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Florida State Parks Announce Free One-Day Admission

Special to Highlands Today

Published: June 29, 2008

Admission to all 161 Florida state parks is free Sunday, July 13.

To celebrate July as Recreation and Parks Month, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Recreation & Parks is encouraging family-friendly, outdoor recreation with the launch of its "Family. Friends. Fun." campaign to reconnect children and families with nature.

To celebrate this designation, Florida is waiving admission to all state parks July 13. Area state parks include Highlands Hammock State Park, Lake June-in-Winter Scrub State Park, Paynes Creek State Historic Site State Park in Bowling Green, Lake Kissimmee State Park in Lake Wales and Kissimmee Prairie State Park in Okeechobee.

"Recreation and Parks Month is an excellent time for family and friends to visit a state park and experience …the Real FloridaSM," said DEP Secretary Michael W. Sole, who himself started his career as a marine biologist working in one of Florida's state parks. "State parks provide a multitude of activities that promote mental and physical well being."

Nature-based activities are the highlight of the month.

The National Park Service and the National Association of State Park Directors encourage the nation's state park systems to endorse the national initiative to connect children and nature, and influence the decline of nature-deficit disorder.

Studies show that young people between the ages eight and 18 average almost seven hours per day playing indoors on computers, video games and watching television, resulting in increased cases of obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder and depression.

"Without the encouragement of parents and friends, children are less likely to play outdoors and gain exposure to natural resources and nature-based recreation," said Florida State Parks Director Mike Bullock.

Florida's state park system spans almost 700,000 acres and 100 miles of sandy white beach.

For more information about Florida State Parks and activities scheduled for July 13 and throughout Recreation and Parks Month, visit www.FloridaStateParks.org <http://www.floridastateparks.org/> .

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