"If you have found a quiet bench in a quiet park and sat down, be sure you had a very profitable…read moreday!" ~Mehmet Murat ildan - The me in me is contemplative. As Brother Lawrence said about contemplation, "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it." So today at my real estate class lunch break, I found a park bench and contemplated. And in my contemplation with god, we talked about peace - a state of tranquility or quietness of heart and mind. And god was gentle with me today.

Im in awe at how beautiful this state park is. You'd think you were in Turks & Caicos, but no it's…read morejust 30A! It cost $5 to get in and $2.50 if you are in the military. They have wood and ice to purchase, paddle boards to rent (you can reserve online), RV camping areas and much more. The bathrooms aren't that great or clean, that definitely needs major improvement but this state park has major potential.

Took at day trip from our campsite in PCB for a day of exploring and shelling, unfortunately the…read moreshelling was a bust but we did get to experience another one of Florida's beautiful State Parks. I can't stress enough how valuable it is to purchase an annual SP pass, Florida has so many beautiful parks if you are traveling across the state this annual pass will more than pay for itself. Visiting this park during the off season was especially rewarding, no crowds so we practically had the entire beach to ourselves, the white sugar sand and clear warm water was the perfect place to be on a warm fall day. Although shelling was a disappointment the abundance of wildlife and native plants more than made up for it. This is definitely a state park I'd return too, maybe spend a few days here in the RV when in the area...

Beautiful park to take a walk in. We came for a couple of hours to check it out. You pay at the…read moreentrance, bring cash. It's the honor system. You put four dollars in an envelope. Parking was easy and plentiful. The house is pretty and the trees surrounding it are really cool. You can tour the house but we did not do that since we had little kids with us. There's a small gift shop where the tours start. There's a fountain in front of the house with koi in it but the water was full of algae. It was really hard to see the fish. I felt bad for them. There's a butterfly garden on the side of the house and we did see butterflies, dragonflies, bees and even a little frog. You can walk out on a pier over the water. There are picnic areas there of you would like to bring a lunch. Some of the water areas have warnings about gators and the trails have warnings about bears. Fortunately we did not run into either.

Nice state park to check out. It's not huge, probably wouldn't spend more than a half day here…read more It's $4 per car to enter and you just stick cash in an envelope. The park is centered around the historic Wesley House. You can actually tour it but we didn't as we had toddlers with us. We did the nature trail which was nice and not strenuous. It is pretty stroller friendly too if you have a decent one. We also checked out the koi pond and butterfly garden. The koi pond was gross and so murky you could barely see the fish. I felt bad for the fish. The garden was great and my kid's really enjoyed it and saw lots of butterflies. Nice half day activity if looking for something different to do in the area.

A hidden gem of a beach. Less crowed than most of the beaches around. There's a man made ref you…read morecan paddle or biggie board out to as well and see lots of cool fish. A tram runs every 1/2 hour to take you from the parking lot down to the beach.

Pristine beaches. Well preserved coastal Dunes. Miles of…read moresoft trails for running and hiking. Oh, and near perfect weather in late November. What's not to love about the Topsail Preserve Nature Park?! Having rented a house to quarantine in place with my mother - who lives not far from the area - I decided to venture out one day. Now, coming from the Pacific NW - I was very sensitive to protecting myself and others by wearing a mask and maintaining physical distancing. This is, however, the panhandle of Florida and the attention to public health science seems to be forgotten. On a Monday afternoon in the height of a second wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on a run through the area, I was the only person with a mask . . . and I was running. The tram that connects the parking lot to the beach passed me with a full compliment of passengers - no one wearing a mask or physical distancing. So I guess all of this is to say - Topsail is a beautiful beach park with a swath of pristinely preserved coastal nature - but perhaps wait until the case load decreases on the panhandle and/or we have better preventive options for protection (I.e. a vaccine) before venturing.

