NAVARRE BEACH MARINE PARK

Navarre Beach Marine Park is one of the premier recreational and leisure destinations on Santa Rosa Island. It aims to promote the appreciation, conservation, and understanding of the marine ecosystem of coastal Florida through education and service. Marine Park’s shining white sands are perfect for sunbathing, swimming, and seashell-hunting. It also provides opportunities for snorkeling, diving, fishing, and marine-biology and conservation education abound.

Navarre Beach Activity Schedule

Also known as “Florida’s Playground,” Marine Park is often the first destination for visitors of Navarre Beach. It is the connecting point between the Gulf of Mexico and Santa Rosa Sound, with activities below and above sea level. The Marine Park is open to the public free of charge, from dawn ‘til dusk daily.

 

NAVARRE BEACH MARINE PARK ATTRACTIONS

Navarre Beach Marine Science Station

Navarre Beach Marine Science Station is an excellent place to learn about marine life, watersheds, and the important relationships between them.

Thousands of students from across Florida and the Gulf Coast come here to learn through hands-on activities from touch tanks to dolphin rescue. Families and visitors of all ages can also take part by registering in advance for vacation activities. Private tours of the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station are now available and offer an up-close and personal experience.

You can also find more information from our article about the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station.

Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center

The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center is a working conservation and education center that aims to conserve and protect threatened and endangered sea turtles through community education and partnered research. It is a mainly volunteer-run organization open to the public year-round. Through the doors of the NBSTCC, guests enter the main pool exhibit featuring a 15,000-gallon saltwater pool, home to Sweet Pea, a non-releasable green sea turtle, and ambassador-in-residence of the NBSTCC.

Navarre Beach Activity Schedule

At the Shanna Litterst Education Center, Pumpkin, a Diamondback Terrapin, takes the lead. Meet sea horses, and tackle the magnetic puzzle wall. Your journey through the center will create a desire to conserve and protect our shared marine life that is home to sea turtles and so much more.

Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary and Artificial Reefs

The Navarre Beach Marine Sanctuary and Artificial Reefs consists of 3 separate reef areas off the shores of Navarre Beach Marine Park. Two sites are in Santa Rosa Sound with 105 reef trees and one is in the Gulf of Mexico with 78 trees for a total of 183 individual reef trees placed at the 3 sites. Each tree consists of 3 or 4 branches to provide more reef surface area.

Designed for both snorkeling and diving, the park includes two reefs in Santa Rosa Sound and one in the Gulf of Mexico. Informational kiosks stand at the beach near each reef.

 

AMENITIES

• The park is home to five different beach access points, the three primary points on the gulf side of the park, and two additional, smaller access points on the Santa Rosa Sound side of the park.
• Two of these five access points also have diving reefs for snorkeling and scuba diving.
• It has a roughly one-mile long path for walking, running, and bicycling.
• A dozen pavilions with picnic tables and coal-fueled stoves are available for picnics and outdoor meals.
• All five beach access points have public restrooms.

Navarre Beach Activity Schedule

DIRECTIONS

Address: 8739 Gulf Blvd, Navarre, FL 32566, United States

The park is located at the intersection of Gulf Boulevard and the Causeway Road in Navarre Beach. After crossing the bridge into Navarre Beach, turn left on Gulf Boulevard.

If you are looking for other things to do in Navarre Beach check out our article on exactly that.