Florida’s Natural Beaches
WORDS BY JULIETTE GUILBERTSkip Miami’s swanky hotels and Daytona’s decadent parties in favor of a different type of Florida beach vacation, where Mother Nature is the main attraction.
Each spring at eastern Florida’s Canaveral National Seashore, endangered sea turtles drag themselves out of the surf to perform elaborate nesting rituals on the moonlit sands. On the other side of the state, near Tallahassee, St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge provides a haven for endangered red wolves, bald eagles and wood storks. And about 70 miles from Key West, the sands and reefs of seven small islands called the Dry Tortugas host an incredible array of marine and bird life. These three Florida ecosystems have one thing in common: stunning, undeveloped beaches that can be enjoyed by visiting humans as well as the wild creatures that live there.
Far in spirit from the bronzed and glistening throngs that cruise tourist meccas like Daytona and Miami, these wild beaches offer a different kind of Florida vacation, one populated by roseate spoonbills and West Indian manatees rather than supermodels and speedways. For a populous and heavily-touristed state, Florida still retains a good number of wild or nearly wild beaches, many of them expressly set aside for the benefit of wildlife. They range from true backcountry wilderness beaches (usually found on barrier islands, and often accessible only by boat) to family-friendly coastal nature parks with visitor centers and ranger-led education programs.
If you’re accustomed to artificially groomed urban seashores, the beaches themselves may be something of a surprise. There are no raking machines here to smooth and sift the sand to suit human sensibilities. These are natural habitats, where you will encounter towering, healthy dunes covered with sea oats, piles of sea grass with birds picking through them and seashells galore (but almost no litter). On these wild sands—and in the woods and wetlands that border them—you’ll find a stunning assortment of flora and fauna, as well as ecotouristic activities ranging from the laidback (shelling, birding, wildlife photography) to the moderately adventurous (kayaking, scuba diving, backpacking).
Fort Clinch State Park, provides a glimpse of how the Atlantic coast must have looked 100 years ago. One of Florida’s oldest state parks, Fort Clinch is built around a 19th century military base and features daily period reenactments of garrison life. Nearly two and a half miles of beachfront is backed by large dunes, salt marsh and coastal hardwood hammock (a dense woodland ecosystem made up of subtropical trees, shrubs and vines). Six miles of nature trails beckon to hikers and cyclists; a fishing pier serves both anglers and bird watchers; and a full-facility campground accommodates those who want to delay their return to civilization for a few days.
Twenty miles east of Jacksonville, Big Talbot Island State Park is one of the best locations in northeast Florida for birding and wildlife photography. The shoreline at Big Talbot is unique in Florida: centuries of wind and water erosion have created 20-foot high bluffs, down which one descends (via stairs) to reach the beach. Because of its location on Nassau Sound, Big Talbot has excellent fishing, along with the intriguing, dark-sand “Boneyard Beach,” which is covered with the skeletons of cedar and live oak trees. On nearby Little Talbot Island, also a state park, five miles of white sand beaches fringed by maritime forests, dunes and salt marshes provide a home for river otters, marsh rabbits, bobcats and dozens of bird species. Little Talbot’s offerings include hiking and biking trails, camping and guided paddle tours.
Further down the Atlantic coast, Canaveral National Seashore is one of the most important beach wildlife refuges
in the nation, and one of only 10 National Seashores in the US. The 57,000-acre barrier island encompasses beaches, dunes, coastal hammocks, lagoons, salt marshes and pine flatlands. Its 24 miles of pristine sand is the longest stretch of undeveloped beach on the east coast of Florida—and 12 miles of it are true wilderness, with no vehicular access. If you walk far enough, you are sure to have a deserted beach all to yourself, and backcountry campers are welcome.
Bahia HondaAlong east central Florida’s Treasure Coast (so named after the sunken wrecks that lie offshore), Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, which straddles Jupiter Island and a chunk of the mainland, shelters some of the most critical sea turtle nesting grounds in the state. Endangered gopher tortoises also live here, along with bobcats, brown pelicans and indigo snakes. Park rules fiercely protect the wild creatures that call it home; no camping, picnicking or biking are allowed. But you can surfcast, swim, sunbathe, hike along the beach and inland nature trails, and (in June and July) take a ranger-led sea turtle walk. Off the north end of Jupiter Island, St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park, situated on a barrier island accessible only by boat, is another important nesting area for loggerhead, leatherback and green turtles; offshore lies a
4.7-mile Anastasia rock reef popular with divers.
Although South Florida’s coast is one of the most heavily urbanized in the state, a few patches of pristine public beach have (somewhat miraculously) remained intact. John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, located on a barrier island in glitzy Palm Beach County, is a happy oasis of coastal hammock, beach, reef ecosystem and mangrove forest with excellent fishing, swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing and a boardwalk nature trail. In Miami, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park (on Key Biscayne, just south of downtown) has lush hammock habitats, calm waters, bike trails and a historic lighthouse.
Caladesi IslandThe protective coral reefs that bequeath unparalleled diving and snorkeling to the Florida Keys also shelter them from the kind of big, rolling waves that create sand, so beaches here are generally smaller and less spectacular than those elsewhere in the state. Bahia Honda State Park’s two and a half miles of natural sand beaches, fringed with palm and gumbo limbo trees and lapped by azure tropical seas, are the lovely exception to the rule. At Bahia Honda, you can snorkel the reefs, paddle a kayak in the shallows and tent camp in the hardwood hammock near Sandspur Beach. Park rangers offer guided nature walks and talks.
