It took the world locking down for Florida to open up for us. Like many Floridians cooped up during the pandemic, we sought freedom in the outdoors. Our first outings during the early days of COVID were tentative at first and confined mainly to the Tampa Bay area. Soon, though, we began to venture around the state on weekend trips. Hiking shoes, wildlife photography and a chronicle of our adventures on social media soon followed.
We are now converts to what park signs proclaim as “the real Florida.” This was an ironic turnabout for a couple who had proudly boasted of hiking only around the World Showcase at Epcot. Now we’ve visited — and, yes, even hiked — about half of Florida’s 175 state parks with the goal of experiencing them all. Some are vast. Others are tiny and have little more than a monument and picnic table.
No matter the size of the park, Florida’s state parks encompass a range of ecosystems, wildlife habitats, outdoor pursuits and historic sites. They all share what the novelist Lauren Groff has called Florida’s “greatest glory and treasure.” Here are a few of our favorites (so far).
Anastasia State Park
Just minutes from historic St. Augustine, this Atlantic-front park has one of our favorite hikes through a shady hammock, along the beach and over the Ancient Dunes Nature Trail. We’ve also taken some of our best bird photos here, including pictures of a red-shouldered hawk that seemed to be posing for us.
Big Talbot Island State Park
We always enjoy experiencing a Florida destination that appears to be from another place and time. This Jacksonville area park’s appropriately named Boneyard Beach fits the bill. The beach is populated — haunted? — by the bleached skeletons of live oak and cedar trees that once grew near the shore. A stroll on the beach, especially on the gloomy day when we visited, makes for a slightly eerie experience as the downed trees seem to reach out to beachgoers with their skeletal tentacles. Our computer screen savers are still filled with photos from the Boneyard. Big Talbot, which is primarily a natural preserve, is one of seven parks that make up northeast Florida’s Talbot Islands State Parks.
Big Shoals State Park
Much like Big Talbot, this park in White Springs has a unique feature: the largest whitewater rapids in the state. That may not be what comes to mind when you think of the Suwannee River, but when its water level rises from 59 to 61 feet above mean sea level, the rapids merit a Class III whitewater classification. As Floridians not used to whitewater environments, it was a bit of a thrill for us to hike the Big Shoals Trail, a 2.2-mile round trip, and hear the river before we saw it. Limestone bluffs rise 80 feet above the river’s tannic-tinted waters.
Blue Spring State Park
The park along the St. Johns River has a little bit of everything that makes Florida’s state parks gems: manatees, the historic Thursby House, hiking and a view into the geology of the spring system. During the winter, when the manatees gather by the hundreds, it can be hard to get into the park, so an early morning arrival is key.
Explore Tampa Bay’s sights and bites
Subscribe to our free Do & Dine newsletter
We’ll serve up the best things to do and the latest restaurant news every Thursday.
Loading...
You’re all signedup!
Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Let’sgetstarted.
Explore all your optionsEdward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park
This jewel, a short drive from Tallahassee, has been home to creatures both mythical and real. The legacy of the park — an ancient cypress swamp that rims one of the world’s largest freshwater springs — includes its clear springs being used as the location for 1954′s “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” The movie’s iconic Gill-man, however, was far from the first beast to inhabit the land — mastodons once roamed here. Today, the behemoths present are alligators and manatees. The best way to experience the wildlife is on a boat tour of the Wakulla River and springs, a 2-mile-long loop that gives visitors plenty of time to spot alligators, manatees and the diverse bird life. One of the many unique things about Wakulla is that unlike similar state park tours, a ranger is both pilot and guide, which makes for a tour full of wildlife expertise, park history and stories. There is also a designated swimming area in the spring whose boundaries aren’t always respected by curious manatees. Want to feel like you’ve gone back in time? Spend a night or two in the historic The Lodge at Wakulla Springs, a Mediterranean Revival hotel that dates back to 1937 and whose 27 guest rooms feature period furniture. The snack bar in the lodge’s gift shop has what’s called the world’s longest-known marble bar, stretching some 70 feet. The dining room also invokes visions of glamorous days of early mid-century luxury.
Fort Clinch State Park
This large-scale historic site and park in Fernandina Beach is one of Florida’s first state parks. In 1936, the Civilian Conservation Corps began restoring the buildings in the Civil War-era fort, whose cannons point across the St. Marys River into Georgia. (The only thing we pointed in that direction was our camera.) Today, visitors get a glimpse of Fort Clinch circa 1864, with staff members and volunteers sporting vintage uniforms. No disrespect, but our favorite was a very photogenic equine volunteer. (Inside the fort, visitors can tour rooms that served purposes ranging from barracks to blacksmithing.) Peer out from the fort’s gun deck with its 10-inch smoothbore cannon and you have views of Cumberland Sound, Cumberland Island, the mouth of the St. Marys River and the Atlantic. Suddenly, the choice of the fort’s location comes into focus.
