Maximo Park is located at Sunshine Skwy Lane S. & Pinellas Point Dr. S. Photos by Brian Brakebill
Parks of St. Pete: Maximo Park By Tina Stewart Brakebill St. Petersburg is home to more than 150 parks, offering a wide variety of possible activities. There are over 100 picnic areas, 80 playgrounds, 44 miles of fitness trails, 30 basketball courts, 21 boat ramps, 11 softball fields, six dog parks, five beaches, three skate parks, two disc-golf courses, and one Jai-Alai court. We also have 76 tennis courts. 33 football/soccer fields, 31 baseball fields, nine volleyball courts, four historic sites, three nature preserves, and one splash pad. And, still, there’s more! Simply put, choose an activity (or choose to just relax) and there’s a city park that fits your needs.
It’s Got it All!
History on Top of History
Located where Boca Ciega Bay joins Tampa Bay, Maximo Park offers visitors a spacious, beautiful, and shady spot to relax, play, or learn. With recreation trails, boat ramps, shoreline fishing, two playgrounds, picnic shelters, a beach, an observation tower, and an 18hole disc golf course, this park has it all! At 70 acres, it is the largest of St. Pete’s four archeological sites documenting the lives of the area’s indigenous cultures.
Evidence unearthed during a 1973 University of South Florida excavation shows that current-day Maximo Park was settled by people at least 4,500 years ago. By the 15th century, present-day Maximo Park was part of a much larger village and served an important town center for the indigenous Tocobaga peoples until the effects of European contact resulted in the elimination of the Tocobaga in the early 18th century. Afterward, the area was used as a fishing and hunting spot but
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GREENBENCHMONTHLY.COM / MAY 2021
