If relaxing next to the water and enjoying the sun is your thing, head offshore to Anclote Key Preserve State Park. Made up of four largely unspoiled barrier islands, the park is only accessible by boat. Once you’re on the largest island, Anclote Key, make a bee-line for the long sweep of sandy beach on its western side. Wade through water so clear you can see your toes, stroll through the sand hunting for shells, don a mask and snorkel to catch a glimpse of fish or rays, or simply relax on the snowy white beach, feeling the sun on your face and the sea breeze in your hair.

Want a relaxing day while enjoying luxurious amenities? Set your GPS to Epperson Lagoon in Wesley Chapel. This massive seven-acre man-made lagoon is filled with stunning crystal-clear turquoise water and lined with bright white sand. Plenty of beach lounge chairs allow you to truly unwind and forget your stress while you soak up the sun. Getting in the water here is easy, too, and you can try your hand at paddle boarding or kayaking in a more contained environment. Epperson Lagoon is also perfect for the whole family—a large floating inflatable obstacle course and water slide will be a splash for the kids and kids at heart. No need to even worry about lunch here with The Reef Café serving up salads, sandwiches and snacks, and the swim-up tiki bar, The Sandbar, pouring tropical drinks.

Grab your kayak, canoe or paddleboard—or rent one on-site—and explore the peaceful inlets and bayous of the Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park. This 4,000-acre wetland park is made up of salt marshes, mangrove islands and tidal springs, as well as four miles of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. There are many paddle trails through the park, marked with orange buoys, and all will have you exploring winding inlets, drifting by stands of mangroves and gliding beneath overhanging branches. If your trail leads to the Gulf of Mexico, you may see some stilt houses in the distance—you can venture into open waters to paddle around them to get a closer look.

For an excursion that combines both wilderness and urban paddling, look no further than the Pithlachascotee River, or “Cotee” as most residents call it. The Cotee is a blackwater river, deep and slow moving, and the best place to explore the river is the James E. Grey Preserve in New Port Richey. Here the water is dark, stained by the tannins that leach into it from the vegetation that lines its banks. A canopy of trees draped in Spanish moss surrounds the river, and it’s so quiet you might hear the plop of slider turtles leaving their logs as you stroke by. As you follow the river past the boundary of the preserve, it flows right into the heart of New Port Richey, where you can admire the homes that border both sides of the river before landing or docking your watercraft at one of the boater-friendly restaurants.