For a truly remote beach experience, head to Dry Tortugas National Park, a cluster of seven sand and coral reef islands 70 miles west of Key West. In 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon discovered and named the islands, calling them “Las Tortugas” for the abundance of sea turtles he found there; because of the islands’ complete lack of fresh water, the name was eventually modified to “Dry Tortugas.” Designated a national monument by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the Dry Tortugas teem with bird and marine life and are known for some of the best snorkeling and diving in the nation. You can get to the Dry Tortugas from Key West by seaplane, ferry or high-speed catamaran. Day trip packages include meals, a tour of the islands’ 19th century fort and snorkel gear rental.
Everglades National Park is known more as a vast, subtropical wilderness than a beach vacation hotspot, but Cape Sable, near the southernmost tip of the Florida peninsula, has at least 15 miles of uninterrupted and isolated natural beach that slopes up to a lush jungle of gumbo limbo and Jamaican dogwood trees. Cape Sable is accessible only by boat, as are the nearby beach-fringed islands of the Gulf Coast Keys. Both cape and keys permit primitive camping and are popular with canoers and kayakers as well as anglers in powerboats.
The fine white sand and turquoise waters of the Gulf Coast, which is sometimes likened to Tahiti, have (predictably) attracted a lot of commercial development. But the federal, state and county park systems have enclosed a significant amount of prime west coast beachfront. Densely populated Pinellas County, home to Clearwater and St. Petersburg, has done an excellent job of acquiring and preserving the Gulf Coast barrier islands. One standout is Caladesi Island State Park, an island accessible by ferry from nearby Honeymoon Island State Park and boasting three and a half miles of white sugar sand, a boardwalk nature trail through ancient live oaks and slash pines, and a three-mile kayak trail that wanders the island’s interior mangrove habitat. Another, Fort de Soto County Park, embraces 900 acres of sun-drenched paradise just a short drive from St. Petersburg. Dr. Beach (Stephen Leatherman), who compiles a list of the nation’s best beaches each year, deemed Fort de Soto the top beach in the US in 2005 (www.drbeach.org).
In southwest Florida, near Fort Myers, four deserted, driftwood-laced barrier islands comprise Lover’s Key State Park, home to West Indian manatees (which can be seen in island canals), bottlenose dolphins, roseate spoonbills and bald eagles. Daytrippers access the two miles of white, shelly beach via boardwalk or tram. Bicycle, canoe and kayak rentals are available in the park, along with fishing and boat tours. Not far away, Cayo Costa State Park, also accessible by private boat or ferry, has nine miles of pure white beaches, top-notch snorkeling, and acres of interior bayous and woodlands crisscrossed by nature trails. Primitive camping, tent sites and even a yurt are available for overnighters.
The Big Bend region of Florida (the concave stretch of coastline between Tallahassee and St. Petersburg) boasts much wilderness but little beach: here, tidal marshes generally extend to the sea.
One splendid exception, Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge, was set aside as a preserve by President Herbert Hoover in 1929, after industry had consumed most of the islands’ cedar trees, palmetto fibers and oysters. Nowadays, the group of 13 islands offshore of the larger (and inhabited) Cedar Key sustains nesting colonies of herons, egrets, brown pelicans and ibises, and serves also as a prime R&R refuge for humans, who get here by boat from Cedar Key.
Near the charming small town of Apalachicola in the panhandle’s Franklin County, St. George Island State Park has undeveloped beaches and emerald water in which to fish, kayak and swim. A two and a half mile hiking trail leads to primitive campsites, which are also accessible by boat. The huge dune ridges of nearby St. Vincent Island National Wildlife Refuge, once a private game preserve, provide a haven for a myriad of wild creatures, including an endangered red wolf breeding program. St. Vincent’s beaches are not as breathtaking as those on St. George, but its natural offerings make it worth a side trip.
Some wildlife refuges are closed during nesting periods, so plan ahead. For information on Florida’s state parks online, go to www.floridastateparks.org; for national parks, www.nps.gov; for information on birding and wildlife, www.floridaconservation.org.
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Gannets—these diving birds put on spectacular aerial displays along the Panhandle and northeast coasts during the winter.
Herons, cranes, egrets, and ibises—graceful wading birds, found in coastal marshes and wetlands throughout the state.
Roseate spoonbills—a fuchsia-plumed stunner with a long, flat bill. Most sightings are in South Florida, but also occur in southwest and east coast wetlands during the summer.
Bald eagles—Panhandle, southwest, and east central coasts.
Pelicans and cormorants—along most of the state’s shoreline.
Key deer—a tiny deer (just 90 lbs.) found only in the Florida Keys.
West Indian manatees—these gentle, endangered “sea cows” summer in bays and estuaries and winter in inland canals and rivers along both coasts.
Sea turtles—loggerhead, green and leatherbacks nest on beaches throughout the state. Leatherbacks, the largest of living reptiles, can weigh 2000 lbs.
American alligators—found in freshwater throughout Florida.
Indigo snakes—the largest snake native to North America, once common throughout the Southeast but now found mostly in peninsular Florida.
Bobcats—elusive felines, usually spotted at night in scattered locations near the Panhandle and southwest coasts.
Gopher tortoises—land tortoises found in the north of Florida.
Northern right whale—these endangered whales calve in the breakers of northeast Florida’s beaches from November to March; surfers often swim right up to mothers and their calves.
American crocodiles—the Upper Keys and the Everglades are the only remaining crocodile habitats in the US.
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