Honeymoon Island State Park

Honeymoon Island State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)


Location	Pinellas County, Florida, USA
Nearest city	Dunedin, Florida
Coordinates	28°04′08″N 82°49′52″W / 28.06889°N 82.83111°W / 28.06889; -82.83111Coordinates: 28°04′08″N 82°49′52″W / 28.06889°N 82.83111°W / 28.06889; -82.83111
Area	2,785 acres (11 km²)
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Honeymoon Island State Park is a Florida State Park located on Honeymoon Island, a barrier island across St. Joseph's Sound from Palm Harbor, Ozona, and Crystal Beach. The park is 385 acres (1.6 km²) in land area with 2,400 acres (10 km²) submerged and 4 miles (6 km) of beach. It lies at the western end of Causeway Boulevard, which becomes Curlew Road east of Alternate US 19. The address is 1 Causeway Blvd.

History

Honeymoon and neighboring Caladesi Island were originally part of a large barrier island that split in half during a major hurricane in 1921. The waterway between the islands is known as Hurricane Pass.

According to the Florida Park Service, Honeymoon Island was introduced to the American public in the early 1940s through newsreels and magazines. The advertisements promised undiscovered pleasures for newlyweds. According to the Dunedin Museum (located in Dunedin, Florida on the mainland which lays claim to both Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island), Honeymoon Island was formerly known as Hog Island. In the early 1940s, honeymoon-type huts were built on the island for vacationing, and the name was changed. After the US entered World War II, the thatched huts fell into disuse. The structures were razed as the island was turned into a state park. However, the name stuck. A causeway leading to the island was constructed in 1964.

One of the island's services, a ferry to Caladesi Island, is only for convenience to those in the Honeymoon Island area to reach Caladesi Island across Hurricane Pass. Caladesi Island is easily accessible by walking from Clearwater Beach, Florida, as it has been for decades, and it is only separated by a "welcome sign" from the south.

Biology

The barrier island park is a refuge for a number of species of plants and animals including south Florida slash pines, mangroves, and several threatened and endangered species. Osprey and various species of tern, plover, and wading birds reside on the island or stop during spring and fall migration.

Dolphin pods are often sighted within yards of the shore.

In the autumn of 2008, a pair of bald eagles made a nest on Osprey Trail in the park. Assuming that the nest is still in place, visitors must stay back 300 feet; but the location is well marked and easily observed with binoculars.

Mosquitoes are quite prevalent in the picnic areas and trails away from the beach, and can quickly inflict dozens of bites on uncovered, unprotected skin. Signs near the park entrance warn of this possibility. (Mosquitoes can also be a nuisance in the shower and restroom facilities.)

Rattlesnakes are common to Honeymoon Island, so caution should be exercised.

Recreational activities

Activities include birding, fishing, hiking and sunbathing. Amenities include picnic pavilions, bathhouses, a park concession, nature trails, bird observation areas, a beach for pets, and a passenger ferry to Caladesi Island State Park. The Rotary Centennial Nature Center features exhibits about the natural and cultural history of Honeymoon and Caladesi Islands and an elevated observation deck.

Construction is underway in portions of the beach near the north concession area to mitigate extensive erosion which has taken place over the years. That part of the beach is closed, although there is a path one can use to access the north beach.

The beaches range from sandy to covered in large chunks of fossilized coral. Some areas may have water puddles that emit a stench during certain months, but this does not deter swimmers from using the beaches.

Hours and entrance fees

Florida state parks are open between 8 a.m. and sundown every day of the year (including holidays).

While signage at the entrance to the park indicates a per-vehicle daily entrance fee of $8, single persons are only charged $4, as of February 2015. There is also an annual pass for those who wish to save on frequent visits.

The charge to ride the ferry to Caladesi Island is $14 per adult in addition to the park entrance fee.

Concessions

Honeymoon Island has two different concession areas: Café Honeymoon and the South Beach Pavilion. Both feature "casual style beach fare".^[1] Both are open from 9:00 am–5:00 pm. On Saturday and Sunday mornings feature a pancake breakfast from 8:00–10:30.

Gallery

On the beach looking north with the Gulf of Mexico on the left
Commemorative bench
Hurricane Pass
Palmetto
Sea oats
Slash pine and palmetto
Picnic table with St. Joseph's Sound in the background
The swing says, "In loving memory of our dearest Erik"
High Surf on a chilly afternoon in late October
Sunset at honeymoon island
Wild Berries
Wildflower
Walter's ground cherry (Physalis walteri Nutt.)

