I was pleasantly surprised by this little known state park, situated on the Gulf. No white sandy beaches here! Instead it was filled with springs, mangroves and hiking trails.
There are 3 entrances to the state park.
- The main entrance (where we went) is 8737 US Highway 19 North, Port Richey FL 34668. Restrooms, hiking trails, springs. kayak launch.
- 10333 Scenic Drive, Port Richey, which has picnic tables and a short hiking trail.
- Black Rail Trail Head at 6641 State Road 52. (We went here a while back and were chased out by mosquitoes and deer flies. Pay attention to when hiking season is!)
The first thing we did was play on the landlocked boat connected to the main parking lot.
Then we went to the main trail head.
We explored many of the side trails, were rewarded and barely even scratched the surface. This is a kayaker paradise and we did not even give that a go (tough to do with the kiddos).
No swimming allowed in this state park though, despite being along the coast and having springs. The state park website says if you wanna swim you should paddle to Durney Key. I’ve never been there, so can’t comment much on it.
The namesake, the salt spring, goes 351 feet down and is difficult to access. The park covers 4 miles of coast and about 4,000 acres. A lot to see here. Birders will have a good time.
Overall, I love this park. Cost me $3 to get in and there was enough stuff to do with my little ones.
