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Parks and Recreation Areas of Florida |
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I suggest you purchase the book Hidden Florida before visiting Florida. Everyone visiting Florida (or living there) should have this book in their travel bookcase. Another interesting book is Florida Off The Beaten Path. Another good book is Hidden Florida Keys and The Everglades. A must if you plan to visit the Keys.
Click on Circling Florida Driving Tour for an interesting tour along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The tour includes a lot of ideas for state parks and recreation areas.
Florida is filled with interesting state parks and recreation areas along with about a dozen national park and recreation area. Some of my personal favorites would include:
Everglades National Park is the only subtropical
preserve in North America. It contains both temperate and tropical plant
communities, including sawgrass prairies, mangrove and cypress swamps,
pinelands, and hardwood hammocks, as well as marine and estuarine
environments. The park is known for its rich bird life, particularly large
wading birds, such as the roseate spoonbill, wood stork, great blue heron
and a variety of egrets. It is also the only place in the world where
alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. Click on
The
Everglades for travel guides, brochures, and money savers to help
you plan your visit.
Wakulla Springs (Love the hotel there!)
and St. George Island
For information on these, and all of the park and recreation areas in Florida, contact the National Park Service (National Park Service) and the Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Recreation and Parks,
MS 535, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32399, 850/488-9872.Ask for the Florida State Parks Guide. You can also receive excellent information (Especially if you are a fisherman.) by contacting the Florida Department of Natural Resources, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Tallahassee, FL 32399,
850/488-5757 and the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, South Meridian Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600, 850/488-4676.
Fort De Soto is located in
the southwest corner of Mullet Key, at the entrance to Tampa Bay. The
entire island is now Fort De Soto Park,
a
Pinellas county park which offers fine beaches, fishing, nature
trails, camping, boating, and much more. In the same area you will
find
Sand Key County
Beach Park, listed as one of the top
20 beaches in the nation. It is located just north of the
Sand Key Sheraton. Sand Key County Park is just one of many area
"secrets". If you enjoy restful and relaxing beaches, make it a
point to visit it during your stay on the Florida SunCoast.
Perdido Key
State Recreation Area is a pristine oasis of wide, white, sandy beaches and rolling
sea oat-covered dunes on the Gulf of Mexico. It is
located just 15 miles south of the center of Pensacola, Florida on the
barrier island, Perdido Key. The 247 acres of Perdido Key
SRA provides a habitat for shore birds and other coastal animals.
