As of 2024, there are 156 Florida state parks with amenities specific to accessibility, according to the Florida Park Services. This can be attributed to recent efforts to enhance accessibility that the Florida Park Services discussed last Friday on the official Florida State Parks Facebook page. These efforts have included making beach wheelchairs available at all coastal state parks, stabilizing uneven walking paths into flatter terrain with specialized mobility mats, and adding pool lifts to applicable recreational areas — and some new options have recently made their way to a few different State Parks. Silver Springs State Park, located in Silver Springs near Ocala, now has a dedicated wheelchair-accessible boat in its fleet of nine for the glass bottom boat tour. Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine now has elevated boardwalks leading to the beach, mobi-mats that provide beach access, and free beach wheelchairs. William J. “Billy Joe” Rish Recreation Area, located in Port Saint Joe, now has a chair lift in addition to a wheelchair access ramp for its four-foot-deep pool. The Florida Park Service, founded in 1935, strives to achieve access for everyone. State parks not only allow but also welcome visitors who require service animals, wheelchairs, and manually-powered mobility aids to explore state parks anywhere that accommodates regular foot traffic. Visitors with mobile disabilities are also permitted to use other power-driven mobility devices. If you need to request accommodations for your next visit to a state park, reach out to the specific state park in advance or call the visitor information line at 850-245-2157 or the Florida Relay Service at 711. View a complete list of accessible state parks in Florida here. Article by Ema Tibbetts
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