St. George Island Florida Q and A

Questions about the St. George Island Website

I apologize.

I am no longer able to answer your questions regarding Saint George Island. I will continue to maintain the picture and map portions of the website. These images and words are from my March and June 1997 trips.

If you need answers about accomodations or attractions in the area, please visit the website of the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce. They are an excellent resource of information about this region.

Thanks for visiting my site!

Mike Strong

Below are some of the inquiries that I received and responded to while I was maitaining this portion of the site:

I have a lot of local knowledge of the island, and can provide much in the way of history to those who are curious. Having grown up there, I have seen the island evolve, indeed, the first year I lived there we had to take a ferry back and forth from the mainland, prior to the bridge being completed. Please feel free to forward my e-mail address to those who are interested. I love the place very much, and am fortunate to be able to spend at least one month per year there. Someday, I will return permanently. ~Moose

I enjoyed your web page and photos of St. George Island. We will be visiting there for the first time. Do you know of any facilities or resources that explain the natural environment in that area?

I would check out the website of the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. The reserve has a visitor's center in "downtown" Apalachicola (about 15 miles from St. George). I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't visit. Be sure and go to the State Park on the island, there are no exhibits, but there are miles of deserted beaches and quiet pine forests.

Are there any good sized hills or dunes on the island that are clear of trees, houses, and people. This may seem like a strange question. The reason I ask is I'm into radio controlled sailplanes which can hang endlessly, just like a seagull, off of the lift created by the wind going up and over such obstructions. Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Without knowing the specifics about RC sailplanes, I would recommend you check out the St. George Island State Park which makes up of the eastern third of the island. The dunes there between the two beach pavillions are about twenty to thirty feet high and there are definitely no houses, powerlines, or many people for that matter. This part of the island has the fewest trees, the far East End is a flat, grassy desert, and treeless. I would caution you that walking on the dunes is illegal, everywhere on the island.

... do you know of a place where I can swim with the dolphins?

I saw Flipper and his pals every single day I was there. The dolphins were abundant in the gulf and bay. My hat would be off to you if you could swim "with" them though. They swim very fast and are generally shy around humans.

We just discovered St. George Island (we promise NOT to tell others) on the net, researching an early spring vacation. How's the water for kids? We love tide pool exploring...

The beaches are among the most pristine in the southeastern US. The water in early spring might be chilly for swimming. I would recommend asking someone local about water conditions for the time you are planning to go.

...the slimy lagoon, what is the reason it is so overgrown? Do you know?

I really don't know, but as usual, I will make up something.

The "festering slime pits" are shallow sinks in the island's sandy soil. Lacking drainage, the pits accumulate fresh water and are only flushed out during extremely violent storm tides. With the abundant sunlight, it is the ideal environment for rampant algal growth.

I think that sounds plausible.

We are planning a vacation with my family and two other families (15 people total). Could you give us a recommendation on possible accomodations and "things to do" on the island. We are looking to stay in a large beach-front home. Also, are there bike trails on the island? We greatly appreciate any info!

I would say that one third of the houses on the island are available for weekly rental. Several companies are doing the renting, some of them have websites, all of them put out catalogs that you can get free from the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.

There are lots of big beachfront houses. The beachfront ones are much more expensive and they are booked sometimes six months to a year ahead of time. However, the overall density of the island is so low that even the houses that are in the third or fourth tier usually have unobstructed views of the gulf. All beaches are public and easily accessible

We stayed in the "St. George Plantation" section of the island in a bayfront house. We chose the Plantation because it is private, gated, extremely low density, and thickly forested. It was like staying in a wildlife refuge, truly unforgettable.

The state park is a must see, but we found most of the trails are too sandy for a decent bike ride. Take your bikes though, the islands quiet streets are great for casual cruising, and the commercial district has a paved bike path.