Located on the tip of a coastal peninsula, T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park offers 10 miles of sugar white, sandy beaches. The powdery quartz sands were made millions of years from rock from the Appalachian Mountains that wore down and flowed into rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. The sand is so fine that when you walk on it you’ll hear it squeak beneath your feet.
People from all over the country enjoy the park’s sugar-sand beaches that offer something for every beachgoer. Swimming, fishing, shelling, snorkeling and just relaxing on the beach are the most popular experiences.
Many visitors are surprised by the park’s dunes - they are among the tallest intact dunes in the Florida Panhandle and are visible by walking down the gulf beach 1 to 2 miles. Adventurous beachgoers can walk the 8 miles to the tip of the peninsula.
Eagle Harbor provides family-friendly beaches on St. Joseph Bay. Shallow bay water, sand bars and nearby seagrass beds full of sea life make this the perfect place to explore!
The dunes and beaches here are home to many species of unique and threatened wildlife. St. Joseph Peninsula is one of the most productive nesting sites for threatened shorebirds like least terns and snowy plovers, who make their nests directly on the sand. Loggerhead and green sea turtles nest on the beaches from May to October each year. The elusive and imperiled St. Andrews beach mouse also makes its burrows among the dunes.
When visiting the park, please walk only on designated paths and stay out of marked wildlife areas. We hope to protect our precious Florida wildlife for many generations to come!
