The Department of Environmental Protection’s Florida Park Service announces the closure of 18 state parks in Northwest Florida due to imminent weather conditions including strong winds and rain.
The following state parks are closing today at 5 p.m. local time:
- Big Lagoon State Park (Escambia County
- Blackwater Heritage State Trail (Santa Rosa County)
- Blackwater River State Park (Santa Rosa County)
- Camp Helen State Park (Bay County)
- Constitution Convention Museum State Park (Gulf County)
- Deer Lake State Park (Walton County)
- Eden Gardens State Park (Walton County)
- Falling Waters State Park (Washington County)
- Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park (Okaloosa County)
- Grayton Beach State Park (Walton County)
- Henderson Beach State Park (Okaloosa County)
- Perdido Key State Park (Escambia County)
- Ponce de Leon Springs State Park (Holmes, Walton Counties)
- St. Andrews State Park (Bay County)
- T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park (Gulf County)
- Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park (Escambia County)
- Topsail Hill Preserve State Park (Walton County)
- Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park (Santa Rosa County)
Visitor safety is paramount in the decision to close and open Florida State Parks during times of severe weather. Additionally, Florida State Parks are in constant communication with state and local emergency operations centers and will close based on conditions and location.
Please visit floridastateparks.org and the Florida State Parks Facebook page for continuously updated information.
Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in preparation for Tropical Storm Nate. Visit FloridaDisaster.org for updates and information about this storm.
The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane season runs from June 1 – Nov. 30. For additional information about severe weather in Florida, and to “Get a Plan,” visit FLGetAPlan.com. For continuous updates and preparation tips, follow the State Emergency Response Team on Twitter at @FLSERT and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FloridaSERT.