Tomoka State Park

Tomoka State Park preserves 2,000 acres of coastal hammock, mangrove, and river landscape at the confluence of the Tomoka and Halifax Rivers north of Ormond Beach. It is a genuine nature retreat — quiet, wooded, and rich in wildlife — that feels a long way from the beach resort towns to the south. The park entrance is on North Beach Street; from central Ormond Beach the drive is about fifteen minutes.

Kayaking on the Tomoka River is the park's most rewarding activity: the slow-moving water passes through cathedral tunnels of live oak and Spanish moss, with egrets, herons, ospreys, and the occasional manatee for company. Canoes and kayaks can be rented at the park. The walking trails through the hammock forest offer good birding and a pleasing contrast to the flat, exposed beach terrain nearby. A campground serves visitors who want to stay longer. The park is one of the few places in this part of Florida where you can spend a morning without seeing a development.

things to do sight wildlife park
A story
The Timucua people had lived on this site for thousands of years before Spanish missionaries arrived in the 17th century. Their settlement was destroyed during Queen Anne's War in 1706, and by the early 18th century the Timucua of Florida had been effectively wiped out — a combination of disease, slavery, and warfare reduced a population estimated in the hundreds of thousands to near-zero within two centuries of European contact. The Tomoka River and the park named for it preserve the name but almost nothing else of that civilisation.