Catalyst traced those risks back to hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. After the storms, a fallen tree blocked the operator's main launch, and the business ran at reduced capacity for about five months. A county inspection report from Jan. 31, 2025, noted the tree was still blocking the concession building and that the outfitter was working from the public launch near the fishing pier.
The operator still thinks highly of the site. Owner Shaffer told the Catalyst he expects someone else to take over the concession eventually, citing the preserve's calm, sheltered water and mangrove tunnels:
"It's a great location. It has a lot of fundamentals that make it a great kayaking location."
For now, the county says it is "continuing to evaluate park operations and services." It has not announced a new concessionaire or said when bidding might start again.
The water stays open to anyone with a boat
After Nov. 15, you need your own kayak or paddleboard to get on the water at Weedon. The public launch is still there, beside the fishing pier at the end of Weedon Drive NE.
That launch is the starting point for the preserve's south paddling trail, a route of about four miles, according to the official paddling launch page. The county's preserve page lists the north paddling trail as closed. For now, the south loop is the only marked paddling route.
Losing the outfitter matters most to people who never owned a boat. Out-of-town guests, a first try at paddling and the guided mangrove trip have all relied on rentals and tours. Those run through Nov. 15. Anyone hoping to book one this year has until Nov. 15 on the current calendar.
What's open at the preserve the rest of this fall
On land, the preserve is mostly running normally, with one repair to plan around.
| Part of the preserve | Status as posted | Where it's posted |
|---|---|---|
| Preserve grounds | Open daily, 7 a.m. to sunset | Programs and classes |
| Boardwalks and trails | More than 4.7 miles total | Pinellas County preserve page |
| Bay Boardwalk | A section closed for repairs, expected to finish late 2026 | County Parks: Know Before You Go |
| North paddling trail | Closed | Pinellas County preserve page |
| South paddling trail | About four miles, starting at the public launch by the fishing pier | Weedon Island Preserve |
| Kayak rentals and guided tours | Through Nov. 15 | St. Pete Catalyst |
| Cultural and Natural History Center | Thursday–Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Programs and classes |
The Bay Boardwalk repair is worth a look before you go. The preserve's boardwalks and trails page places the 45-foot Bay Observation Tower on the west boardwalk. The county's notice does not say which section is closed, so check the county parks alert page before planning a walk around the tower.
The center's calendar is still active. On Friday, Oct. 30, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., the Cultural and Natural History Center hosts "The Night Shift: Bats in Florida." That program, along with the rest of the center's education work, was at risk in August. Friends of Weedon Island president Bill Fehring told the Tampa Bay Times then that he worried a closure would mean "all the educational programs are all going to go away." The center's posted hours have not changed since the vote.
What the next eleven months decide
The bridge year comes with a deadline. The Times reported that annual attendance at Weedon grew to nearly 1 million during the pandemic and has stayed there, according to Fehring. In the same reporting, Cozzie wrote that the state "has historically provided minimal funding to staff and maintain these properties," and that the county was hopeful the state would pay for future upkeep. As of the August coverage, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection had not said whether it would manage the preserve if the county stepped away.
Before Sept. 30, 2027, two things need to happen for Weedon to keep the shape it has had for decades. The county and the state need a longer-term funding deal, and the county needs to restart the search for a kayak operator. The county has not given a date for either.
When clients ask how close a home is to a public launch, Weedon Drive NE is one of the answers in northeast St. Petersburg, and changes like this one are part of what I track for them. If being able to launch a kayak a few minutes from home matters to you, Brad Bess can show you which neighborhoods put Weedon Drive NE, a public launch or your own dock closest to your door. Book Your Tour, and we'll plan it around the water.
