Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

Topsail Hill is named for its dunes, which rise like ships’ sails over soft sand beaches and the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Those same white quartz dunes are responsible for a rare coastal ecosystem—freshwater dune lakes—which teem with aquatic wildlife. Walkers will pass through old-growth pine forests, sandy scrubland, dunes and wetlands, where they may see some of the 13 imperiled species that find refuge here, like the Choctawhatchee beach mouse and otherworldly-looking pitcher plants.

Lakes, three miles of pristine beaches, old-growth long leaf pines, sand pine scrub and a variety of wetlands offer a bird-watching and hiking paradise.