Florida State Parks: Beaches, Hiking & Camping

Only five miles from the community of St. Augustine, Anastasia State Park is across Matanzas Bay on a peninsula of Anastasia Island. Teeming with wildlife and opportunities for family activities, Anastasia State Park’s 1600 acres, including four miles of pristine beaches await visitors. Overnight guests may bring their tents or campers to the 139-site campground with electrical and water hookup; each campsite has a grill and a fire ring.

The park offers bicycles to explore its trails, and rents paddleboards, kayaks, sailboats, and canoes for visitors wishing to journey into its tidal marsh. Off shore keen-eyed visitors can spot dolphins, manatees, and sea turtles, and bird watchers come to see the island’s population of laughing gulls, least terns, black skimmers, bald eagles, and several different types of heron. The park has a small grill serving fresh food, and a gift shop with souvenirs of the park.

300 Anastasia Park Road, St. Augustine, Florida 32080, Phone: 904-461-2033

Big Talbot Island State Park is located on a sea island in northeastern Florida, and is a natural preserve much loved by bird watchers, nature lovers, and photographers. Off shore, visitors can see bottlenose dolphins and Right Whales, and on land there are white tailed deer, bobcats, opossums, and raccoons.

The oak trees near the shore are where ospreys perch, and in Spoonbill Pond there are roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, and white pelicans. The park has a 2.9 mile paved road for cyclists, and off-road cycling is permitted. Off the north side of the island there is good fishing and boating; the park rents out kayaks by the hour or by the day. Up on the bluffs there are picnic areas overlooking the water and Boneyard Beach, where the salt-washed skeletons of live oak trees add an eerie flavor to the coast.

State Road A1A North, Jacksonville, Florida 32226, Phone: 904-251-2320

Collier-Seminole State Park contains one of the largest mangrove swamps in the world. With the swamps and the closed-canopy forests there is an abundance of rare wildlife, including Florida panthers, bobcats, and gopher tortoises. Alligators may be seen throughout the park. Stunning Royal Palm trees and hardwood forests are home to over 150 species of birds, which can be seen along the park’s many hiking trails.

The trails wind through mangrove forests and beyond to the Ten Thousand Island National Wildlife Refuge. Canoes and kayaks can be rented to paddle down Blackwater River, and kayak and pole-boat tours of the river are offered by park rangers. The park has picnic pavilions, a 120-site campground with full hookups, and several children’s playgrounds.

20200 Tamiami Trail East, Naples, Florida 34114, Phone: 239-394-3397

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is the first undersea park in the United States, and spans seventy nautical miles, over coral reefs and protected marine life. The park is a favorite among snorkelers and scuba divers, who come to Cannon Beach to explore the early Spanish shipwreck only 100 feet from shore.

Snorkel boat tours go out several times daily, enabling snorkelers to submerse themselves at different points of the coral reef; for those not wishing to snorkel there are three glass-bottomed boat tours every day, weather permitting. The Visitor Center has an impressive aquarium and nature videos pertaining to the park’s natural resources. The park has 47 campsites with sewer, water, and electrical hookups, and the two man-made beaches have picnic tables and restrooms.

Mile Marker 102.5, Overseas Highway, Key Largo, Florida 33037, Phone: 305-451-1202

Myakka River State Park is 58 square miles of wetlands, closed canopy forests, and rare Florida prairie lands. It has the first public canopy walkway in the United States, which rises 25 feet above the ground, and stretches for 100 feet. From it there are superb views of the forest and wetlands.

There are also boardwalks over Upper Myakka Lake, from which visitors can view the indigenous alligators, sandhill cranes, and other wetland species. Lake tours are offered daily on the world’s largest airboats, and tram rides around the park are also available. The park has 90 campsites, cabins built in the 1930s and 1940s, a café serving lunch, dessert, and craft beer, and a small gift shop with park souvenirs for sale.

