TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
The TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park , often just called St. Joseph Peninsula State Park , is a state park in Gulf County in the US state of Florida . The park is located on an elongated peninsula off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is known for its sandy beaches, which are counted among the most beautiful in the United States.
geography
The 1018 hectare park extends over the northern half of the St. Joseph Peninsula , an elongated peninsula that lies west of Port St. Joe and forms St. Joseph Bay . The barrier island-like peninsula is 32 km long and only up to 1.5 km wide and extends from Cape San Blas in the south to St. Joseph Point in the north. The park has 14 km of white sandy beaches and 7 m high dunes.
Flora and fauna
The interior of the peninsula is densely forested, partly with forests of Virginia oak or with shrub-like sand pines . There are coastal forests and salt marshes along the shore of St. Joseph Bay .
The park is an excellent birding area, counted on the Florida Birding Trail and where 209 species of birds have been sighted. In addition to the seabirds that live permanently in the park, the park is an important resting place for migratory birds and butterflies in spring and autumn . In addition, white-tailed deer , bobcats , foxes, otters, raccoons, armadillos and numerous other animal species can be observed in the park area . In summer, sea turtles lay their eggs on the beaches.
history
In 1868 the Stone family acquired extensive estates around St. Joseph Bay, including the peninsula. TH Stone built a first bathhouse on the peninsula in the 1920s. In 1940 the peninsula was sold to the US government, which used it as a training area for the US Army. The state park opened in 1967 and named after TH Stone in honor of the previous owner. In 1999, Stephen Leatherman aka Dr. Beach named third-best in its annual America's Best Beaches ranking and best beach in the USA in 2002. In recent years the park area has been hit several times - by Opal in 1995 , by Earl in 1998 , by Ivan in 2004 and by Dennis in 2005 - by hurricanes , some of which caused considerable damage to the dunes and beaches through erosion.
activities
Parking in the park area is chargeable. Only the first three kilometers of the State Park are open to tourists, the other 12 km to St. Joseph Point are a 708 hectare Wilderness Preserve and may only be entered with permission. 6 km of paved roads and 25 km of hiking trails run through the park, including three nature trails with the Maritime Hammock Trail , the Bay View Trail and the 9 km Wilderness Preserve Trail .
With Gulf Breeze and Shady Pines there are two campsites with a total of 118 parking spaces, and there are eight overnight huts on St. Joseph Bay. The two campsites are connected by a 500 m long boardwalk. At Eagle Harbor on St. Joseph Bay there is a boat ramp and a small marina , there is also a picnic area with pavilions, a playground, restaurant, kiosk and boat rental and sanitary facilities. The clear, mostly calm waters of shallow St. Joseph Bay are ideal for fishing, snorkeling, canoeing, or kayaking, and clam hunting is popular during shellfish season. Lectures and guided tours are offered at the ranger station. The Gulf Coast beach also has toilet facilities, showers and picnic areas and is ideal for sunbathing and swimming.
literature
- Michael Strutin: Florida State Parks: A Complete Recreation Guide. Seattle: Mountaineers Books 2000, ISBN 0-89886-731-2
Web links
- State Park website
- TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alan Bisbort / Parke Puterbaugh: Moon Florida Beaches: The Best Places to Swim, Play, Eat, and Stay Avalon Travel, Berkeley, 2006, ISBN 978-1-56691-496-3 , page 496
Coordinates: 29 ° 44 ′ 43.8 " N , 85 ° 23 ′ 28.7" W.