Map › USA › Dunedin Causeway & Fred Howard Park › Fred Howard Park
Florida Gulf + Keys · Tarpon Springs / St. Joseph Sound · Pinellas County · Tarpon Springs
Fred Howard Park
also known as Howard Park
Nearby Dunedin Causeway 12 km · Cypress Point Park 33 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Frontal wind can be in before dawn and hold through the day. From December to May the thermal is what makes most sessions and it needs the day's heating, so it is an afternoon wind. No fill-in hour has been published for the park.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Frontal wind can be in before dawn and hold through the day. From December to May the thermal is what makes most sessions and it needs the day's heating, so it is an afternoon wind. No fill-in hour has been published for the park.
Typical strength
Tampa Bay windy-season regional average is about 14 kt; Fred Howard-specific seasonal averages were not found.
Thermal or synoptic
thermal and frontal
The quiver, in words
Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, worked from the regional windy-season average of about 14 kt rather than from local measurement. A 12 m is the normal day between October and May, 9 m on a strong north front, 7 m when it is really on. Light summer days are 15 m or foil.Err small rather than big here: you are past standing depth after one short swim and holding upwind is how you get back.
Direction to shore
The launches sit on both sides of the causeway road, so the angle depends on the side you pick. North and south run clean along the sound with few obstructions. West is onshore on the Gulf-facing side and dirty in the lee of the island; east is gusty coming off the land.
Dominant direction
North and south are the main directions, and the arc between south and west works too. North is the stronger and the colder; south is the smooth one; east is too gusty to bother with; west comes off the island with rotor in it.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month61
- Feb, riders' month47
- Mar, riders' month57
- Apr, riders' month59
- May, riders' month47
- Jun29
- Jul11
- Aug18
- Sep18
- Oct, riders' month42
- Nov, riders' month47
- Dec, riders' month39
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 12Jan16°
- 11Feb18°
- 12Mar23°
- 13Apr25°
- 11May28°
- 10Jun30°
- 8Jul32°
- 10Aug32°
- 10Sep30°
- 11Oct26°
- 11Nov23°
- 11Dec18°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 61% | 12.3 kt | S | 15.5°C | 16.1°C |
| Feb | 47% | 11.4 kt | N | 17.3°C | 18.2°C |
| Mar | 57% | 12.3 kt | N | 20.4°C | 22.6°C |
| Apr | 59% | 12.6 kt | E | 22.3°C | 24.6°C |
| May | 47% | 10.8 kt | NE | 25.1°C | 27.9°C |
| Jun | 29% | 10.2 kt | WSW | 26.7°C | 30.1°C |
| Jul | 11% | 8.2 kt | SE | 27.6°C | 32.1°C |
| Aug | 18% | 9.6 kt | E | 27.8°C | 31.8°C |
| Sep | 18% | 10.1 kt | NE | 26.3°C | 30.4°C |
| Oct | 42% | 11.3 kt | NNE | 22.9°C | 25.9°C |
| Nov | 47% | 11.2 kt | NE | 20.6°C | 22.8°C |
| Dec | 39% | 11.1 kt | NE | 16.7°C | 18.3°C |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024
The water
Type
sound
Standing depth
Only a narrow strip is shallow: the sand downwind of the road and the north side, which is at its shallowest on a low tide. One jump or a short swim from there and you are over deeper seagrass bottom, and the south side is deep enough that the foilers use it for that reason. You swim back here, you do not walk.
Tides
The tide comes in fast. Low water gives the most forgiving launch but shallower riding near the road; at high water you wade further out and the launch beach itself shrinks. A pumped kite left on the sand can be taken by the rising water.
Temperature
26°C summer · 16°C winter
Wetsuit
No wetsuit is generally reported for April-October; a 2 mm shorty is reported for November-March, with colder north fronts sometimes requiring more neoprene.
Currents
Tidal current runs strong here, and it is the reason the depth matters. Water you cannot stand in plus a current that pushes means holding upwind rather than counting on drifting back to the beach.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: Small, and the size moves with the tide: high water takes most of it. Grassy rigging area behind the sand, with the road, the parking and the beachgoers all close.
Somewhere else
Dunedin Causeway, 12 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Two small beaches beside the causeway road, reached by a short walk down a small hill from the parking, with grass behind them to rig on. The main swimming beach and the water straight west of it are off limits to kites. Roughly half the island is parking, and there are restrooms and beach showers.
Space
Small, and the size moves with the tide: high water takes most of it. Grassy rigging area behind the sand, with the road, the parking and the beachgoers all close.
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Launch only from the two small beaches by the causeway road. The main swimming beach is not yours.
- Never fly the kite over the road. Pick your side of the causeway by direction and leave the beachgoers room.
- Do not ride alone here. There is no rescue, and you are past standing depth after one short swim.
- Go on the lower tide: high water takes most of the launch beach away.
- Pay the $6 daily beach parking (2026) by plate at the station and be off the sand by sunset.
- Launch only from the two small beaches by the causeway road. The main swimming beach is not yours, and neither is the water straight west of it.
- Never leave a pumped kite on the sand while the tide is coming in; it comes up fast enough to take it.
- Seagrass grows through the spring; a weed fin saves the session on the shallow side.
- South is the smooth direction, north the strong and cold one. East is gusty and west drags rotor off the island.
Getting there
Airport
St. Pete-Clearwater International (PIE) and Tampa International (TPA) are the nearest airports for Tarpon Springs.
Route
Drive to Tarpon Springs and follow Sunset Drive to Fred Howard Park, then use the one-mile causeway toward the beach island.
Transfer
45 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Stay in Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Clearwater, or the wider St. Pete-Clearwater area.
No-wind days
Fred Howard Park beach, sunsets, Tarpon Springs sponge docks, kayaking, fishing, cycling, and nearby Gulf beaches.
FAQ
Is Fred Howard Park good for beginners?
Some experience is recommended, since the water is deeper than it looks and riders cannot simply walk back in if something goes wrong.
What is the wind like at Fred Howard Park?
North and south winds are the smoothest with few obstructions, and the best window runs October through April, with thermal wind also possible December through May.
Are there rules at Fred Howard Park?
As of 2026 the park is open 7 a.m. to sunset with a daily parking fee, and kiting is reserved for the two small beaches beside the causeway road rather than the main swimming beach.
What are the hazards at Fred Howard Park?
Deeper water, a fast-rising tide that shrinks the small launch beaches, and the absence of a dedicated kite rescue are the main documented hazards.
Last updated: August 2026