November 27, 2021

ST. MARK’S LIGHTHOUSE

Crawfordville, FL 32327

“The St. Marks Lighthouse is the second-oldest light station in Florida. It is located on the east side of the mouth of the St. Marks River, on Apalachee Bay.” Wikipedia

Upon recommendation from a local, I went to see the St. Mark’s Lighthouse. The lighthouse is in the St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge. While the refuge is open for tourists, the lighthouse and its visitors center were both closed, presumably because of COVID, though I did hear the lighthouse may be closed due to renovations.

The lighthouse is an impressive site sitting next to the Gulf of Mexico and surrounded by marsh land. While the lighthouse was cool, I enjoyed walking along the coast soaking up the sunshine, even on this chilly (for Florida morning). There were several opportunities to take pictures of several different birds who make the wildlife refuge home. I was also able to take photos of some butterflies.

Had the visitors center been open I’m sure I could have found more information about some of the trails in the refuge. The few I saw on the drive to the lighthouse had minimal parking available. I would consider coming back to the refuge in the future to walk the trails and try to get more pictures of the wildlife that inhabit it.