A spur off the Pinellas Trail leads east to John Chesnut Sr. Park on Lake Tarpon, a 255-acre park with boardwalks through oak hammock and cypress swamp. The two short loop trails — Peggy Park Nature Trail and the Chesnut Trail — are some of the few elevated boardwalks in the county where you can reliably spot alligators in the wild.
The park also has a fishing pier, picnic shelters, and a boat ramp onto Lake Tarpon, the largest lake in Pinellas County. It makes a worthwhile half-hour detour from the trail, especially in the cooler months when the gators are sunning on the banks.