Pasco’s Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Added to Florida’s America 250 Road Trip

PASCO COUNTY — One of west Pasco’s quietest natural escapes is getting statewide attention as Florida prepares to mark America’s 250th birthday.

Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park in Port Richey has been added to FDOT’s “Road Trip Florida,” part of the America250FL celebration recognizing historic, cultural and natural landmarks across the state. A new America 250 marker has been placed at the park, highlighting a preserve that many drivers pass without realizing what sits just beyond the traffic of U.S. 19. [1]

The designation is more than a tourism marker. It is a reminder that Pasco County still has pieces of Old Florida worth protecting.

Werner-Boyce covers nearly 4,000 acres along the Gulf coast in western Pasco County. The park includes mangrove-lined waterways, tidal creeks, salt marshes, pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, paddling areas, hiking trails and birding stands. Florida State Parks describes the park as a place where visitors can paddle through mangroves and tidal creeks, hike the Springs Trail, see small artesian springs and, at low tide, view a tidal waterfall near Salt Spring. [2]

For residents used to the commercial sprawl of U.S. 19, that contrast is part of what makes the park special. One moment, visitors are near one of Pasco’s busiest corridors. A short distance later, they are inside a coastal preserve that feels far removed from strip centers, traffic lights and fast growth.

The park’s history runs deeper than recreation. According to Florida State Parks, artifacts found within the park boundaries show the Tocobaga used the area as a quarry site for stone tools. In later centuries, cattle grazing, turpentine work, salt production, mullet fishing and even World War II-era military activity all became part of the land’s story. During the Civil War, salt works were established in the area, and the park’s remote waterways helped keep them from being destroyed. [3]

That layered history is why the America 250 marker fits. The America250FL effort was created to coordinate Florida’s commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the United States and to highlight Florida’s role in the nation’s past, present and future. [4]

Pasco County is also hosting its own America 250 events leading up to July 4, including family activities, concerts, fireworks and educational programming across the county. [5]

Werner-Boyce may not have beaches or swimming areas, but that is part of its identity. This is not the postcard version of Florida built around white sand and high-rise condos. It is mangroves, marshes, birds, springs and quiet water — the kind of landscape that tells residents what the coast looked like before everything around it was developed.

The park is located at 8737 U.S. Highway 19 North in Port Richey. Florida State Parks lists the park as open from 8 a.m. to sunset, with a $4 vehicle fee for up to eight people and a $2 fee for pedestrians or bicyclists. Kayak and canoe rentals are available through the park concessionaire on select days. [2]

For Pasco, the new marker arrives at a fitting time. As the county continues to grow, Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park stands as a reminder that history is not only found in old buildings or downtown monuments. Sometimes it is found in the places still left alone.

Footnotes

[1] Spectrum Bay News 9, “Pasco County park featured in FDOT’s America 250 road trip,” June 22, 2026.

[2] Florida State Parks, “Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park.”

[3] Florida State Parks, “History of Werner-Boyce.”

[4] America250FL, “About America250FL.”

[5] Pasco County, “Celebrating America’s 250th.”