History

The 534 acre beach park was added to the Florida Park Service in 1984.

Clearing the Trail

Work began in January 2005 to establish the foundation of North Peninsula State Park.

Although public restrooms and a parking lot were already built, much work was still needed to make this recently opened park more welcoming to the public. Volunteers worked steadily through damp and foggy conditions to clear the Coastal Strand Trail at Smith Creek Landing.

Overlook

During the early months of 2005, members from the 30-0 region Lions Club in Palm Coast worked diligently to continue transforming the newly-designated Smith's Creek Landing at North Peninsula State Park into an area visitors could enjoy.

Volunteers

Lions Club members assisted in laying the foundation of North Peninsula State Park by building the observation deck at Smith Creek Landing overlooking the canal. This overlook allows anglers and birdwatchers a place to appreciate the serenity of the area. Volunteers played an integral part in the establishment of North Peninsula State Park.

Shipwreck

In 1993, a metal object was first sighted in the tidal zone at North Peninsula State Park. The object appeared to be a winch or windless, perhaps for an anchor or other heavy lifting. Research suggests the object could be from the wreck of the North Western, a ship that sank before World War II near the Volusia County line.

Jay Watch

In June 2006, five dedicated volunteers set out for the first time to participate in the state's annual Jay Watch Program at North Peninsula State Park. Volunteers for this state-sponsored program trekked through acres of coastal scrub habitat to track and record the Florida scrub-jay. Due to a sharp decline in its population over recent years, the Florida scrub jay is listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Salt Marsh Restoration

In the 1930s and 1940s, dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway impacted valuable marsh along the historic Smith Creek. Since 2009, about 100 acres of spoil site from those dredging activities were restored to natural tidal marsh conditions.

This salt marsh restoration area now provides valuable habitat for fish, aquatic plants and birdlife.