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Anastasia Island State Park

Just minutes from all of the tourist hubbub of busy St. Augustine, Florida we discovered a tranquil hideout with miles of beautiful beaches to explore, swimming, fishing, nature trails, comfortable campsites, and a chance to learn a little bit about Florida’s early history. 

Anastasia Island State Park, located just off State Route A1A, is the perfect base from which to take in all of the activities and history St. Augustine has to offer, or just to sit back and relax as you watch the waves roll in off the Atlantic Ocean. Whatever you enjoy most; from long walks along the beach to trying to catch your supper in the surf, or just relaxing around the campfire, you’ll find it at Anastasia Island State Park!

In recent years' hurricanes damaged many Florida beaches, but Anastasia Island came through the storms in good shape, with miles of wide, flat beaches to enjoy. Go for a long walk along the surf line, watch osprey and numerous other species of birds, cast a line near the jetties, go for a swim, or if you are really adventurous, rent a surfboard and ride the waves. Lifeguards are on duty from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Ask the Ranger Station about current ocean conditions, and always heed the advice and warnings posted for your protection. Swimming is allowed north of the beach ramp. Swimming is discouraged south of the beach ramp due to strong currents and the absence of lifeguards.

People from all over the world come to Anastasia Island State Park to enjoy the beach. But humans are not the only ones to appreciate this luscious waterfront. Many different species of birds can be seen on the island. In the summertime loggerhead sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in nests they build on the beach. In each nest they deposit about 120 ping pong ball sized eggs. After a two-month incubation period the turtle hatchlings emerge and scramble to the ocean to begin a dangerous 25 year journey to adulthood. Predators are many, and only a tiny fraction survive.

The park features a self-guided nature trail that allows you to walk over ancient sand dunes now covered with a hardwood hammock. Brochures describing the birds and trees found in the hammock are available at the ranger station upon request.

History buffs will find the old Spanish quarry at Anastasia Island State Park interesting. More than 300 years ago Native American laborers were put to work by the Spanish, hauling blocks of rock from the quarry. With hand tools, they hewed out squares of the soft shell-stone and pried the squares loose along natural layers in the rock. They loaded the blocks onto ox-drawn carts, then barged them across Matanzas Bay to the town of St. Augustine. The blocks were used to construct the Castillo de San Marcos and many other public and private buildings.

From its founding in 1565, St. Augustine had been a struggling outpost of Spain's American empire. Spanish soldiers built their fort and homes out of the plentiful local pine trees and palmetto. Time after time, their wooden settlement was destroyed or burned by pirates and other European raiders.  

On Anastasia Island, the Spaniards discovered a better building material - deposits of a rock made of broken shells. As early as 1598, they dug enough to build a gunpowder storage magazine. But they had neither the manpower, the engineering skills, nor the tools to excavate enough for a large structure. Finally, in 1671, large-scale quarrying began in the stone pits. Anastasia Island was even called "Cantera", Spanish for "quarry". The marked site is one of several quarries on the island. The St. Augustine Amphitheatre is located in another.

Coquina rock is relatively soft and easy to cut while in the ground; it hardens when exposed to air. The word "coquina" means "tiny shell" in Spanish. The rock is a mixture of shell fragments and quartz grains bound together by calcium carbonate. It began to form when sea levels were higher and today's coast was underwater. Sand and shells accumulated as an offshore bar. Later, during a glacial period about 125,000 - 100,000 years ago, the sea level dropped, leaving the bar exposed to the air and weather. Rain dissolved calcium carbonate from the shells, and the calcium carbonate cemented the loose, shelly sediment into rock.

The Spanish learned to waterproof the stone walls by coating them with plaster and paint. Coquina rock has a unique feature that made it ideal for a fort. When besieging ships bombarded the Castillo, the walls simply absorbed the cannon balls. The fort was never captured in battle.

Coquina continued to be a prized building material not only to the Spanish, but later to the British (1763-83) and the Americans (1821). By the later 1700s, the Native American population had died out and quarry workers were usually enslaved Africans.

For RVers, Anastasia State Park has a 139 site campground. Each site has a picnic table, an in-ground grill, fire ring and water, and electricity. None of the sites have sewer hookups, but there is a dump station located in the campground, as well as dumpsters. There are two public telephones in the park; one is located in the camping area and one at the picnic area. Each of the campsites is located in a shady hardwood hammock, away from the blowing sand and salt spray of the beach. However, most sites are within walking distance to the beach. There are natural barriers between each site that allow privacy. Since one of the goals in state parks is preservation, site sizes vary. There are a few sites that can accommodate camping rigs up to 40'. Reservations for campsites may be made up to eleven months in advance by contacting ReserveAmerica, toll-free, at 1-800 326-3521 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nightly camping fees are $23,  plus tax.

Camping supplies can be purchased at Island Joe’s, located near the entrance to the beach. This concession-operated park store offers camping supplies, ice and firewood and has bicycles, beach/water-related and recreational equipment available for rental.

Anastasia Island State Park also offers the Bedtime Story Camper Lending Library of picture books for campers aged four to nine. From pelicans to insects, the Lending Library is a fun way to enhance children’s experience in the Real Florida. For a quiet afternoon or bedtime, share a story to help explain the sights and sounds of Anastasia State Park. Ask the Ranger Station about how to check out a book.

Whatever you come to Anastasia Island State Park for, you’re sure to have a good time. The park’s address is 1340A Highway A1A South, St. Augustine, Florida 32080. For more information, call 904-461-2033.