Forgotten River Towns Tour
Send this Article to a FriendKeep riding west on 98 until you get to the little town of Carrabelle. Stop and walk along the Carrabelle River and watch the fishing boats come and go. As you ride west out of town and over the bridge, keep an eye out for the old Carrabelle lighthouse on the right side of the highway. It's an old iron open frame lighthouse and there's a small park at its base. Nearby Carrabelle Beach is a good spot to pull over and enjoy the water view or take a swim.
Keep heading west and you'll come to Eastpoint. Eastpoint is home to what is probably the largest oyster fishing "fleet" in Florida. In season, dozens of little flat bottom boats go out each day and tong oysters off the beds to sell to the seafood houses that line the waterfront in Eastpoint. Hurricane Dennis was pretty hard on Eastpoint. Many of the old seafood shacks were destroyed and no one seems interested in building new ones. It's a vanishing way of life which will most likely be gone in a decade or two. If you want to sit and watch the comings and goings on the Eastpoint waterfront, stop at That Place on 98, an excellent spot to sample the local seafood and have a beer.
After leaving downtown Eastpoint, turn south on 300 which takes you to St. George Island. The bridge to St. George is over four miles long and affords a great view of the bay.
As you come off the bridge, turn left on Gorrie Drive and enjoy a slow ride down to St. George Island State Park. The easternmost third of the island has been saved from development and has some of the finest beach in North Florida. There's not much here except windswept dunes, secluded beaches and miles of waves breaking on the shore. There are a couple of pavilions with bathhouses and picnic tables and the park also has a campground. Ride to the end of the paved road and see where the past several hurricane seasons have moved the dunes and destroyed some of the roads. Barrier islands have always been works in progress. Storms come and go and the look of the island changes from year to year.
If you get hungry after you leave the park, stop at the Blue Parrot. The Parrot sits right on the beach, near the end of the bridge road. The food is good and the beer is cold. BJ's Pizza is nearby and also has good food. The western end of the island is occupied by St. George Island Plantation; a private beach community. You can't ride in the plantation unless you own a house there or you're renting. Years ago, fisherman could ride down to the pass and fish off of the rocks and jetties, but no more. I guess all those rich people got offended at the sight of old trucks and beat up cars riding past their million dollar homes.
When you leave the St. George, look to your right and you will see a small curved island that used to be a causeway in the middle of the old bridge. In summer it's a nesting ground for hundreds of Laughing Gulls, Least Terns, American Oyster Catchers and other birds.
