Gasparilla Island State Park is a

Florida State Park There are 175 state parks and 9 state trails in the U.S. state of Florida which encompass more than , providing recreational opportunities for both residents and tourists. Almost half of the state parks have an associated local 501(c)(3) non-pr ...

located south of Boca Grande on

Gasparilla Island Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park. The island has been an ...

off Charlotte Harbor and

Pine Island Sound Pine Island Sound is located in Lee County, Florida, lying between Pine Island and the barrier islands of Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, North Captiva Island and Cayo Costa, which separate the Sound from the Gulf of Mexico. The Sound connects t ...

. Activities include swimming and fishing along with shelling, picnicking, and viewing the Historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse. Among the wildlife of the park are

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

gopher tortoise The gopher tortoise (''Gopherus polyphemus'') is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. The gopher tortoise is seen as a keystone species because it digs burrows that provide ...

, bald eagle,

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

least tern The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Ot ...

, royal tern,

Sandwich tern The Sandwich tern (''Thalasseus sandvicensis'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (''T. bengalensis''), Chinese crested tern (''T. bernsteini''), Cabot's tern (''T. acuflavidus''), and elega ...

, and black skimmer. Amenities include four parking lots, two picnic areas with covered tables, beaches, and Historic Port Boca Grande Lighthouse on the southern end of the island. The Port Boca Grande Lighthouse contains a museum and gift shop, and is run by the Barrier Island Park Society, a nonprofit that supports the Gasparilla Island State Park.

Gallery

File:Gasparilla Island SP bdwk02.jpg File:Gasparilla Island SP beach03.jpg File:Gasparilla Island SP beach05.jpg File:Gasparilla Island SP beach06.jpg File:Gasparilla Island SP pavillion01.jpg File:Boca Grande-4130.jpg File:Gaspirilla National Park-4840.jpg

Gallery

References and external links