Perdido Key State Park is a

Florida State Park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

located on a

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

southwest of

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

, off S.R. 292, in northwestern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The address is 12301 Gulf Beach Highway.

Perdido Key State Park

Barrier islands Barrier islands are a coastal landform, a type of dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few is ...

protect the Florida mainland from the harsh effects of storms and provide habitats for

shorebird 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s and other coastal animals. The wide, white, sandy beaches and the rolling sand dunes covered with

sea oat ''Uniola paniculata'', also known as sea oats, seaside oats, araña, and arroz de costa, is a tall subtropical grass that is an important component of coastal sand dune and beach plant communities in the southeastern United States, eastern Mexi ...

s make this a pristine oasis along the rapidly developing panhandle. The beach, which provides excellent opportunities for swimming and sunbathing, is the focal point for public use of the park.

Surf fishing Surf fishing is land-based game fishing while standing on the shoreline or wading into the surf zone. A general term, surf fishing may or may not include casting a lure or bait, and refers to all types of shore fishing – from sandy and rocky be ...

is another popular activity. Boardwalks from the parking lot allow visitors to access the beach without causing damage to the fragile dunes and beach vegetation. Covered picnic tables overlooking the beach provide a great place for family outings. Several endangered species inhabit, nest on or use this park. Most notable of these is the

Perdido Key beach mouse The Perdido Key beach mouse (''Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis'') is an endangered subspecies of the oldfield mouse. It is found on Perdido Key. The small white and gray mouse, weighing only , blends in well with the white quartz sand of nor ...

. This mouse is one of the North America's rarest mammals and only currently exists in two places on earth, both of which are located on Perdido Key. The Johnson Beach Unit of

Gulf Islands National Seashore Gulf Islands National Seashore is an American National seashore that offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. In 2023, it was the fifth-mos ...

is the other location. The mouse was reintroduced to the park in February 2000 after several years of being absent from the park. Originally, three pairs of juvenile mice were translocated from Johnson Beach, followed by an additional 16 pairs of juvenile mice the following year. The population of this mouse can vary greatly depending on the time of year and recent weather conditions, as well as the presence of house cats.

Loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of sea turtle, oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around ...

s use the beach to nest each year. Occasionally

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

and

Kemp's Ridley Kemp's ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys kempii)'', also called commonly the Atlantic ridley sea turtle, Kemp's ridley turtle, and Kemp's ridley, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. ''L. kempii'' is the rarest species of sea tur ...

sea turtles will nest within the park boundary as well.

Gallery

File:Pensacola FL Perdido Key SP access02.jpg, Boardwalk and pavilion File:Pensacola FL Perdido Key SP access03.jpg, Pavilion File:Pensacola FL Perdido Key SP beach west01.jpg, Beach, looking west File:Pensacola FL Perdido Key SP beach north01.jpg, Beach, looking north

References

External links

Florida State Parks
Parks in Escambia County, Florida State parks of Florida {{EscambiaCountyFL-geo-stub