Things to Do in Apollo Beach, Florida: What Do Locals Actually Do Here?
By Shawna Calvert, The Calvert Home Team at 27North Realty. Last reviewed October 8, 2026.
People thinking about a move to Apollo Beach almost always ask me the same thing: what is there to do? It is a fair question, because Apollo Beach is not a tourist town. There is no boardwalk of T-shirt shops. What there is, is Tampa Bay right outside the back door, manatees by the hundreds in the winter, sunsets over St. Pete that never get old, and Tampa and the Gulf beaches close enough for a day trip whenever you want one. I live in MiraBay, and these are the things I tell my own friends to do when they come to visit.
Where can you see manatees in Apollo Beach?
Start at the TECO Manatee Viewing Center. In the cooler months, hundreds of manatees gather in the warm water coming off the power plant, and you watch them from a long boardwalk. On a cold January morning the water can be packed with them. It is open every day from November 1 through April 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and parking and admission are free. There is a 50-foot observation tower along a coastal trail, a stingray touch tank the kids love, and a little café. Around here we think of the manatees as our pets, and once you have seen them, you will too. More in my guide to manatees in Apollo Beach.
Is there a beach in Apollo Beach?
Yes, at the Apollo Beach Nature Preserve at the end of Surfside Boulevard. It is a 63-acre county preserve with soft white sand right on Tampa Bay, walking trails through restored wetlands, a picnic pavilion and great birding. Dogs are welcome on the beach, which surprises a lot of people. Climb the 37-foot observation tower (it has a ramp instead of stairs) and you can see the Tampa skyline, St. Petersburg and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The preserve is open daily from 8 a.m. until sunset.
One important thing: you cannot swim there. The bottom drops off suddenly just offshore and the currents are strong, and the county posts it as no swimming and no wading. Walk it, shell it and watch the sunset from it. When you want to get in the water, head a few minutes south to the beach at E.G. Simmons Conservation Park, which has a designated swimming area. I explain why, and where locals swim instead, in Is there really a beach in Apollo Beach?
What is there to do on the water?
This is the heart of living here. Apollo Beach is a boating town first, and the whole bay is your playground. On a weekend you will find boats rafted up at Beer Can Island, a small island just off Apollo Beach that you can only reach by water. It is privately owned, and the owners welcome visitors. There is even a bar right on the island, so you can tie up, wade in and grab a drink with your toes in the sand. Farther out, Egmont Key is a state park island with an old lighthouse and fort ruins, and you can cruise across the bay to St. Pete or up to Tampa for lunch.
You do not need a house on the water to enjoy it. E.G. Simmons Conservation Park in Ruskin has a public boat ramp, kayaking and fishing, and there are other county ramps close by. My Apollo Beach boating guide covers the ramps, fuel, tides and what to pack for a day trip.
Where do locals go for dinner on the water?
Close to home, Circles Waterfront on Apollo Beach Boulevard sits right beside Lands End Marina, and the sunsets over the marina are worth the trip on their own. You can drive or come by boat, but call ahead about tying up on a busy evening. A few minutes south in Ruskin, Little Harbor has two waterfront restaurants: Sunset Grill, with its beach, long dock and live music, and Hooks, which will cook the fish you caught that afternoon. It is one of my favorite places to watch the sun go down over St. Pete.
If you like to go by boat, I put together a free Boating Tampa Bay guide with a map of 20 waterfront restaurants you can reach from the water, from Hooks and Circles here at home to Armature Works and the St. Pete Pier. You can download it from my boating guide.
Where can you swim near Apollo Beach?
E.G. Simmons Conservation Park in Ruskin has about 700 feet of beach on Tampa Bay with a designated swimming area, plus picnic shelters, a playground and camping, and entry is $2 per car. Check the county beach advisories before you go, because swimming is sometimes closed after water testing. Little Harbor has a beach by the Sunset Grill too. And if a swimmable beach in your own neighborhood is on your wish list, Symphony Isles is the only community in Apollo Beach with a private beach you can swim in, for residents only.
For the big Gulf beaches, Fort De Soto and St. Pete Beach are about 45 minutes away, Anna Maria Island is about 50 minutes south, and Siesta Key is about an hour. Caspersen Beach in Venice, a little over an hour south, is where you go to hunt for shark teeth with the grandkids.
