When I arrived at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park at 8:30 am, I spoke, at length, to the park ranger at the front gate and he strongly encouraged me to take the 10 a.m. tour of the park that was given each day. Usually I am not one to wait around but he was very excited about the tour so I figured I better check it out. While I waited I walked around the gift shop, toured the nature center, and walked the boardwalk to the beach. Finally, 10 a.m. rolled around.
I was the only one there waiting for the tour. At first I was going to tell my guide not to worry about taking me but I had been waiting and I wanted to be toured around so off we went. Gillian and I became fast friends and her tour was amazing. Turns out it is a volunteer position and I was her first official tour. She taught me about the park, told me all about John and informed me of the importance of the parks preservation. The park is vital to the waterways and on the environment as a whole. I am so thankful that John D. MacArthur had the vision to save the ecosystem from the urban world that was already closing in around that precious park.
Gillian also told me about some really cool places to see unique aquatic animals and a pretty neat watering hole too. We walked through the mangroves and up to the beach and then our tour came to an end. I could have hung out there the whole day, the park was so big and beautiful. I am happy I waited for the tour. The universe had a way of providing my soul just what it needed during my park visits.
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/john-d-macarthur-beach-state-park
