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Florida State Parks Updates

Teresa avatar
SoWal Guide
3,971 views1
Florida State Parks will be opening on Monday May 4th, 2020.

At this time, this is all the information we have been given. Will post details and updates as soon as we can.

EDIT: Florida State Parks will open some parks with restrictions.

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Florida State Parks

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Replies

19
Kurt avatar
Admin
#2
Fantastic!
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#31
Florida State Parks
Update
May 1

Parks listed as open at least partially:
Deer Lake State Park will be open all day for active recreational use.
Camp Helen State Park will open all day for recreational use.

Grayton Beach State Park trail north of Scenic 30A only will be open. All other park areas closed.

Parks not listed as opening:
Eden Gardens State Park
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park
St Andrews State Park
Henderson Beach State Park
St Joseph's Peninsula State Park

Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that beginning Monday, May 4, some Florida State Parks will re-open access to trails, day use areas and beach access with limited facilities. Visitors will be asked to practice proper social distancing, to limit group size to 10 or less and to stay six feet apart.

DEP is actively working to develop the next phase of additional openings that can be expected over the coming days. As always, we will continue to keep our communities informed through social media and our website. For additional details, please visit: Safety Updates

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Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#4
SAFETY UPDATES
Effective Monday, May 4, DEP will implement phase one to reopen the Florida State Parks. As these parks are re-opening, DEP will be taking measures to ensure the protection of staff and the public. During this early phase of re-opening, visitors should expect limited hours, capacity and amenities.

Phase one includes approximately 80 parks and trails throughout Florida. Portions of these parks and trails have been identified that can be reopened for day use with limited risk to visitors and staff.

View the full list of limited partial park openings
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#5
Deer Lake State Park to open Monday May 4

Effective Monday, May 4, 2020: Deer Lake State Park is open for day use, 8 a.m. to sunset, for active recreation only, such as walking, jogging, swimming and fishing. Restrooms and trash cans are available, all other park facilities are closed. Normal park fees apply. Visitors are expected to maintain safe social distances of at least 6 feet apart and limit group size to 10 people.
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#6
Grayton Beach State Park
Trail north of Scenic 30A

Effective Monday May, 4, 2020: Grayton Beach State Park trail access north of 30A is open for day use, 8 a.m. to sunset. Restrooms and trash cans are unavailable, all other park facilities are closed. No park fee will apply for trail access.

Visitors are expected to maintain safe social distances of at least 6 feet apart and limit group size to 10 people.
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#7
Camp Helen State Park
Opens May 4

Effective Monday, May 4, 2020: Camp Helen State Park is open for day use, 8 a.m. to sunset, for active recreation only, such as walking, jogging, swimming and fishing. Restrooms and trash cans are available, all other park facilities are closed. Normal park fees apply. Visitors are expected to maintain safe social distances of at least 6 feet apart and limit group size to 10 people.
bob bob avatar
Beach Fanatic
#8
Looks like they are limiting contact with rangers at pay stations, etc.

I wish annual pass holders could breeze through. Might be a good way to raise funds for parks.
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#91
St. Andrews State Park is OPEN!
#FLStateParks

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Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#10
Eden Gardens State Park is now open

LIMITED VISITATION AT THIS PARK
Effective Wednesday, May 6, 2020: Eden Gardens State Park is open for day use activities (see hours of operation and fee information below). House tours are unavailable until further notice. Restroom availability may be limited, all other park facilities are closed. Visitors are expected to maintain distances of at least six feet apart and limit group size to ten or fewer people.
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#11
Henderson Beach State Park in Destin is open

LIMITED VISITATION AT THIS STATE PARK
Effective Friday, May 8, 2020: Henderson Beach State Park is open for day use activities (see hours of operation and fee information below). Beaches and trails are available. Restroom availability may be limited. All other park facilities are closed. Visitors are expected to maintain distances of at least six feet apart and limit group size to ten or fewer people.
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#12
St Andrews State Park is open in Panama City Beach

LIMITED VISITATION AT THIS PARK
Effective Tuesday, May 5, 2020: St. Andrews State Park is open for day use activities (see hours of operation and fee information below). Restroom availability may be limited, all other park facilities are closed. Visitors are expected to maintain distances of at least six feet apart and limit group size to ten or fewer people.

No services to Shell Island are available at this time
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#13
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is open

LIMITED VISITATION AT THIS STATE PARK
Effective Friday, May 8, 2020: Topsail Hill Preserve State Park is open for day use activities (see hours of operation and fee information below). The beach and trails are available. Tram service to the beach is not available. Restroom availability may be limited. All other park facilities are closed. Visitors are expected to maintain distances of at least six feet apart and limit group size to ten or fewer people.
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#141
Florida State Parks
May 13 update: campgrounds

To protect staff and visitor safety & health, Florida State Parks campgrounds will remain closed through May 20 at this time. Reservations from May 16-20 will be canceled and refunded in full; you do not need to do anything further to receive your refund. Within the next few days, you will receive a cancellation confirmation email. We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. If you have any questions, please call customer support at 888-622-9190. For additional campground closure updates, please visit our Safety Updates page: Safety Updates

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Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#151
Florida State Parks

Over the past week, Florida State Parks have worked diligently to roll out new park openings with limited access and amenities each day while continuing to prioritize the health and safety of staff and guests. Currently, over 80% of our award-winning state parks are open with adjustments. To continue social distancing and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, each open park has unique procedures in place, which are detailed on our Safety Updates and open park pages.

To learn more about open parks and their procedures and open areas, follow these direction on our webpage Safety Updates:
Open the Safety Updates webpage.
Scroll down to view the list of open parks & select your desired park.
Read the yellow header at the top of the specific park page. This space will detail the open areas, limits on facilities, and activities that are allowed in open areas. Many of these availabilities are dependent on local ordinances or the layout of the park itself, so procedures & open areas vary from park to park.

We ask that if you visit a park, please bring exact change for your day use entry fees to lessen staff/visitor contact or use the online payment option. We are continuing to roll out new openings, so to stay up to date with the latest park status, please refer to the list on our Safety Updates page, which we are updating daily! We’re happy to be back serving our public, so to ensure we can safely stay open, please remember to follow the proper social distancing guidelines & procedures at this time. We also want to thank our hardworking staff and volunteers for working to make parks accessible & safe for use at this time!

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Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#16
Grayton Beach State Park is open

LIMITED VISITATION AT THIS PARK
Effective Monday, May 11, 2020: Grayton Beach State Park is open for day use activities. The beach, trails and canoe/kayak launch are available. Restroom availability may be limited. All other park facilities are closed. Visitors are expected to maintain distances of at least six feet apart and limit group size to ten or fewer people.
Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#171
Florida State Parks

Cabin closures have been extended to May 31 at this time. Cabin reservations from May 16 -May 31 will be canceled and automatically receive a full refund through ReserveAmerica. In the next few days, you will receive a cancellation confirmation email with the details of your refund, so you do not need to do anything to receive your refund. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this might cause. While camping and cabins are closed, nearly 90 percent of Florida State Parks and Trails have been partially re-opened with limited amenities for day-use. If you have any questions, please call customer support at 888-622-9190. For additional camping updates, please visit our Safety Updates page: Safety Updates

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Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#181
Deer Lake State Park is closed.

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Teresa avatar
SoWal GuideAuthor
#20
Why have they closed?
I have no idea. But heard they are understaffed.

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