East Beach faces Tampa Bay rather than the Gulf, so the water is even calmer than North Beach and the sunrise — not the sunset — is the show here. The sand is slightly coarser and the shoreline is shorter, which keeps the crowds smaller. It is the quietest of the park's swimming beaches and a good choice on a windy day when the Gulf is choppy.
Facilities are simpler: picnic shelters under the Australian pines, restrooms, and a small playground. A swimming lane is roped off and the water shelves gently. Just offshore you can usually spot fishing boats anchored on the flats and, in spring, the occasional manatee gliding past the seagrass. Walk south from the parking area along the shoreline to reach an undeveloped stretch popular with shell collectors.