Wipeout Treats & Sweets

My partner and I picked up the Florida State Parks passport book a few years ago and have been slowly checking off all 170+ state parks. This place is absolutely gorgeous, even though I don't think we saw the entire park, maybe around half of it? It's a unique juxtaposition of urban jungle and, well, the closest Florida has to offer for actual jungle. So many unique and huge sea grapes trees and banyan trees. Thank you for including signage for the varying species of plant around the park. My forte lies more with identifying birds than plants at the moment, so it was nice to have a guide along the way. We saw a gopher tortoise (which I was surprised to see that there are habitats that far south in the state! Guess that means I need to do some more reading), but not so much of the birds. There are a few nice amenities, such as access to the beach via crosswalk or tunnel, though it looks like the tunnel is closed indefinitely for the time being; there is a restaurant, Segway and kayak rentals, a water taxi - though I don't know exactly where that goes to, as I didn't look too much into it, and plenty of paved paths for cycling and rollerblading. While a lot of the flora were things I'd seen before, it was a very nice change of scenery from what I'm used to seeing around here in Pinellas County.

It’s a very nice state park. The best about it is that it shows you the untouched nature of Florida, and it’s just a few steps away from the city. The park has a very nice loop trail (about 1 - 1,5 hours walk), access to the beach, plenty of parking and very clean restrooms. A fantastic place to spend a few hours with nature.

What a lovely, gorgeous, peaceful, hidden-jewel of a park to spend an afternoon and appreciate one man's generosity to a community. We came for a (locally owned) Segway tour but came back to hike the trails and see amazing Florida foliage. Lots of peaceful dog walking, playground romping, rollerblading, strolling and picnicking going on. Original homestead open on certain days/times and looks as if it would be a lovely tour. Note: Oddly enough, the gentlemen who gave a one star review was there at the same time we were and was using very foul language, with very loud music, in front of children. I could see several people making phone calls to report it. I was grateful that park management swiftly did something about it. No need for one egg to spoil the fun and peace for others.

My favorite state park in town. Has long lush paved road through the jungle for a great biking or running experience and cool canal views. Also, as a hidden jam, there is a majestic banyan tree in the jungle , surrounded by open lawn and searing space. Convenient amenities, huge banana spiders, cool jungle trails. Great park!