by Emily & the Mandel Public Library staff
In many ways, your library card is a key to adventure: books, movies, seed kits, wi-fi hotspots, ukuleles... there's a lot you can borrow from the library that you may not realize. And now your library card is also the key to Florida State Parks!
Now through September 12, you can borrow a Real Florida Reader State Park Day Pass, which gets you free admission to over 100 beautiful state parks for up to two weeks! You can find all the fine print details in our catalog, and when you're ready, pick up your pass on the fourth floor to start your adventure. You can even borrow an Adventure Kit - we recommend our fishing, geocaching, or stargazing kits - as the perfect pairing to go with your pass. Throw in a Florida guidebook and you've got everything you need! Except for bug spray; maybe don't forget to bring that.
We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't also offer you some recommendations, right? Allow us to get you started with some "state park staff picks" - our favorite Florida State Parks recommended by library staff!
Theresa says: "Bahia Honda State Park is a must-stop on the way to Key West. For avid snorkelers, the abundance of sea life cannot be easily found on other Florida beaches. The water is aqua-blue clear, and the shallow waters make it easy to snorkel if you’re a beginner. In addition, you can see an amazing sunset!"
Janice says: "I grew up going to Blue Spring to hang out, swim, and boat when it was just a local swimming hole off the St. Johns River. The interesting thing is that we saw very few manatees! Today it is a state park where, due to conservation measures, by 2022 hundreds of manatees wintered in the spring. Not only is it a great place to see manatees, it is also still a beautiful place for swimming, snorkeling, tubing, and even scuba diving! It is a beautiful, peaceful area with boardwalks so that you can immerse yourself in nature."
Kimi says: "I grew up in South Florida, and my family would spend most of our vacation time camping. My favorite of all the places we have camped is Blue Spring State Park, located in Orange City, about an hour away from Orlando. This park offers everything you could hope for, both for camping or even just a day trip. If you prefer cabins over camping in a tent, those are available here as well. Boat tours, kayaking, tubing, scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking, fishing... this park offers it all. The best part of the park is the warm springs and the manatees who migrate there in the winter. While swimming with the manatees is not allowed, the clear water makes it the perfect place to see them in their natural habitat."
Faith says: "I'd definitely recommend checking out MacArthur park! The beaches are usually a lot less crowded than others in the area, and the walk to get there is gorgeous! Additionally, you can rent out kayaks for the day or for a few hours and paddle around the intercoastal waterway. Manatees are known to frequent the area in the winter, along with tons of happy ducks, cranes, fish, turtles, and lizards, oh my! MacArthur also has several geocaches/letterboxes scattered around their trails, which are super fun to hunt for!"
Lisa says: "My family really enjoys tent camping at this park. We also love the opportunity to geocache, as well as the great bike trails and looking at the entire park from its observation tower! We are looking forward to our next trip so we can explore Trapper Nelson’s 1930’s restored camp area!"
Emily says: Silver Springs State Park is one of my favorites because of its crystal-clear waters and old Florida charm. An original Florida tourist attraction, Silver Springs offers famous glass-bottom boat tours of its beautiful spring waters and has been for over 100 years! But my husband and I prefer getting more up-close-and-personal with the rivers by paddling on our stand-up paddleboards. Silver Springs is a gorgeous paddle for any kayaker or paddleboarder – keep an eye out for gators, lots of cormorants, and a resident manatee family. For folks who prefer dry land, there are plenty of beautiful boardwalk trails on which to enjoy the springs from a distance.
Tara says: "I discovered this really beautiful and peaceful garden on the way home from St. Augustine. The sights, smells, and sounds take you meandering from shady canopy to sunny shoreline, and you get just lost enough. The live oak trees are so big and old that you feel like you could hug one and absorb some of the strength from it. The old estate house has been turned into a small museum, which was also interesting. A lovely way to spend a little while!"
The Real Florida Reader is a statewide collaboration between Florida State Parks and the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services to encourage visitation to libraries and parks this summer.