Highlands Hammock State Park
This Sebring land officially became Florida’s first state park in 1935 and is one of eight original CCC parks in the state. It is home to more rare and native species than any other state park, including the endangered Florida panther. Among our highlights was the slightly elevated boardwalk above the cypress swamp where we watched a few juvenile wild hogs cavort while mom — we assumed — lurked nearby. As befits its roots, a park museum housed in a restored CCC building explains the history of the “dollar-a-day” volunteers in the Depression-era works program. And don’t miss the sour orange ice cream from Maxwell Groves Country Store, available in the gift shop.
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
This remote Okeechobee park is unique in that it was recognized as Florida’s first Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association for its lack of light pollution, which makes it a draw for amateur astronomers. The daytime views in this vast dry prairie are equally impressive: There is no sign of civilization all the way to the horizon. The prairie is also a haven for wildlife: We spotted several deer on the long road that leads to the heart of the park and were treated to a flock of wild turkeys at one of our stops. We abandoned a hike on a short trail just as it started when a large animal — most likely a wild hog — loudly announced its presence.
Koreshan State Park
The Estero park is home to a settlement founded in 1893 on the banks of the Estero River by Dr. Cyrus R. Teed, aka “Koresh.” It was to be a utopia — Koreshan Unity — for Teed’s religious sect. The Koreshans believed in communal living and that the universe existed inside the Earth. We enjoyed roaming the crushed shell paths that connect the 11 restored buildings on the settlement’s grounds, whose only residents now are gopher tortoises. (Unlike the tortoises, the Koreshans practiced celibacy.) Of particular interest are the generator building with its steampunk collection of equipment and the stately wood-paneled Art Hall that served as a concert venue. The hall also is where you can see a model of the Earth as a “concave sphere” that encloses the universe — all based on Teed’s cellular cosmogony. It’s wacky but fascinating.
Myakka River State Park
We’ve visited this vast park near Sarasota several times and are always rewarded with a different experience given its geography that ranges from wetlands to wildflower prairies to pine forests. The majestic Myakka River flows through 58 square miles of the park. One unique feature: The 25-foot-high Myakka Canopy Walkway gives visitors the opportunity to observe the treetop world of an oak/palm hammock. It also has a 74-foot-tall observation tower. Still on our to-do list: one of the park’s boat tours. When we think of Myakka, we think of gators. We’ve never visited the park and not seen several large specimens of Florida’s favorite reptile. One word of caution: The park is said to be home to the state’s cousin to Bigfoot — the skunk ape.
Ravine Gardens State Park
From January through March, more than 18 types of azaleas bloom in the gardens of the Palatka park. The park’s most unique geological formations are its ravines, which are intercut with trails that follow suspension bridges and stone staircases down to a spring-fed creek. Take your walking stick and enjoy one of the prettiest, non-flat walks we’ve seen.
Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
This park on the Atlantic, which we visited early in our exploration, showed us that you never know exactly what you are going to find. And that’s a good thing. We first roamed the garden on the west side of State Road A1A and were impressed with the rose garden, the history and the easy-to-navigate trails. Then we crossed the highway to the beach side of the park and were wowed. The beach’s coquina-rock formations look like the surface of another planet.
Planning a Florida state park visit
• Many parks are located within a two-hour drive of Tampa. For those, we arrive early so that we can explore before we and the wildlife seek refuge from the midday sun.
• Before heading out, visit the park websites to get updated information on hours, entrance fees and any closures or restrictions. For example, trails can become flooded during storm season.
• We also plan weekend getaways in areas that have clusters of parks. In northeast Florida, for example, we stayed in a rented condo on Amelia Island (bonus, it was steps from the Ritz-Carlton for easy access to brunch) and plotted a route that included eight parks. We’ve found St. Augustine, Orlando, Naples, Flagler Beach, Fort Myers, Melbourne, Panama City and Pensacola to be excellent park-hopping hubs as well.
• Many parks have camping facilities if that’s your thing. (It’s not ours. We prefer a nice hotel or Airbnb.) A few have well-equipped cabins that we enjoy, but they are increasingly difficult to book.
• Florida state parks have admission fees that range from free to about $8 per carload. We buy a family annual pass ($120) that we think is a great value.
