Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park is a

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

that stretches from Cedar Key and Yankee Town, and is only accessible by boat. It includes the part of Gulf Hammock wetlands area that is closest to the Gulf. Some access points are from County Road 40 in Yankee Town, by boat down the

Waccasassa River The Waccasassa River is a small, isolated river in Levy County, Florida, flowing through the Gulf Hammock (wetlands), Gulf Hammock wetlands and emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. The river is long, and has a drainage basin of . Three-quarters of ...

from the community of Gulf Hammock, and Cedar Key. It is the home to numerous species of saltwater

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

and

shellfish Shellfish is a colloquial and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater envir ...

, as well as many

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

and

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

, including manatees,

alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

s and black bears. The bay is also the only known habitat for a highly endangered species of rodent, the Florida salt marsh vole (''Microtus dukecampbelli''). Florida wacca bay

Hours

Florida state parks are open between 8 a.m. and sundown every day of the year (including holidays).

References

External links

Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park
a
Florida State Parks
State parks of Florida Parks in Levy County, Florida Swamps of Florida National Natural Landmarks in Florida Landforms of Levy County, Florida 1976 establishments in Florida Protected areas established in 1976 {{LevyCountyFL-geo-stub