Honeymoon Island State Park

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Honeymoon Island State Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Pinellas County, Florida, USA
Nearest city	Dunedin, FloridaNearest city: Dunedin, Florida
Coordinates	28°04′08″N 82°49′52″W / 28.06889°N 82.83111°W / 28.06889; -82.83111Coordinates: 28°04′08″N 82°49′52″W / 28.06889°N 82.83111°W / 28.06889; -82.83111
Area	2,785 acres (11 km2)
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Honeymoon Island State Park is a Florida State Park located on Honeymoon Island, a barrier island across St. Joseph's Sound from Palm Harbor, Ozona, and Crystal Beach. The park is 385 acres (1.6 km²) in land area with 2,400 acres (10 km²) submerged and 4 miles (6 km) of beach. It lies at the western end of Causeway Boulevard, which becomes Curlew Road east of Alternate US 19. The address is 1 Causeway Blvd.

[edit] History

Honeymoon and neighboring Caladesi Island were originally part of a large barrier island that split in half during a major hurricane in 1921. The waterway between the islands is known as Hurricane Pass.

According to the Florida Park Service, Honeymoon Island was introduced to the American public in the early 1940s through newsreels and magazines. The advertisements promised undiscovered pleasures for newlyweds. According to the Dunedin Museum, located in Dunedin, FL on Florida's mainland which lay's claim to both Honeymoon Island and Caladesi, Island, FL, Honeymoon Island was formerly known as Hog Island. In the early 1940's, honeymoon-type huts were built on the island for vacationing, and the name was changed. Many of the popular cast members of the Wizard of Oz (1939), including the "Lollipop Guild" midgets (dwarfs) vacationed in these facilities to help to publicize their availability. Unfortunately, World War II happened and the island paradise with thatched huts slipped into the history books. The structures were torn down as the island ownership became a state park. However, the name stuck. A causeway leading to the island was constructed in 1964 and today Honeymoon's pleasures can still be found.

One of the island's services, that of a ferry to Caladesi Island, is only for convenience to those in the Honeymoon Island area to reach Caladesi Island across Hurricane Bay. Caladesi Island is easily accessible by walking from Clearwater Beach, FL as it has been for decades, and is only separated by a "welcome sign" from the south.

[edit] Biology

The barrier island park is a refuge for a number of species of plants and animals including south Florida slash pines, mangroves and several threatened and endangered species. Osprey and various species of tern, plover and wading birds reside on the island or stop during spring & fall bird migration.

In the Fall of 2008, a pair of Bald Eagles made a nest on Osprey Trail in the park. Visitors must stay back 300 feet from the nest, but it is well marked and easily observed with binoculars.

[edit] Recreational activities

Activities include birding, fishing, hiking and sunbathing. Amenities include picnic pavilions, bathhouses, a park concession, nature trails, bird observation areas, a pet beach and a ferry to Caladesi Island State Park.

[edit] Hours

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

[edit] Gallery

On the beach looking north with the Gulf of Mexico on the left		Commemorative bench	Hurricane Pass
	Palmetto	Sea oats	Slash pine and palmetto
Picnic table with St. Joseph's Sound in the background

[edit] References and external links

• Honeymoon Island State Park at Florida State Parks
• Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area at Absolutely Florida

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