Welcome to the Real Florida: A Look into Anastasia State Park

By Holly Hearn

“Welcome to… the real Florida.”

That’s what a sign read as I drove into Anastasia State Park for the first time on Sept. 7. The sign was right— there were no overdone, eye-catching attractions in sight, like there are in more well-known parts of Florida.

Anastasia State Park has rightfully been given lots of attention lately, with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection wanting to develop state parks with lodges, golf courses, pickleball courts and more. Governor Ron DeSantis tabled the plans on Aug. 28 following a state-wide uproar, but why did people care so much?

Visitors are attracted to the park because of its 1,600 acres of untouched beaches, marshes and dunes. There is wildlife all around, animals tucked in the trees and birds flying through the skies. Those looking to visit the park can walk the nature trail, spend time on the beach, camp, drive down the roads, and more.

In all the time I’ve spent visiting and now living in St. Augustine, I had never been to Anastasia State Park.

Right before the entrance to the park, I passed the huge signs for the Alligator Farm, the neon signs of the Surf Station and the parking lot entrance to the lighthouse gift shop. The drive into the park could not be more opposite— just small informational signs tucked into thick greenery.

The farther I drove into the park, the farther away I felt from the busyness of St. Augustine. I was surprised that a place like this existed in a very populated area.

As I passed by group picnic tables and a gazebo, I saw friends and families of all ages out for lunch among the trees and other wildlife. I went around the walkway, and rather than hearing hundreds of cars passing by, all I could hear was the leaves in the wind and the bugs around me.

From there, I wandered to an empty open field of marshland where the only building in sight was the far-off St. Augustine Lighthouse. No one else was around, and all I heard was animals moving around in the trees. The land was so untouched that it was hard to believe that an entire city filled with cars, hotels, attractions, and tours was only a short road away.

Going farther into the park, I found the beach where many people were enjoying a day out with their friends and family. It wasn’t even just St. Augustine locals there, either. There were license plates from South Carolina, Pennsylvania and even as far as California. As someone not from Florida, I could see why people cared so much about visiting the park during their vacations.

Anastasia State Park is one of the only fully untouched places left in St. Augustine. The city’s history draws tourists from all over the world to visit, encouraging more development of hotels and other attractions. The land is always being developed to accommodate everyone moving here, not to mention places for tourists to stay. What was once a small town is now a growing city. Anastasia State Park provides an escape from all of that.

The park is the opposite of the rest of the city, yet it represents St. Augustine’s history just as much as the standard tourist attractions, like the Lightner Museum, Old Jail and Flagler’s Ponce Hall. It is a look into what St. Augustine and all of Florida is at its roots.

As I spent time in the park, all I could think about was the fact that there were actually people who wanted to turn Anastasia and other parks like it statewide into places for more tourist activities. I could not imagine all the greenery being cleared to make room for a 350-room lodge (which would be the second largest in St. Johns County), pickleball courts, and golf and disc golf courses, according to the St. John’s County website.

When news broke about the potential development of Anastasia State Park, the communal response reflected that St. Augustine could not exist without this park. Growing up, my parents and I would visit our family in St. Augustine every year, and we always spent most of our time on Anastasia Island.

Driving down A1A, with Anastasia State Park on your left, separated me from the other busier parts of town and brought me toward my favorite part of St. Augustine.

All of those trees being replaced in the last bit of “real Florida” was heartbreaking to me.