We approach St. George Island a long, narrow barrier island on a slow two lane road coming across from Destin, Florida.  It’s been many, many years since we’ve been here.  We used to drive here from Atlanta for long weekends during the 80’s!

There are two bridges to cross until we get there, and it’s a clear, sunny day, so I take some photos from the passenger seat of Island Girl.

As we’re driving across the last bridge, we see the restored Cape St. George Light lighthouse (more on that in a later post).  We are here to spend time at this beautiful state park once again and to visit our friends, Terry and Jim, who live here.  This Florida portion of our journey is definitely the “friends and family tour”.

We arrive at the town of St. George Island and realize not much has changed.  Yes, there are more houses, but the town has maintained an old fashioned beach town look and feel.  That’s why it’s called “the uncommon Florida”.  In fact, Franklin County, which includes various unincorporated towns in addition to this one, is called “the forgotten coast” because of the lack of high density development that you see in many other parts of Florida.

At the end of the long strip of town, we enter the park.  The St. George Island State Park has nine miles of undeveloped beaches and dunes on the Gulf of Mexico and covers 1,962 acres of the east end of the island.   The sun is setting and the park is wild and scenic.

We settle into our campsite just in time to hook up and get our chairs, tables, and other “stuff” out before it gets dark.  It’s surrounded by pine trees and vines.  It’s not as “manicured” looking as the Henderson Beach campsites, but that’s the point of this area.  It’s truly unspoiled.

~ Brenda