I was in the southwest part of the state when I stated my very first State Parking camping expedition. I was at a friends house and I needed to get to the other side of the state to start my camping journey. I left at 4:30 a.m. and  it took me about 3 ½ hours to travel across the state and my first stop was Indian River Lagoon Preserve State Park.

The booklet did stay that public access was limited but I did not think it meant close to non-existent! I followed the GPS and ended up at a little store and kayak rental place in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing but cleared land on one side of me and water on the other. I sat in my car double checking the address for the state park. A confused man came over from the kayak place and asked me how I ended up there. I told him I was looking for a state park and he had no clue there was even one around, interesting! I just shrugged my shoulders, looked around, and then pulled up the address for the next park.

A few months later I found out that I could have used one of those kayaks because Indian River Lagoon is actually in the water and you need a water vessel to get to it. It is located on a barrier island near Melbourne. I had no idea. I am looking forward to a visit there because it has lots of wildlife and unique plants. It is also designated an Outstanding Florida Water and an Estuary of National Significance, which I found to be pretty awesome.

Before you visit, make sure you check out the parks website for all of the up-to-date park information: https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/indian-river-lagoon-preserve-state-park