The dog park was spacious and had 3 areas for different size dogs. There were benches and a covered…read morepavilion in one of the areas. Water bowls were also available for the pups to drink. The only negative was that some dog parents are not cleaning up after their pets. Disposal bags are available so there really is no excuse except for laziness.

Only GOD forgives you faster than your DOG! #ReflectDogs…read moreLove & Forgiveness Calling places like this dog parks is almost like calling Disney World an amusement park. Not only do they have a multitude of dog parks, small, medium, big, timid and others they have nothing but all-natural old growth trees with pine needles and sand. The place is monstrous no matter which dog park you choose, they all have poop bag dispensers and trash cans available as well as water. From the entry it doesn't look that impressive but once you're inside you realize it's an all day event!! That and your puppy has so many newspaper trees to read. You park right next to the main entry

Beautiful park with flower lined paths with fountains and open green spaces. When we were there…read moresome kids were playing catch. We enjoyed walking around in here. Definitely worth a visit

The lark is located in a neighborhood at a 90 degree turn. There is a little parking lot as well…read more It's a perfectly fine trail if you're in the area. It's not marked super well - the trail according to the map is a straight shot, but many other paths/access roads intersect and there is not a lot of direction. The markers that are present are old, faded and sometimes hard to see. Also not the most interesting of hikes I've been on. If it's cloudy or you don't like the beach - it a bad place to take a walk.

Very pretty trail 8miles long we walked it but makes a very nice bike trail they have signs showing…read moreyou the deadly plants to avoid. Make sure you are taking precautions for ticks we ended up taking three home! Lots of deer in the area

It is almost time to say goodbye to Paradise, two more days and we will have to go back to reality…read more We thoroughly enjoy the park, the beach and the restaurants in the area. It is always going to be 5 star review for the Resort but this time if this review was for the Ranger I would give a ONE star because he has decided to not buy dog poop bags and some people just don't clean up after their dogs if you don't provide the basics because they are not prepared and I don't blame them because you expect to find bags like in ANY other Florida State Park to find poop bags all over. Now instead there is dog sh!t in some places that the Ranger should go and pick it up himself just because he is trying to save money to finish construction of his new office and moving resources from one budget item to another is not the solution, please poop bags are a must Mr Ranger, adhere to your budget and buy some bags so whoever is unprepared can clean up after their dog.

Great trails, great park! We did 5 miles of trails and saw a lot. The terrain varied from paved, to…read moretrails, to sand to dunes. The trails are marked and there are several maps along the way. It would be hard to get lost. There are selfie spots along the trails too!! There are also trolleys that take you to the lake and to the beach. I would come back when in the area again for sure.

I come here every year. Two reasons for that. 1: It's…read moreexpensive and that weaves out the trash. 2: You can't go/lounge on this beach without being a guest. This place is always clean and always gets my respect.

I tried to describe Seaside to a friend as a place that was once in my childhood an obscure and…read morequaint little magical beach town that now employs a wide array of rules, fees, and gates to preserve the illusion that is still an obscure and quaint little magical beach town as the whole 30A gets more and more popular. Being back for the first time in almost two decades you really do feel what has changed -- the loud traffic and crowds on the 30A, the bad price/quality ratio at a lot of the beach joints, the fact that you have to have a special electronic wristband to walk in to the Tupelo Beach Pavillion . . . On the other hand, the sand is still that magical white, with smooth enticing entry into the Gulf. And as my son and I rode a pair of tricycles through the streets a few blocks further inland, and it was so quiet that all we could hear was the breeze, I almost felt the magic again.

I enjoy this park because it's closest to my house…read more Only thing is, after the rain there is always large puddles (and there are frequent rains in FL) I can always count on very muddy dogs after visiting. Which I do consider draw back

Great dog park with ample zones for small and large dogs and large shaded area. Fully fenced,…read moreclean, tons of parking, and lovely neighbor dogs and humans both times we went.