Guana Pine State Park and Wildlife Management Area

Guana Pine State Park and Wildlife Management Area is also the Guana River State Park and Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. It is the 25th research reserve in the United States. The actual park is between St. Augustine and Jacksonville, Florida though it is closer to Jacksonville. It is also in St. Johns County. The reserve was set up as a federal and state partnership to offer protection to the island, beach, and natural landscape. There is a state administrator onsite and NOAA for the federal funds.

The park consists of 60,000 acres with beaches, salt marches, dunes, mangroves, wetlands, oyster bars, tidal creeks, lagoons, a hardwood hammock, pond pine sections, and freshwater depression marshes.

As far back as 1957, some of the land was being protected to provide a winter habitat for waterfowl. They also damned the Guana River to create marshland and Guana Lake. Through the project many aquatic and land mammals are protected. Guests of the park can often see porpoises, alligators, manatees, whales, and bald eagles. Recreationally, visitors can find hiking trails, fishing, picnicking, and boating activities. There are nine miles of hiking trails at Guana State Park Reserve.