Welcome to T. H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

As soon as we arrived in Florida we were flooded with comments and emails from people telling us that we MUST go to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park park. According to…well, nearly everyone, it has the best beach around. We like beaches, and we especially like the best beaches. Welcome to St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on the Gulf of Mexico across the bay from Port St. Joe, where visitors can swim, sun and play on 9.5 miles of snow-white sand beaches lapped by clear, aqua-blue water

  Free Power Beach Wheelchair

This was our 1st State Park camping experience in Florida. I was amazed at how seriously the state of Florida takes handicap accessibility. When you are a wheelchair user, you can pretty much forget about going to the beach. There are very limited exceptions that are expensive, cumbersome and require great effort. But not here. After setting up in one the several perfectly smooth cement handicap spots I started reading the welcome literature, I read about powered BEACH wheelchair that is delivered to your campsite, free delivery, free use for up to two hours and free pickup. All that you have to do is call the ranger station at the entrance gate. It was delivered 10 minutes later by the very friendly rangers. The rangers actually seemed excited that someone was actually going use it. The two hour limit is only enforced in the unlikely event that someone wants to use it.

My 1st thought was that this buggy will have a dead battery, not so. I made short 1/4 mile trips up and down the beach monitoring the battery level meter until  figured out that the range was miles and miles. You can see me driving in in my Youtube link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtIZ0Tf0JQE

The park is rated as one of the best state parks in the U.S. and one of the best beaches in the nation. Visitors can explore the untouched natural beauty of the Wilderness Preserve or fish and snorkel in the gulf or tranquil grass flats of St. Joseph Bay. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park offers a variety of camping facilities, 119 campsites with water, electricity, picnic table and grills. A special tent area is available for youth groups and seven cabins are furnished with kitchens, fireplaces, bathrooms, heat and air. For a primitive experience, campers can hike or kayak into the Wilderness Preserve. Daytime visitors can enjoy picnicking, beach activities and boat ramp access to St. Joseph Bay. Fishing and snorkeling are great ways to enjoy the abundant marine life in the gulf and bay. Favorite catches include sea trout, redfish, flounder, spanish makerel, whiting, pompano, blue crabs and bay scallops. Hike along the gulf beach, bay shore and interior passageways of nature trails to observe the park’s wildlife and natural beauty. A map of the preserve is available at the entrance station.

The park is noted as an excellent birding and wildlife observation area. During fall migration the peninsula is an important stopover point for a variety of bird species. The park has one of the most productive sea turtle and shore bird nest beaches in the panhandle. I hope you are able to visit St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is a great place to relax at the beach, swim, go snorkling, fish, launch your boat, or enjoy a sunrise over the bay or a sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park is one of Florida’s most diverse state parks and was rated top beach in the nation in 2002 and best State Park in 2012. There is something for everyone to enjoy with a multitude of recreational opportunities and an abundance of wildlife. Come and enjoy nine miles of white sand beach and view some of the most prominent dune formations in the United States. The park offers 119 camp sites, 7 cabins, a group camp and primitive camping; reservations can be made through Reserve America. We have three nature trails and a Wilderness Preserve for you to explore and observe the various wildlife and plant communities.

Check my YouTube video: