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St. George Island, Florida Parks.

St. George Island, Florida park offers 8 miles of some of the most pristine beaches along the Gulf coast of Florida. Visitors can access 4 miles of beach along the St. George Island, Florida parks main drive. For those visitors who enjoy a wilderness experience, the last 4 miles of beach is accessible only by foot.

One of the biggest attractions of this St. George Island, Florida park is nesting sea turtles. From May through October sea turtle volunteers and park rangers of this St. George Island, Florida park patrol the beaches each morning looking for turtle tracks and signs of a nest. When nests are found a GPS is used to mark the location.

The nest is then staked, dated, numbered and posted for post-hatching evaluation. Nests must be protected with a screen to prevent predators like raccoons from digging up eggs. The primary sea turtle species that nests at this St. George Island, Florida park, the Loggerhead, is considered threatened due to loss and degradation of nesting beaches, disorientation of hatchlings from beachfront lighting, degradation of foraging habitat, marine pollution and debris, collisions from boats, and incidental take from commercial fisheries. We must remember that from birth to a mature breeding adult can be between 20-30 years. Visitors to this St. George Island, Florida park are asked to give these magnificent creatures lots of room whether they are nesting or swimming.

Many mother turtles will return back to the Gulf without nesting if they feel threatened. If you come upon a nesting sea turtle and want to watch, stay back, use flashlights with red lens to minimize stress and do not handle the mother turtle or her eggs. Keep in mind Loggerhead sea turtles are equipped with powerful jaws used to crush hard shells.

There are two boat ramps at this St. George Island, Florida park that visitors can use to access the Apalachicola Bay. The first ramp is located next to the park’s youth camp and the other is 2 ½ miles from the St. George Island, Florida park entrance. Both can accommodate boats not much larger than 24 feet in length with a shallow draft.

Canoeing and kayaking are favorite activities around the St. George Island, Florida park. Both can be rented on the Island, call the St. George Island, Florida park for more information. Small offshore boats are used around the island for fishing. Be mindful that the bay is very shallow.

Surf and bay fishing may yield catches of flounder, redfish, sea trout, pompano, whiting or sometimes Spanish mackerel. A saltwater fishing license is required in Florida.

For more information, see the web site at: http://www.floridastateparks.org/stgeorgeisland/default.asp.

Be sure to check out St. George Island, Florida vacation rentals by owner houses, villas and condos for luxurious, yet affordable accomodations - many times less than the cost of a cramped, stuffy, less-than-clean hotel room.

St George Island, Florida Parks:

St. George Island State Park
1900 E. Gulf Beach Dr
St. George Island, Florida 32328
850.927.2111