References and external links

Protected areas of Florida

Federal

National Parks	Biscayne Dry Tortugas Everglades

National Memorials	De Soto Fort Caroline

National Monuments	Castillo de San Marcos Fort Matanzas

National Seashores	Canaveral Gulf Islands

National Forests	Apalachicola Choctawhatchee Ocala Osceola

National Wildlife Refuges	Archie Carr Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Caloosahatchee Cedar Keys Chassahowitzka Crocodile Lake Crystal River Egmont Key Florida Panther Great White Heron Hobe Sound Island Bay J.N. 'Ding' Darling Key West Lake Wales Ridge Lake Woodruff Lower Suwannee Matlacha Pass Merritt Island National Key Deer Okefenokee Passage Key Pelican Island Pine Island Pinellas St. Johns St. Marks St. Vincent Ten Thousand Islands

Other National Protected Areas	Big Cypress National Preserve Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

National Estuarine Research Reserves and National Marine Sanctuaries	Apalachicola NERR Florida Keys NMS Guana Tolomato Matanzas NERR Rookery Bay NERR

State

Parks	Amelia Island Anastasia Avalon Bahia Honda Bald Point Big Lagoon Big Shoals Big Talbot Island Bill Baggs Cape Florida Bulow Creek Caladesi Island Camp Helen Cayo Costa Collier-Seminole Colt Creek Curry Hammock Delnor-Wiggins Pass Devil's Millhopper Don Pedro Island Eden Gardens Egmont Key Falling Waters Faver-Dykes Florida Caverns Fort Clinch Fort Cooper Fort George Island Fort Pierce Inlet Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou Gasparilla Island George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier Grayton Beach Henderson Beach Highlands Hammock Honeymoon Island Hontoon Island Hugh Taylor Birch John D. MacArthur Beach John Pennekamp Coral Reef John U. Lloyd Beach Jonathan Dickinson Little Talbot Island Long Key Lovers Key Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway Mike Roess Gold Head Branch North Peninsula O'Leno Oscar Scherer Perdido Key Sebastian Inlet Skyway Fishing Pier St. Andrews St. George Island St. Joseph Peninsula Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center Stump Pass Beach Tomoka Torreya Windley Key Fossil Reef

Botanical Garden Parks	Alfred B. Maclay Gardens Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Lignumvitae Key Ravine Gardens Washington Oaks

Lakes, Rivers and Springs Parks	Deer Lake Lake Griffin Lake June in Winter Scrub Lake Kissimmee Lake Louisa Lake Manatee Lake Talquin Alafia River Blackwater River Dunns Creek Econfina River Hillsborough River Little Manatee River Myakka River Ochlockonee River Oleta River Suwannee River Blue Spring De Leon Springs Edward Ball Wakulla Springs Fanning Springs Homosassa Springs Wildlife Ichetucknee Springs Lafayette Blue Springs Madison Blue Spring Manatee Springs Ponce de Leon Springs Rainbow Springs Silver Springs Three Rivers Troy Springs Weeki Wachee Springs Wekiwa Springs Werner-Boyce Salt Springs Wes Skiles Peacock Springs

Recreation Areas	Gamble Rogers Memorial

Museums, Historic sites, and Archaeological sites	Cedar Key Museum Constitution Convention Museum Forest Capital Museum John Gorrie Museum Ybor City Museum The Barnacle Bulow Plantation Ruins Dade Battlefield Dudley Farm Fort Foster Fort Mose Fort Zachary Taylor Gamble Plantation Indian Key Koreshan Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Homestead Natural Bridge Battlefield Olustee Battlefield Orman House Paynes Creek San Marcos de Apalache Yellow Bluff Fort Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Crystal River Lake Jackson Mounds Letchworth-Love Mounds Madira Bickel Mound Mound Key San Pedro Underwater

Preserves and Reserves	Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Anclote Key Cedar Key Scrub Charlotte Harbor Crystal River Estero Bay Fakahatchee Strand Kissimmee Prairie Lower Wekiva River Paynes Prairie Pumpkin Hill Creek River Rise Rock Springs Run San Felasco Hammock Savannas Seabranch St. Lucie Inlet St. Sebastian River Tarkiln Bayou Topsail Hill Waccasassa Bay Yellow River Marsh

State Trails	Blackwater Heritage Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Gainesville-Hawthorne General James A. Van Fleet Nature Coast Palatka-Lake Butler Palatka-to-St. Augustine Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Withlacoochee

State Forests	Belmore Big Shoals Blackwater River Carl Duval Moore Cary Charles H. Bronson Cottage Hill Deep Creek Etoniah Creek Four Creeks Goethe Holopaw Indian Lake Jennings John M. Bethea Lake George Lake Talquin Lake Wales Ridge Little Big Econ Matanzas Myakka Okaloacoochee Slough Picayune Strand Pine Log Point Washington Ralph E. Simmons Memorial Ross Prairie Seminole Tate's Hell Tiger Bay Twin Rivers Wakulla Watson Island Welaka Withlacoochee

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Florida

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

References

↑ "Honeymoon Island, Dunedin Florida". www.romantichoneymoonisland.com. Retrieved 2015-09-01.

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