Bayonet Point in west central Florida isn’t a town or a city; it’s a census designated place in Pasco County. This residential area is about 30 miles from the off-season Major League Baseball training sites in Clearwater, 40 miles from the restaurants and nightlife of Tampa, and about 100 miles from the theme parks in Orlando. Bayonet Point is close Saint Joseph Sound, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico. Along this coastline you can play in the surf and enjoy white sand beaches.
A Round of Golf
- Beacon Woods Golf Club is about 1.5 miles from Bayonet Point. This 18-hole, par-72 public course features water hazards, rolling fairways and well-guarded greens that test both novices and pros. You can hone your skills at its practice facilities, including a sizable putting green and an all-grass driving range. Its onsite restaurant The Lodge has food and a full bar. The pro shop offers clothing and other merchandise.
Birding, Fishing and Hiking
- Enjoy some time outdoors about 6 miles from Bayonet Point in Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park or about 9 miles away in Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park. Activities at the state park include bird-watching, fishing and paddle boating, as well as kayaking and four hiking trails. The wilderness park offers many trails, including 42 miles for cycling and in-line skating, 27 miles for hiking and 10 miles of equestrian trails. It contains a section of the Great Florida Birding Trail that boasts almost 152 species of identified birds and opportunities for freshwater fishing.
Sport Fishing
- About 15 miles away from Bayonet Point in Hernando Beach, you’ll find many businesses on Calienta Street offering sport-fishing adventures aboard guided charter boats. Fresh and saltwater trips include deep-sea offshore fishing, inshore fishing, fly fishing and scalloping. Species include trout, grouper and shark.
Historical Sites
- Some of the closest historical sites to Bayonet Point are about 42 miles away, and include Fort Foster State Historic Site in Hillsborough River State Park, one of the first state parks in Florida, and the Henry B. Plant Museum. The historic site is home to a rustic, reconstructed fort with cannons and other artifacts; it dates back to the Second Seminole War in the mid-1800s. The Henry B. Plant Museum is the historic, opulent and impressively large Tampa Bay Hotel, which consists of 511 rooms; it sits on the Tampa Bay University campus. Permanent exhibits include the Grand Hall with its carbon filament lighting, original Victorian furnishings and silvered bronze busts of European royalty.
