We were excited to check out a new beach in the area on our day off this past week. We chose to visit Gasparilla Island State Park. There are 2 lighthouses here and 4 beach areas with plenty of parking. Apparently the museum is closed during the month of August and they offer tours of the lighthouse during the busy winter season so we didn't get to see that. We are here to appreciate the beauty of nature, recharge in the salty water and enjoy the sun!
View from the northernmost parking lot of the state park.
As it is a state park, there are fees. Most of the state parks I've visited on Florida use the honor system and this one is no different. The request is to pay $3 per day and you can use all 4 parking areas for the day. Another cost to note: if you are travelling here by car you will also need to pay $6 to cross the causeway bridge to get to the island from the mainland.
The pay station has envelopes to put your money into the box and a tag to hang from the rearview mirror in your vehicle.
That nice gentleman sweeping in the background of the above picture greeted us, shared a little about the park and answered the questions we had. He had such a kindness about him that made this trip feel extra special. Thank you!
A map of the area.
The beaches here do not employ lifeguards.
The white sand was nice as it was cool to the bottoms of our feet even though the outdoor temperature was above 90F.
It was cool enough to get a photo op in front of the lighthouse.
The walk to the beach was glorious as you can see from the view in the pic below.
We headed straight for the water from here. There was excitement coming from the beachgoers as we got closer to them so we set down our towels and my phone to see. I wish I wouldn't have set my phone down because they were all marveling at a large group of stingrays swimming by. After the fever (this is what a group of stingrays is called) went by we got in the water and swam for a while.
After the swim we decided to check out the lighthouse and were pleased to find a beautiful trail to explore next to it with flowers, trees, lizards, and some artwork.
The sign next to this flower refers to it as a starcluster.
The trail leading to the lighthouse is paved.
According to the friendly worker, this lighthouse is 1 of 2 in the area. This one is the early warning spotter and would relay any alerts to the one at the southern tip which helped guide boats between the islands and into the sound.
Dunes are an important part of the ecosphere on the coast as it protects from erosion and is home to many creatures including the endangered gopher tortoise.
I love the way the orange and yellow makes this flower really pop.
We may have to come back during the peak season to go up to the top.
On the other side of the lighthouse the trail is narrower and sand, but still an easy walk.
The locals put together an art campaign as we found many painted ceramic seashells on many of the trees on this trail.
The trail offered a unique view of the lighthouse.
This big lizard was a little camera shy as he was sunning out in the open and ran to the tree when we came near him.
The trail felt so peaceful as we wandered through the palms and lush vegetation.
It may be difficult to tell from the picture but this spiky plant is over 6 feet tall.
Simple, elegant, beautiful.
The trail leads to a path through the dunes back to the water. We doubled back from here to go back to the car and head to the other lighthouse.
Had to snap this little guy on our way back.
The southernmost beach, called Dunes, has the remnants of bridge that is now only posts for the pelicans and gulls to perch on.
The lighthouse here is a lot shorter than the northern one.
An old church stands here as well. Not sure if it is still in use or not.
We were getting cooked by the sun so we did a little more swimming here. It is interesting swimming because there are some very strong currents. The west side is swimmable but the water between the islands is too dangerous for swimmers. Even on the calm side, we were being carried south by the current faster than we could swim so we just surrendered to it and enjoyed the lazy river effect it gave us as we floated toward the jetty.
I didn't realize this tern had a fish in its mouth when I took the picture of it flying over my partner. Such a neat photo.
If you look at the water in the picture above you can see that the greener bottom half is calm and the darker water with the whitecaps is the strong current coming into the sound.
Closer look at the lighthouse.
I egret to inform you that the lighthouse is closed to the public. 😂 (Sorry, I'm a dad so these jokes just come naturally, please don't downvote me haha)
This jetty does what it can to keep the current flowing to where it should.
The water may look calm from the picture, but the current out there is very powerful. There were people fishing on this side, but no swimming.
Even wading is considered dangerous here.
The walking and swimming built up our appetite so we went to the only public restaurant by the beaches.
The view from our table.
We stopped by one more beach before we headed home but didn't take any more pictures. This is a beautiful island and state park. I hope you enjoyed this Wednesday Walk with me on the beach! Have an amazing week!!
Oh my, what a beautiful place, and that church on the beach and the lighthouse are lovely!!
I was pleasantly surprised on this first trip there. Thank you for reading 😊
What a great day you had at the beach! I never saw that kind of combination for a beach... The white sand on one side, rocks on the other side, 2 lighthouses, a lot of green areas with animals, a church?! 😃
Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos!
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There is so much going on there. Thank you for reading and curating 💚
This beach is so majestic! 🥰 Feels like the locals are very hands-on on protecting the place. I like how they painted some of the shells☺️💝
There is definitely a pride in the local community of keeping this beach and island beautiful. The shells were really cool to see.
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WOW such a beautiful area the beach and that cool lighthouse
and the art on the seashells that is so cool
Thanks for joining Wednesday Walk :), I truly enjoy exploring the world virtually each Wednesday seeing walks from all around the globe and feeling I am there and experiencing it all myself, such as I did in your post just now :)
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Interesting support structure on the taller lighthouse - I've never seen one like that before - and beautiful weather !
The day was perfect and a joy to see the lighthouse up close. Thank you for reading!