Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park may be a mouthful, but it is a wonderful place to visit. It’s also only about a half hour south of Tallahassee, so it makes a wonderful day-trip from the Capitol city. There are several reasons to visit Wakulla Springs beyond the obvious namesake springs, which provide a great place to swim year round. The 1930’s era Wakulla Lodge is a peak at yesteryear, offering 27 guest rooms (book early), a full service restaurant and a neat soda fountain where you can try the park’s signature soft drink, the Ginger Yip. A ranger-led boat trip down the Wakulla River was the real highlight for me though. At just $8, it may be the best bargain in the state. Our captain/guide gave a wonderful running commentary on the flora and fauna of the area and we really saw a lot on our trip. We saw hundreds of birds, dozens of alligators, a few snakes and even a pair of manatee. You can see why this area was chosen to film the Tarzan movies and Creature From The Black Lagoon. While most of these photos were taken on a cloudy morning, it did clear up in the afternoon for a few of them. This was one of my favorite state parks which I visited in the state, and I would definitely recommend it if you are in the area. I hope you enjoy these photos from Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park.
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I am a big fan of State Parks, and West Virginia has a pretty extensive network of State Parks to choose from. I spent a lot of time in West Virginia State Parks and was generally really impressed by how they were run and what they had to offer. While they weren’t perfect, I think a lot of thought is put into West Virginia State Parks, and a lot of what they are doing could be a model for other states which are looking to build their state park systems.
The first thing I would applaud West Virginia State Parks for is, unfortunately, already outdated by the time you will read this. I loved that West Virginia State Parks were free to enter when I was there. That meant that they were there for everyone to enjoy, and I would often see a sign and just pull in to check it out. Starting this year, the state will charge a fee in its most visited parks. While I know this will be a nominal fee, I say leave them free. The parks generate a lot of revenue through lodging and camping fees, restaurants, gift shops, snack bars and vendors. But there are those, especially in a state like West Virginia, who truly can’t afford to pay, but still want to bring their kids to the lake or out hiking. I wish the state would reconsider this...