Weedon Nature Preserve is located in North Saint Petersburg. This Preserve is over three thousands acres and home to many wildlife, artifacts, and scenery. The greatest thing about it all is it’s completely FREE! The preserve is home to many activities like paddle boarding, kayaking, and walking or biking trails.

Weedon Nature Preserve splits up over landscape to different trails and sections. The trails range in length, difficulty, and trail purpose. For example, certain trails lead to the kayak launch and others lead to bird feedings areas. Depending on what you plan on doing, you can find yourself anywhere on the property.

My favorite section of this place is the education center, it can also be considered the information section or main building. The volunteer that greeted me as I walked in was super helpful and extremely knowledgeable on the history of the preserve. He deeply explained the three levels of the building and what each floor contained and I was on my way.

The first floor contained visuals, fun facts, tangible and visual representations. The first floor reminded me of a children’s museum more than anything else. Different buttons played different videos and there were many hands on activities.  Although geared more toward children, I still learned a great deal and  left satisfied.  The first floor included an ancient canoe used by the people of the land long before us. As the floors continue up, there is less and less information and artifacts. One good thing about the third floor is the observatory deck in which you can see all of Weedon.

After exploring the educational center, I explored the “Bay Boardwalk” trail which took me near the bird viewing area and the Bay Observation Platform. The trail is quite short and can be completed rather quickly. The first thing you will run into is the bird viewing area. This section is a small body of water with many mangrove trees and jumping fish.

 

Continuing on the path, you will find the observation tower, which gives you a better view of the preserve than the observatory deck in the education center. It is build entirely out of wood and is close to the water. It can be a bit shaky walking up, but once you make it to the top the view is extraordinary. In fact, I decided to eat my orange at the top of the tower to enjoy the view for a bit longer.

 

The last stop on the board walk was the remains of a small airport on the property long ago. Although there isn’t much left of the small building, there is a timeline explaining everything the land has gone through over the years.

Overall, Weeden Nature Preserve is a wonderful place that has a lot to do. If you are looking to go kayaking or paddle boarding, there are rentals there for you to use for a small charge, children get to experience hands on knowledge to take home, as well as walking and biking trails to utilize.