Welcome to the Guadalupe Mountains National Park – A Texas Treasure

There are many wonderful parks in the state of Texas, but few can offer the combination of natural beauty, rugged wilderness and fascinating wildlife found at Guadalupe Mountain national park. This Texas treasure provides hikers, campers and nature lovers a chance to explore the wilderness, get away from it all and take a break from the stresses of everyday life.

This unique national park is home to perhaps the finest example of fossilized reef on the planet, and it is a source of endless fascination for nature lovers, scientists and others with an interest in the planet’s long and fascinating history.

Hontoon Island: Take a Break and Explore “Real” Florida

Hontoon Island State Park—all 1,650 acres of it—lies in the middle of the beautiful St. Johns River, which flows from the teeming marshes west of Vero Beach to where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville. The St. Johns has been designated an American Heritage River. It is Florida’s longest river.

Hontoon Island is accessible only by private boat (dock space, including overnight dockage, is available on a first come, first serve basis) or the park’s all-electric ferry, which passengers pick up at the landing at 2309 River Ridge Road (off State Road 44) in DeLand. The ferry operates from 8:00 a.m. until one hour before sunset.

Ichetucknee Springs

Ichetucknee Springs State Park is in north central Florida, about 40 miles north of Gainesville (home of the University of Florida and the Gators) and five miles north of Fort White, a little town that experienced a mini-boom once Ichetucknee went from a secret natural wonder on an unpaved, unmarked road on private property to a full-fledge state park in 1970. After meandering off from the Santa Fe, the Ichetucknee River flows into the Suwanee and, eventually, into the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Department of the Interior declared the Ichetucknee River’s head spring a National Natural Landmark in 1972.

Before long, Ichetucknee’s glory was no longer a secret. It became the most popular river for tubing in the world. In the peak summer months, upwards of five thousand people per day would grab an inner tube and float down the river. And that didn’t count people who came to picnic, swim, hike, kayak, canoe, snorkel and scuba dive the caves.