Florida State Parks

Florida's Emerald Coast has quite a few state parks preserving the natural beauty of our many beach communities. In Destin, I often frequent our Henderson Beach State Park. Starting in downtown Destin and ending in the Crystal Beach community of Destin, this park is a great way to get away from crowded beaches and buildings. Being centrally located in Destin is wonderful because it allows the area to still have a touch of pristine untouched nature amidst development. My husband and I biked there today before the showers began. Today was apparently "state park" day because it was free to get into all state parks throughout Florida today.  The park was busy with beach goers. The gazebos had visitors seeking refuge from the sun and the beach and crystal waters were had lots of families enjoying their day at the beach. I was surprised, however, at how much empty and open space there still was. The state was even building more boardwalks and gazebos and parking for future park goers.

It was all very nicely done. The facilities look and operate great and there was even Dunes Dogs hot dog vendor busy supplying lunch. 

Some other wonderful State Parks in our immediate  area of the beach are St. Andrews State Park in Panama City, Topsail Hill State Park and Grayton Beach, both in the Beaches of South Walton, just to the east of Destin.

For more on Florida's State Parks, visit the Florida State Park Online Guide here. 

This image is from a photo contest on that site and was taken at St. Andrews State Park. The photographer is Vicki Jordan.