Welaka Primitive Campsites Camping

The Florida state park system consists of 176 units managed by the Florida Park Service (FPS), a division of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. It encompasses more than 819,000 acres (331,000 ha) distributed across 63 of Florida's 67 counties.
Established in 1935, the system ranges from pre-Columbian archaeological sites to first-magnitude springs, coral reefs, and roadless barrier islands accessible only by boat. Thirteen units contain National Natural Landmarks. Several parks began as private tourist attractions. Homosassa Springs and Rainbow Springs became state parks around 1990, Weeki Wachee Springs in 2008, and Silver Springs in 2013. The newest unit in the Florida park system is Shoal River Headwaters State Park in Walton County, which was acquired on October 7, 2025, and opened to the public on January 23, 2026.
In fiscal year 2024–25, more than 28 million people visited the state parks and trails, generating over $75 million in revenue from user fees and concessions. The division had about 1,040 full-time-equivalent positions and was supported by 30,880 volunteers, while 80 citizen support organizations, the parks' local "Friends" groups, contributed $5.3 million in capital improvements, equipment, and maintenance. The Florida Park Service was the first state park system to win the National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management four times, in 1999, 2005, 2013, and 2019.
The Florida state park system was most recently enumerated in the Florida Park Service's July 2026 jurisdiction report. The system's history, including the racial segregation of its parks until the mid-1960s, is covered at Florida Park Service. That article also covers Royal Palm State Park, which was never run by the park service: the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs ran it from 1916 until 1947, when it became part of Everglades National Park.

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