13208 State Road 72, Sarasota, Florida 34241, Phone: 941-361-6511

Falling Waters State Park in northern Florida is home to the state’s highest waterfall. Hikers along the boardwalk trails can see both the lovely falls and the giant sinkhole in the park that are one hundred feet deep and twenty feet wide. A lovely attraction in this park is the butterfly garden that hosts thousands of native and migrating butterflies; the park also has deer, foxes, and fox squirrels living in its pine and dogwood forests.

History buffs can have a look at the remains of Florida’s first oil well, or at the ruins of a grist mill dating back to the 1860s. For relief from the Florida heat, there is a freshwater lake with a white sand beach, perfect for swimming; the park also offers fishing and a children’s playground. There are 24 shaded campsites in the forest, each with electrical and water hookup and fire rings.

1130 State Park Road, Chipley, Florida 32428, Phone: 850-638-6130

Big Shoals State Park is the perfect place for a whitewater adventure, on the largest whitewater rapids in Florida. With Class III Whitewater rapids, thrill-seekers in kayaks and canoes can fly down the Suwannee River at top speed. For those who wish to remain on land, Big Shoals State Park has thirty-three miles of wooded trails over various terrain, perfect for hiking, biking, and horseback riding.

The park is alive with birds, including herons, egrets, wood ducks, hawks, wild turkeys, hummingbirds, and shore birds; tortoises live on the riverbanks and white-tailed deer inhabit the forests. The park has plenty of picnic areas outfitted with grills.

11330 S.E. County Road 135, White Springs, Florida 32096, Phone: 386-397-4331

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park is on a barrier island near Palm Beach, Florida. Its two miles of beach are adjacent to coastal and mangrove forests containing many rare and endangered plant species. Visitors to the park may swim, snorkel, scuba dive, and fish, and there are tables throughout the park for picnickers.

The park rents single and double ocean canoes, perfect for sighting the manatees that inhabit the local waters, or for sighting great blue herons in the swamplands. The main attraction of the island is the presence of critically endangered turtles: the loggerhead, the green, and the leatherback all lay their eggs here and can be seen seasonally. The William T. Kirby Nature Center has displays and live animals to help visitors understand the importance of the natural resources of the park.

10900 Jack Nicklaus Drive, North Palm Beach, Florida 33408, Phone: 561-624-6950

Hillsborough River State Park is one of Florida’s oldest, dating back to 1938. The swift-flowing Hillsborough River is a terrific place for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking; kayak and canoe rentals are available. Fishermen will catch mainly bass, bream, and catfish. Seven miles of nature trails are open to hikers and cyclists only. On hot summer days, the park’s swimming pool is a big draw, and the 112 site campground with full hookups is a popular overnight destination.

Hillsborough River State Park is home to Fort Foster State Historic Site, a reconstructed fort from the Second Seminole War, which can be viewed only on ranger-led tours. The park has a store and a café serving breakfast and lunch; several picnic areas and two children’s playgrounds can be found on the grounds. The park’s interpretative center has more information about Fort Foster and the Second Seminole War.

15402 U.S. 301 North, Thonotosassa, Florida 33592, Phone: 813-987-6771

Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park has a 1.25 mile white sand beach consistently rated as one of the top ten beaches in the United States. Visitors flock here to enjoy swimming, sunbathing, and picnicking on the lovely shoreline. Beach chairs and umbrellas can be rented. Another important attraction at the park is the historic lighthouse, which was built in 1825, and is the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County.

Twice daily tours of the lighthouse and the keeper’s cottage are offered daily. Some of the best fishing in south Florida can be found off the seawall in the park. The park has two restaurants that serve authentic Cuban cuisine in an open-air setting, and a concession where as well as beach gear, visitors can rent ocean kayaks and bicycles. There are 1.5 miles of paved bicycle trails, as well as many unpaved roads to explore.

1200 South Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne, Florida 33149, Phone: 305-361-5811