The panhandle is so full of beauty, and you can miss it so easily! St. Joseph State Park on Cape San Blas was not on our radar until we took a back road back to our campground and passed a sign for it. When we looked it up, we realized it was the spit of land we could see from our campsite, and decided to stop in for a few minutes to check it out before we left the area.
On the last full day of our trip, we made the turn to Cape San Blas and followed a narrow road past heavy development of a mix of beach homes and vacation houses. There are some nature trails in the area. But the farther back you go, the sparser the development, until you are in an area of sand and pine scrub. As we entered the State Park, we asked the ranger what we ask all park rangers: “What’s your favorite part of this park?” She answered, with no apparent joy, “The way it was before the hurricane.” We assume she meant Hurricane Michael and not Sally, but we did not ask because she was not at all friendly. Not expecting much of the place after this, we parked the car and climbed the boardwalk over the dune to the beach.
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