Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park

Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Clay County, Florida, USA
Nearest city	Keystone Heights, Florida
Coordinates	29°49′55″N 81°57′11″W
Area	2,000 acres (8.1 km2)
Established	1935
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Gold Head Branch State Park, a Florida State Park, is 2,000 acres (8 km²) of rolling sandhills, marshes, ravines, lakes and scrub located midway between Gainesville and Jacksonville, six miles (10 km) north of Keystone Heights on SR 21.

Biology

Among the wildlife of the park are fox squirrels, southeastern kestrels, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, turkeys, and gopher tortoises. The park also has pocket gopher, fox, white-tailed deer and variety of water and wading birds. The park has a diversity of wild flowers. Among them are blazing Star, goldenrod, and lopsided Indian grass.

Recreational activities

Activities include fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, swimming, hiking and wildlife viewing. Amenities include full facility camping, lakeside cabins, a picnic area overlooking Little Lake Johnson, and a beach on the lake. The park also has four marked hiking trails and a seven mile (11 km) equestrian trail.

Hours

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

References and external links

Media related to Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park at Wikimedia Commons

• Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park at Florida State Parks
• Gold Head Branch State Park at State Parks
• Gold Head Branch State Park at Absolutely Florida
• Gold Head Branch State Park at Wildernet