Ginny's Journeys Ginny's Adventures 2009

Smyrna Dunes Park Apr 27, 2009

I came to the Smyrna Dunes Park in the early afternoon and spent almost 2 hours walking the 1.5 mile boardwalk around desert-like sand dunes along with 4 other ecosystems common to the shores of Florida. A county employee was walking along, hammering nails into the boards. I talked to her for a few minutes and learned that she walked the trail 3 times each day and inspected the boardwalk each time. I should expect to find 5 ecosystems along the trail and could see some snakes, gopher tortoises, and other animals I can’t remember. I saw a couple of tortoises but no snakes, thank goodness.

There are a few covered pavilions with picnic tables and grills along the trail. There are also a few access areas to the ocean. If I wanted to picnic or spend time on the beach here, I would have to have a wagon to bring all the stuff we usually tote for those activities. Bicycles are not allowed. I was glad that it was partly cloudy and a little breezy or I might not have been able to complete this walk. I loved that I got to see the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse from across the water with the sand dunes in the foreground. While there were plenty of parking spots when I arrived, there were none when I left and I saw that there were quite a few elderly women who had just come. I hope they weren’t going out around that boardwalk at this time of day! Oh, the other thing about this park – there is a side trail just for dogs and they are allowed in the park from 8-10 AM and from 5-8 PM when it closes. How nice!