Manager's Message

Justin Teall, Park Manager

Located near the communities of Fellsmere and Sebastian lies St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. 

St Sebastian River Preserve is a 20,000+ acre preserve dedicated to providing representative samples of the original natural domain. Here you will find a glimpse of Old Florida, rich in its history and diverse in natural resources. We offer over 70 miles of hiking, biking, horseback riding and birdwatching areas. 

With over 70 listed species of flora and fauna, be sure to look closely and reconnect with the real Florida. In any given day, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, quail, bobcat, alligators, red cockaded woodpecker, scrub-jays and many more species can be viewed on our multi use trail system. The preserve provides a variety of recreational opportunities. You are sure to find something you’ll enjoy on your visit. If you are drawn to the water, grab a fishing pole and head out to the C-54 canal to see what you can catch in either freshwater or brackish waters.

Now is a great time to come and enjoy the preserve. Have you ever taken notice of the word “preserve” in some state park names? Have you ever confused that word with reserve? Having been here at the preserve for many years, it is often important to cement definitions in your mind and then filter decisions made through that definition. Originally were called and known by locals as the buffer preserve, designed to be a “buffer” for the benefit of the St Sebastian River. We changed names when entering the management of the Florida Park Service. 

One of the key aspects of the Florida Park Service is preservation. To preserve something is to keep something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from decaying or being damaged or destroyed. From the latin, preserve is "praeservare". It means "to guard beforehand" and is derived from the Latin words "prae" meaning "before" and "servare" meaning "to keep safe". Preservation differs from the terms conservation (focused on sustainable use of natural resources) and reserve (focused on sustainable use of natural resources). The term preserve not only encompasses them but includes both definitions at heart. At St Sebastian River Preserve State Park we offer look back in time. A time of little development and a natural area that when observed brings joy. This preserve is a great place to connect the pieces of beauty and responsibility together, making preservation (our responsibility) and observation (visitors joy) impact your life and decisions that affect our community.

Please stop in and say hello to our staff and volunteers that would love to share with you the trail conditions, wildlife hot spots and all that is being done to preserve this great place.  
 

See you there!