Two Fortresses Were built to Guard Against Invasions that Never Came, Mullet Key is one of them

As one leaves the Gulf of Mexico to enter Tampa Bay, Mother Nature provides two keys that stand sentinel at the entrance of Tampa Bay. In 1889, Mullet Key, to the north, and Egmont Key, to the south, had fortresses built to guard against invasions that never came, remnants of both forts remain today in the parks that were created in the late 1800s.

Robert E Lee made the recommendation, in 1849, that both Mullet and Egmont keys become fortified. Fort DeSoto, on Mullet Key, was built in 1889 and later abandoned by the military in stages from 1910 to the mid-1940s. In 1962 Mullet Key was turned over to Pinellas County and became Fort DeSoto Park.

In our quest to find new and unique anchorages during our winter cruises, we stumbled upon Mullet Key while doing some research on Florida West Coast cruising grounds. On the charts, it looked like Mullet Key had all the elements we were looking for – no houses or retail establishments and an all-natural environment. Mullet Key looked horseshoe shaped on the chart and its interior appeared to have a well-protected anchorage. We knew there wouldn’t be any large boats anchored there, as the depth into Mullet Key’s interior basin is shallow, however, with our shallow draft, it was a perfect spot for Kismet to anchor.

As we approached the two keys, we began to follow the marked channel into the interior basin where we were treated to a pristine anchorage and we had it completely to ourselves for the night. Mullet Key, being a county park, has all the amenities for camping, RV sites with a small boat launch ramp, and access to nearby fishing. In addition, the remnants of the Fort are available to tour and there is a wonderful white sand beach on the Gulf side of the key. We spent one night on the hook, looking to depart for Egmont Key, located just south of Mullet Key, the next morning.

In the last few minutes before sunset, I went off to explore while Lisa made dinner.

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