Camp Helen State Park

The property known as Camp Helen was first known as the Inlet Beach Hotel in 1910, including cabins (which no longer exist) and a General Store (which was later used as a kitchen, and still stands today.

 

In 1928, the property was sold as a private residence, and additional buildings were constructed.

The main home, now referred to as the Lodge,

 

which over looks Phillips Inlet – the connection between Lake Powell and the Gulf of Mexico,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

several cottages that were used for rental income,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Caretaker’s Cottage,

and a stable. 

 

 

A water tower behind the main house provided all the water needed for the facility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1945, the property was purchased by Avondale Textile Mill as a corporate summer camp for their employees and families, and it acquired the name “Camp Helen”. 

The camp saw a lot of use during those years that it was owned by Avondale, and there is a slide show in the Visitor Center of pictures from that era.  Many people who come to visit the park now had also come here as children when their parents or grandparents worked at Avondale.

Avondale added the Recreation Hall, which is still used by the State Park today.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1996 – at the urging of a group of concerned citizens who later became the “Friends of Camp Helen” organization, the State of Florida bought the property, saving it from development into yet another high-rise hotel.

Now that the property is being preserved by the state, the historic building are being maintained but not open for use or tours.  There is a self-guided walking tour of the buildings, and on the 1st Saturday of every month the Friends Group holds a guided history tour.

The Lodge is available for rent for weddings, or meetings – we had our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner in there last weekend --

as is the Recreation Hall.  There’s a day camp for kids going on in the Rec Hall this week and next, and every other Wednesday in June & July the Friends of Camp Helen host a “Movie & More” session.

Sponsored by Camping World and other local businesses, the event is free for all attendees, including admission to the park.  The evening starts with a 30-minute program by the Rangers, then the kids and their parents roast hot dogs over campfires and make s’mores, and then a movies is shown in the Rec Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These events have been very popular, with 140 – 160 people attending each week.  Everyone seems to have a lot of fun.

Within the 184 acres of Camp Helen State Park, there are also many opportunities for recreation.  The park is sandwiched between the Gulf of Mexico,    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and Lake Powell, a large coastal dune lake.

At our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner last weekend, we watched a documentary that had been produced on coastal dune lakes recently.  This area of Florida is the only area in the US that has coastal dune lakes, and only one of a few location in the world.  The only other place that has as many is in Australia.

Coastal Dune Lakes are formed when the shifting sand dunes cut off an area of water from the gulf.  Over time, the water becomes brackish as rain water mixes with the existing salt water, and darkens in color as trees grow up around the shore and introduce organic matter into the water.         

One of the nature trails in the park is a paved walkway/raised boardwalk along Lake Powell,

 

with lots of options for bird-watching and fishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a lovely area for an evening walk.

 

Each coastal dune lake has a natural inlet to the gulf where, in times of high water, the dark, brackish water of the lake flows back into the clear crystal-green water of the gulf.

The inlet here at Lake Powell is Phillips Inlet,

and it’s naturally closed by a sand bar under normal conditions.

 

This quiet area of water to the south of the Hwy 98 bridge is a favorite nesting area for shorebirds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we’ve been here, we’ve helped with the movie nights, I spend time in the Visitor Center,    

greeting visitors and handing out maps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On these hot July days, the air-conditioned Visitor Center is a popular place for people to come in and cool down after walking on the nature trail, or up from the beach.  It’s also a place for the volunteers to cool off!

 

Tom and Bryce have been helping out with a few maintenance projects in the park, including building a handrail for a new section of sidewalk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most photographed features of Camp Helen is the old pier.

 

During the Avondale era, Camp Helen had the longest pier out into the gulf, but it was abandoned later, and has slowly been deteriorating.

There are still a few posts in the water, too.

 

Last week when I felt like spending some time at the beach, I had Bryce drop me off with the gator.

 

From Camp Helen’s beach you can walk right along the sand bar into Panama City Beach.

 

Camp Helen is a real gem in the Florida panhandle, and we’re glad we had time to spend here exploring it!

Fort Pierce Inlet State Park

Monday was a busy day of visiting for us.  We had made plans, via facebook, to meet up with a friend from Ford for dinner in Ft. Pierce, and then found out that our friends from Lovers Key, Don and Carol, were volunteering at the state park in Ft. Pierce.  So, we made plans to spend the afternoon with them at the state park.

We drove down Highway A1A from Vero Beach towards Ft. Pierce, and we arrived at Fort Pierce State Park before we had even started looking for it!

The Ranger in the entrance station knew we were coming, and she directed us to Volunteer Village, where Don & Carol were waiting.  This is a new volunteer gig for them, and it looks like a nice setup.  The volunteer sites are shaded and spacious (I forgot to take a picture!), and their work hours and jobs are flexible.  Carol works in the entrance station, and Don does beach patrol and monitoring.

We visited for a while at their campsite, and then they took us down to see the beach.  We stopped at the Jetty Beach first.

This beach is along the inlet that goes from the ocean to the intercoastal waterway.  The little town of Ft. Pierce was just across the inlet from us.

The crane at the mouth of the inlet is removing debris from a boat that sunk and broke apart at the mouth of the inlet a year ago.  The location of the boat is keeping some of the bigger ships from being able to come into the port.  While the crane works, the inlet is being patrolled by the Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fishing is allowed at the Jetty Beach, but not swimming.  There are several picnic shelters and a rest room.

 

Next we went down to the main beach, where swimming is allowed, but not fishing.  It’s a really beautiful beach, with super fine sand and crystal blue water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a really warm day, but windy, so there weren’t many people at the beach . . . other than a group of parasail surfers.

There were about 10 of these guys out there – zipping around and jumping over the waves!

It was really fun to watch them, and sometimes they would come in really close to shore!

We also had a better view of the crane working in the inlet from this beach.  It was bringing up buckets full of rubble and dumping them on the deck of the barge.

 

We continued watching these guys as they flew around, and the occasional bird, too!

One of the other volunteers was on beach patrol, and he stopped to talk to Don and Carol for a few minutes.

It looked like there might be a storm coming, so we headed back tot heir campsite . . . along the way we saw this osprey enjoying his lunch.

Back at their place, we never did get any rain . . . but we enjoyed some snacks and lots of conversation about RVs and cars, work camping and volunteering, people we’ve met along the way . . . and, of course, we solved most of the world’s problems!!

Before we knew it, it was almost 5pm and time for the 3 of us to meet our friend, Mark, and his wife, Paula, at the 2nd Avenue Bistro for dinner.  We said goodbye to Don & Carol . . . until next year . . . when we’ll catch up with them again!

In just a few minutes, we were in downtown Ft. Pierce and easily found the 2nd Avenue Bistro.  It looks like a cute downtown – lots of empty storefronts, but it looks like many of them are undergoing some renovation.  Our dinner was good, and we had a nice time remembering some of our more memorable moments at Ford, and finding out how life is like living in Florida all the time.  Paula isn’t crazy about the summers . . . and I don’t think I would be, either!  It was nice catching up with them, and we had a great visit (again, I forgot to take a picture)!

Tuesday was moving day, and we had another easy, 150-mile trip to St. Augustine.  We’re staying at a small RV Park just a few miles away from the historic downtown – nothing fancy – but it’s a convenient location for exploring “America’s oldest city.”