We headed south on Florida A1A to the Guana River State Park for an outdoors conservation project and some environmental education with the Cub Scouts. Our tasks for the day included hanging a couple owl nesting boxes for Guana River State Park. We also received some environmental education about our Florida outdoors, the flora and fauna, and about land clearing and controlled burns. We drove all over the Guana River island, which was really fun!
I took my GoPro (http://amzn.to/HnQht9) along for the ride to test out a new suction cup mount (http://amzn.to/HQoSjY) for the truck and I think it worked out pretty well! You’ll have to let me know in the comments.
More about the Guana River State Park:
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway (Tolomato River), the Guana River State Park, which includes the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM Research Reserve) and Guana River Wildlife Management Area, comprises some 12,000 acres (49 km2) of public conservation and recreational uplands. The Florida land was purchased from Gate Petroleum with Conservation and Recreational Lands and Save Our Coast funds by the State of Florida in 1984 and divided into Guana River State Park and the Guana River Wildlife Management Area. In 2004 with the construction of the GTM Environmental Education Center, the management of the Florida state park lands was turned over to the GTM Research Reserve to manage as part of the larger research reserve. The tract was privately owned and open to the public for hunting and fishing prior to state acquisition. During the period of private ownership, the Guana River was dammed in 1957, to flood the upstream marshes in order to enhance wintering waterfowl habitat. The result was the creation of the present-day Guana Lake. The lake water is brackish near its southern terminus at Guana Dam and gradually turns into a freshwater reservoir as one travels away from the dam. Both saltwater and freshwater fish species exist in the same body of water; great for your fishing adventures.
Outdoors activities include hiking, fishing, boating, picnicing, and wildlife viewing.
Amenities include over nine miles (14 km) of outdoors nature trails and an unspoiled natural setting. The reserve also contains seventeen archaeological sites, shell middens at Shell Bluff Landing and Wright’s Landing, as well as a prehistoric earthen burial mound. Guana continues to be a community gathering for fishing, canoeing, and other aquatic activities.
GTM Research Reserve and Guana River Road is located off A1A, 7 miles north of Vilano Beach and 10 miles south of Micklers Road in Ponte Vedra. The beach access points are a few miles north of Guana River Road on the west side of A1A.
The beach access parking areas are open 8am until sunset. The GTM Guana River Trails are open for outdoors activities, including hiking and biking activities 8am until sunset. The GTM Guana River Dam Use Area is open for fishing 4am –11pm.
ENTRANCE FEES
$3.00 per vehicle up to 8 people. $1.00 per Pedestrians, Bicyclists, Extra Passengers in vehicle beyond 8.
