Home
Honeymoon Island - this state park features sunbathing, shelling, swimming, fishing, picnic pavilions, bathhouses and a park concession building. The Caladesi Island ferry departs from Honeymoon Island. Like Caladesi Island, Honeymoon Island is one of the stateís few undisturbed barrier islands. The Island also features two bird observation areas, a pet beach, two nature trails and one of the few remaining south Florida virgin slash pine stands. These large trees serve as important nesting sites for osprey. Honeymoon Island has more than 208 species of plants and a variety of shore birds, including several threatened and endangered species. The Island has a long history considering it is only 7,000 years old. Originally settled by members of the Tocobaga tribe of Native Americans, a wave of explorers, pirates, traders and fisherman came and went. Originally named Sand Island, a successful hog farm changed the islandís moniker to Hog Island in the 1880s. A hurricane in 1921 separated what is now Caladesi Island. In the 1940s, 50 palm-thatched bungalows were built for honeymooning couples but were eventually used as R&R sites for wartime factory workers.
|
