Topsail Hill State Park in Destin, Florida

This Trail of the Month is brought to you by our Vice President, Lale Lovell, PhD.

Florida Road Trip

Being an east coast girl, I spent many a vacation loading into the car and driving down to Florida. I was lucky enough this spring to get to repeat the experience with my mom, Lila. We started off in Virginia and, after a few stops including picking up my Aunt Sallie, we found ourselves at a beachfront condo in Destin, Florida.

As relaxing as hanging out at the beach can be, I always like to try and find places that represent what it was like before all the resorts moved in and, luckily, there are several state parks along the shore that fit that bill. We decided to spend an afternoon exploring one, Topsail Hill Preserve State Park.

Start Your Journey

Right as we arrived at the parking lot, we hopped on a trolley that took you down into the park. I was really impressed the park had this running, for it made it so that people of all activity levels can get around the park. The trolley driver was very helpful and suggested a short hike that my mom (in blue) and aunt (in pink) could tackle. I was just happy to be out in nature!

The Route

After a few minutes, we made it to the lake. No Name Lake is a dune lake. These are permanent bodies of water within 2 miles of the coast. They are quite rare but this coastal section of Florida has a string of them. You can’t really tell, but the ocean is right over the lake in the second picture.

After leaving my mom and aunt to catch the trolley back, I headed down the Turpentine Trail. Turpentine Trail’s name comes from the fact there was an active turpentine industry here. The flat trail went through a beautiful old growth forest. It’s hard to believe this was the coast of Florida before it became such a big vacation destination.

I came to a fork and decided to go see the Campbell Lake, which is another coastal dune lake. It was a bit bigger than No Name.

I took the trail back, and it connected with a nicely paved bike trail that runs through the whole park. The bike trail passed the real start of the Turpentine Trail but I had to get back, so I took the trolley trail to the parking lot. It was only 80 degrees that day, but it was hot! I think I’ve lived too long in Colorado for I didn’t have much tolerance for the humidity.

Our Time in Topsail Hill State Park Comes To a Close

I was quite proud of my mom and aunt for coming along on my adventure, even though we didn’t really know what the accessibility would be like. My mom and I had never heard of dune lakes before, and it turns out my aunt, who has lived in Florida for decades, hadn’t seen one either. So, it was a fun afternoon of discovery for all of us!

---

---