Where do locals eat, shop and hang out?
Start with the hometown favorites: the classic Apollo Diner, the Apollo Bistro, and Kimi’s Ice Cream and Sweets, a family-owned shop making homemade ice cream, which is exactly what you want after a hot afternoon on the water. We have a wonderful hometown meat market, and O So Nifty is a local gift shop full of handmade pieces from local artists. There is also a cigar lounge, a wine bar, and plenty of day spas and salons when you want to be pampered.
For an evening out, Latitudes and the Salty Shamrock both have live music, and the Salty Shamrock adds trivia nights and dueling pianos. The Firehouse Cultural Center in Ruskin hosts comedy nights too. Finn’s and Circles cover waterfront dinner right here at home, and the Sunset Grill at Little Harbor has live music on the bay.
The choices are growing quickly. Walmart opened in 2026, along with Chipotle, Wendy’s, China Express, The Greyson, and new sushi and Vietnamese restaurants. Target, Costco and Chick-fil-A are on the way for 2027 and 2028, so the days of driving to Brandon for everything are ending.
What parks are there in Apollo Beach?
Apollo Beach Park is the one families use most. It has a splash pad, a skate park, a dog park, a community garden, a walking path, and basketball and pickleball courts, so there is something for every age in one stop. There is also a 20-acre outdoor recreation park, the nature preserve on the bay, three local marinas, and The Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center, on the same Tampa Electric campus as the Manatee Viewing Center. It is free to visit every day from November 1 through April 15, and watching the rescued sea turtles recover is a wonderful outing with the grandkids.
What local events and traditions does Apollo Beach have?
This is where the small-town side of Apollo Beach really shows. Neighbors decorate their golf carts and line up for golf cart parades, and boat owners light up and dress their boats for decorated boat parades on the water. Every holiday season, Symphony Isles hosts its annual lighted Christmas tour, and it is a lovely evening out. And when Gasparilla comes to Tampa, plenty of locals head across to join the pirates. These are the moments when you stop feeling like a newcomer.
What is there to do with kids and grandkids?
The Manatee Viewing Center is the easy first stop, between the boardwalk, the tower and the stingray touch tank. E.G. Simmons has the playground, the swimming area and camping if you want a night out under the stars close to home. A morning of shelling at the nature preserve, an afternoon at a sandbar, or a shark tooth hunt in Venice will win you a lot of points as a grandparent. And many of the neighborhoods here have their own pools, parks, trails and playgrounds for residents, which is a big part of how families spend their weekends.
What is there to do away from the water?
This end of Hillsborough County is still farm country in places, and that is part of its charm. Dooley Groves on Stephens Road in Ruskin is a U-pick citrus grove where you can fill a bag with oranges and tangerines from November through April, then pick up jams and a slice of key lime pie on your way out. Dooley Groves has its own winery too, so the grown-ups get a treat after the picking. It is a wonderful morning with the grandkids, and the fruit tastes nothing like what you buy at the store. Call 813-645-3256 before you go, because what is ripe changes through the season.
How far are Tampa and St. Pete for a night out?
Close. Downtown Tampa and MacDill are about 35 to 40 minutes away, and you are about 40 minutes from three international airports. That means concerts, Bucs and Lightning games, museums and Tampa’s restaurant scene are an easy evening, and you still come home to the quiet side of the bay. I go through the drive times in how far Apollo Beach is from Tampa and MacDill, and my guide to things to do around Tampa Bay covers the bigger day trips.
Which Apollo Beach neighborhood fits how you want to spend your days?
That is really the question behind “what is there to do?” Some neighborhoods put a boat lift behind your house, some put a resort pool and a café down the street, and only one puts a swimmable beach inside the gate. Tell me how you picture a perfect Saturday here. Is it out on the boat by 8 a.m., a sunset dinner with friends, or the grandkids in the pool all afternoon? I will show you the neighborhoods that fit, and you can start with my guide to moving to Apollo Beach and neighborhood guide.
Shawna Calvert | The Calvert Home Team at 27North Realty
509-294-6818 | shawna@27northrealty.com
Related reading
Little Harbor, Ruskin: Homes, Beach and Marina Guide
Is there really a beach in Apollo Beach?
Manatees in Apollo Beach
Boating in Apollo Beach
Moving to Apollo Beach
Apollo Beach neighborhoods