Continuing east, we have spent a couple of nights at Big Lagoon State Park. This is a sister park to Perdido Key State Park, so our camping fee allowed us into both to explore and enjoy! They are both small parks, and other than a couple of hiking trails, we feel like we got a good feel for what they both had to offer. They are definitely each worth a stop, even if it is just for a couple of hours. Hurricane Sally that came through the area in 2020 really did a number on both parks. One of the signs we read said that the hurricane only moved at 2mph through the area and ended up dumping 20-30 inches of rain. We can’t even imagine that amount of rain! Big Lagoon just fully reopened this past summer, and there are still areas of Perdido Key State Park that are closed.
Big Lagoon State Park is on the mainland behind the shelter of Perdido Key on Big Lagoon. In addition to the campground, there is a boat launch, a couple of boardwalks, several hiking trails, multiple picnic areas with really nice pavilions and shelters, two beach areas, and an overlook tower.
West Beach and the boat launch are pretty close together and both have a really nice view of the Theo Baars Bridge and some of the area’s resorts. We enjoyed watching some of the boat traffic through the area, and the sunsets here were really pretty. We had some dramatic clouds that made the sunsets very interesting! There is also a boardwalk that goes between the campground and the West Beach area that passes over some marshy areas and Long Pond. We saw egrets and one really busy armadillo while on this boardwalk.
The East Beach area is also where the overlook tower is located. From the top of the overlook tower you can see over Perdido Key into the Gulf of Mexico. From the ground you don’t realize just how narrow Perdido Key is! There was a Great Blue Heron fishing in the shallow waters here and we sat and watched him or her for almost a half hour.
We also enjoyed a visit to Perdido Key State Park which is a small protected area of beach on Perdido Key. The beach we visited here is located on the Gulf of Mexico, so it was a more traditional beach experience. There were a few people out fishing and combing the beach for sea shells, but for the most part, we had the place to ourselves. Heather even found a tiny, but intact sand dollar! Sixty-five degrees, partly sunny, a light breeze, and a mostly deserted beach? That’s a pretty good December day, if you ask us!
We have one more stop before we get in some much needed family time! We can’t wait!
Until next time!
The sky is really pretty in those images!
Also love the armadillo. I watched one work for about ten minutes one time, until he or she noticed me. They scurried away after that.
Strangely enough, last night at Moss Park in Orlando, we heard some scurrying around outside and looked out to find an armadillo right outside the Bigfoot door!