Caladesi Island State Park is located in Dunedin, FL. It is a large barrier Island connected to Clearwater Beach. The Island was formally known as Hog Island,until a hurricane came though and split the Island into two different parks (Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island).
There are many different ecosystems at Caladesi Island. The few main ecosystems are beach dune, maritime hammock, coastal strand, mangrove forests, and pine flat woods. The park seemed to be doing well with all three visits that I made. There was evidence of a prescribed fire the third time I had gone to the park, as you can see below.
There was a lot of different plant and animal species there, but the ones that I saw were a gopher tortoise, evidence of a raccoon, evidence of ghost crabs, butterflies, ants, and sponges that had washed up on shore. I also saw various types of birds, such as; seagull, ospreys, and great blue herons.
Something that I thought was unique about this beautiful park would be that it is never groomed and it is preserved so that it can maintain its natural ecosystems. The park will also never be developed. This is a great place for kayaking, especially in the mangrove forest. Swimming is also recommended because the water is nice and clear, but beware of stingrays!
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