PARKS & OUTDOORS
Linda Pedersen Park
Hernando County · Gulf Coast
A 135-acre park at Jenkins Creek with 110 acres of marsh, a new boardwalk opened in 2026 and an observation tower still shut.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
Linda Pedersen Park covers 135 acres on Jenkins Creek, 110 of them marshland. It was renamed in 2004 for Linda Pedersen, who campaigned for the protection of this coast. There is a kayak launch, a playground, a swimming area and picnic pavilions, and the park is the start of the 1.7-mile Bayport to Linda Pedersen paddling trail. Two things are worth knowing before going. The boardwalk was closed in 2021 when it was found unsafe, and the replacement opened in August 2026, paid for with 411,000 dollars of federal RESTORE Act money from the Deepwater Horizon settlement. The 40-foot wooden observation tower, up since 1994, is still closed: inspections found severe rot and decay through the structure. County commissioners have approved a replacement, funded separately through tourism tax bonds, but it is not built. A former Port Authority building on the site was demolished in August 2025 after Hurricane Idalia drove storm surge through it in 2023. Since August 2025 the county bus service has run a route to the park, called the Mermaid Route
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