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Sunset on Wacasassa Bay (Florida State Parks)

Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park

Along its ragged, marshy shoreline, the meandering Waccasassa River empties out into Waccasassa Bay, flats stretching out to the Gulf of Mexico. Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park can only be explored by water – from the boat ramps at Yankeetown, Gulf Hammock, or the shoreline of Cedar Key – with no landside access.

Cedar Key      ( 29.172923,-82.976439 )      

Sunset on Wacasassa Bay (Florida State Parks)
Sunset on Wacasassa Bay (Florida State Parks)

Along its ragged, marshy shoreline, the meandering Waccasassa River empties out into Waccasassa Bay, flats stretching out to the Gulf of Mexico. Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park can only be explored by water – from the boat ramps at Yankeetown, Gulf Hammock, or the shoreline of Cedar Key – with no landside access.

Resources

North Florida Panhandle Explorers Guide book cover

Overview

Location: Cedar Key
Lat-Lon: 29.172923,-82.976439
Fees: Free
Open: 8 AM until sunset daily
Leashed pets welcome

Location

Details

Each spring, hundreds of swallow-tailed kites migrate from South America to nest in the tall cypress of the vast Gulf Hammock, a wet wilderness spanning the Gulf Coast between Inglis and Cedar Key, at the heart of the preserve.

Four primitive campsites enable boaters to spend a few days flats fishing, and are part of the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, stopovers for sea kayakers following Florida’s coast along the most remote segment of the nation’s longest paddling trail.

Put in at the CR 40 ramp in Yankeetown, the CR 326 ramp in Gulf Hammock, or from Cedar Key to access the park.

Explore the park

Visit park website

Category: Access by water, Camping, Florida State Parks, North Florida, Paddling, Parks, PlacesTag: Birding, Boating, Cedar Key, Fishing, Florida State Parks, Primitive Camping, Wildlife Viewing

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Our recent park & trail updates in this region

Sinkhole pond with cypress knees and duckweed

Manatee Springs North End Trails

Manatee Springs North End Trails
Morning light in the upland forest at Manatee Springs

Manatee Springs Scenic Trail

Manatee Springs Scenic Trail
Grassy path edged by dense diminutive scrub forest

Cedar Key Scrub East Loop

Cedar Key Scrub East Loop
Archway at Fort Clinch

Fort Clinch Walking Tour

Fort Clinch Walking Tour

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