CALADESI ISLAND STATE PARK
BEACHES, BIRDING, HIKING AND KAYAKING
Story and photos by Barb & Ron Kroll
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Ever wonder what Florida looked like when the Spanish explorers arrived in the 1500s? Florida without the condos, the motels and the theme parks?
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| Hiking Caladesi Island State Park nature trail. Florida. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Then spend a day on Caladesi Island State Park, just north of Clearwater Beach, about five kilometers (three-miles) off the Gulf Coast from Dunedin.
Except for early Indian inhabitants and a homesteader in the 1800s, Caladesi was never settled. In 1968, Florida purchased it for a state park for $2.9 million.
Dunedin Causeway connects the mainland to Honeymoon Island State Park. We boarded a ferry on Honeymoon Island for the 20-minute ride to Caladesi. (It's only accessible by boat.) Cormorants perched on poles at the dock, while herons waded in the water, unperturbed by our presence.
Visitors may spot dolphins leaping alongside the ferry, but they won't see any alligators. (Florida's 'gators only live in fresh water.) Closer to Caladesi, ospreys dive for fish and carry them in their talons to their nests.
The 600-acre state park is one of the last undeveloped barrier islands in Florida. Beaches, on the Gulf of Mexico side, are ideal for sunbathing, beachcombing, shelling and swimming. A five-kilometer (three-mile) kayak trail winds through the mangrove swamp and bay, on the other side.
Beaches, fishing, hiking and kayaking
Saltwater anglers can fish from the shore or their boats. A marina provides water and electricity hookups.
At the ranger station, we picked up a map and brochures describing the sea oats and sea beans along the beach. We also viewed a display of shells found on the island.
The beach is the main reason to come here. It's very white, very wide, very clean and as soft as baby powder. Because the Gulf of Mexico is rarely rough, the beach is perfect for swimming. Boardwalks provide access from the beaches to the change houses and picnic and playground areas, while protecting the fragile dunes and sea oats.
Caladesi Island State Park was named one of the top two beaches in America in the 2006 Best Beaches survey authored by coastal geologist Dr. Stephen Leatherman (Dr. Beach) of Florida International University.
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| Strolling Caladesi Island State Park beach. Florida. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
We hiked along the self-guided five-kilometer (three-mile) nature trail that loops through the virgin pine and oak hammocks in the island's interior. A sandy pathway winds around palms, cacti, water ponds and a mangrove swamp. Signs provide information about the plants.
Take the cabbage palm, for example. Indians and pioneers used the trunk for building log houses. They wove the leaves into hats and baskets. The heart, called the swamp cabbage, can be eaten raw or cooked, but this kills the tree so it's discouraged.
This is just the information you'd need if you were ever stranded on a tropical island. Indeed, we did feel like Robinson Crusoe on this trail. We met only one other couple on the entire route and heard no sounds other than the breezes ruffling the palms.
Except for a few birds, skittering sand crabs, two yellow butterflies and some hungry mosquitoes (bring repellent!), we saw no wildlife. A list in the ranger station identifies several more elusive residents including rabbits, frogs, toads, lizards, turtles and snakes. For the skeptical, there's a two-meter-long (6.5-foot-long) skin of an eastern diamondback rattlesnake mounted on the wall. "That's why signs warn you to stay on the pathways," says the ranger.
The final leg of the trail follows a pristine beach where we saw brown pelicans diving for fish. Frigatebirds, egrets and other wading and shore birds are best seen from boats near the mangrove swamps on the other side of the island.
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| Family relaxes on Caladesi Island State Park beach. Florida. |
| Photo © Barb & Ron Kroll |
Caladesi Island is for day-use only, with a maximum time limit of four hours. But that's sufficient to hike the trail, have a swim, picnic and enjoy this unspoiled bit of Florida — just as Spanish explorers did more than 600 years ago.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Visit Florida: www.visitflorida.com
More things to see and do in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area:
Tarpon Springs – Sponges, Greek Food, Festivals
St. Petersburg Clearwater Florida Beaches and Family Fun
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