Honeymoon
State Park is one in a chain of sheltering barrier islands that extend from
Anclote Key, south to Cape Romano on Florida's Gulf coast. Research of
low-lying " burial mounds" on adjacent islands suggest that the
first residents were the Tocobaga tribe. By the 1530's Spanish explorers
had visited these sandy lagoons, and as the years passed, they were followed
by pirates, traders and fishermen.
By 1964 the gap between the island and the mainland was bridged by a
causeway, and in 1974 the area became a State Recreation Area. At one
end of this sandy spit of land is one of the few remaining south Florida
slash pine stands. These tall trees and rich marine life support an
important sanctuary for many Osprey nests. Mangrove swamps, sand dunes
and salt marshes provide shelter for a Pelican colony, and more than two
hundred species of plants, including many which are threatened or
endangered.