Fishing, surfing, wildlife and treasures! Sebastian Inlet State Park

Many of my favorite summer childhood memories of growing up along Florida’s Space Coast revolve around the annual camping trips my family and I enjoy each summer at Sebastian Inlet State Park, about 30 miles south. south of my house in Satellite Beach. Then when my friends were old enough to drive, weekend camping trips were a regular thing. When I got married and had a family of my own, the tradition of camping continued and today my daughters tell me that those trips included some of their favorite memories. Sebastian Inlet is widely regarded as one of Florida’s finest and most popular state parks in the state, and for good reason. There is a lot to do there.

First of all, Sebastian Inlet is a fishing mecca and produces some of the best bass fisheries in the state, but redfish, snapper, sea trout, flounder, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, tarpon and horse mackerel and many others are more possibilities. The rocks along the shoreline almost always produced mangrove snapper for me, while Sheepshead were less frequent catches. I would catch Atlantic swordfish, which looks like a freshwater aquarium angelfish, around the pilings under the A1A bridge fishing walkway. Summer nights would find me and any friends who came with us at the end of the L-shaped pier near the campground with a Coleman flashlight suspended just above the water. After the tide had been going out for about an hour, the shrimp appeared to be picked up by the dozen just off the surface of the water. Placing one on a hook and releasing it from the dock almost certainly produced a great catch. Shark fishing at night is popular with a select few. My largest was a 5 foot nurse shark off the north jetty, but I have seen larger blacktip and bull sharks as well as others caught here.

Surfing also reigns here. “First Peak” is a surf spot known throughout the eastern surf scene. It occurs just north of the north jetty when, in the right conditions with swell coming from the northeast, sections of an incoming wave will hit the jetty and bounce off the rest of the wave, forming a very pronounced peak. The best surfers in the state regularly flock here and it can get very crowded. Sebastian Inlet hosts several surf tournaments each year that attract professional surfers from around the world. Monster Hole, a reef structure about 1/3 mile offshore from the South Jetty, is another local legend. During flat times, you would never know that there is a place to surf there. It takes a 3-5 foot swell to get it going, but when it does, intrepid surfers are rewarded with powerful, hollow lefts that take off for a hundred yards or more. I mentioned intrepid surfers because they have never fully explained to me whether the name “Monster Hole” is due to the waves that crash there or the large sharks that are sighted there. Also, it is a way out, not for beginners.

While fishing and surfing reign here, there’s so much more to Sebastian Inlet. During the summers of my childhood, my friend and I would be the only divers in the cove, but today it has become very popular. The children’s lagoon on the north side of the inlet is a great place to start snorkeling, as the lagoon is easily accessible, shallow, with a sandy bottom, and yet the rocky piers that protect the lagoon from currents within the cove itself. They provide a structure that attracts mangrove snappers, striped grunts, sheepsheads, and a variety of smaller, tropical-looking species. Once, while diving with my daughters in this cove, a manatee visited us. Some people slide down the rocks that line the north side of the inlet and then drift off, preferably with an incoming tide as they dive along the rocks along the south shore of the inlet near the campground. hanging around waiting for the next night frenzy. If you are snorkeling and really want to see a lot of fish and surprise your kids, snorkel from the beach area near the campsite, where you will find clumps of rocks, with one hand full of cut bait shrimp and your back to the stream, release shrimp in the water in front of you. You will be rewarded with a miniature feeding frenzy if you are in front of you. Remember to always stay within 100 feet of a dive flag and out of the boat channel. Also avoid diving in front of people fishing from shore. The best snorkeling within the cove will always be the last stages of an incoming tide or the first stages of an outgoing tide. This is when the inlet is filled with cleaner seawater. Sometimes you can also snorkel off the beach when the water is clear and there is little to no surf. You can snorkel along the ocean side of the south jetty and, starting just south of the jetty, you will find ridges of coquina close to shore, less than 100 yards away.

Scuba diving is also popular here, and is allowed in all the cove’s waters, except for the boat channel, and directly under the bridge and fishing walkways. Just outside the inlet, Monster Hole is popular, especially with lobster divers, and then there is Riomar Reef, which begins just south of the south jetty, 100 yards offshore, stretching out about ½ mile and runs uninterrupted on the way to Roimar. Divers here can find sharks, rays, sea turtles and more than 200 species of fish, in addition to the unique and rare Oculina coral species. The reliefs on the limestone and coquina ridges can be quite dramatic. Depths range from 3 to 4 feet to about 15. Remember to always carry and display a dive flag.

For kayakers, Sebastian Inlet State Park is a great destination for paddling. The facility at Sebastian Inlet Marina, located approximately one mile north of the entrance, gives you access to the Campbell Pocket area with its mangrove-lined shores and pockets and additional coves between the marina and the entrance, while positioned on the entrance boat ramp on the south side, near the camp, allows exploration of the mangroves south of the entrance and the entrance itself near the lagoon Although care must be taken due to the tidal currents running through the inlet.

The Inlet Marina also serves as a start for the hammock hiking trail, as well as some off-road bike trails in the area, while at the same time there are walkways along the north edge of the entrance leading from the main concession to the North Embarcadero. Wildlife is abundant here with many species of birds along the cove as well as in the forests surrounding the cove. Also, if you live close to shore in the ocean, you will swim through the inlet. I’ve had sightings from the bridge walkways of dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, sharks, rays, and more.

There are two museums within the State Park. In the northern concession area is the Sebastian Inlet Fishing Museum that tells the story of the area’s fishing industry, while the McLarty Treasure Museum is located on the beach side of A1A one mile south of the bridge. In July 1715, 11 ships, including 10 Spanish galleons loaded with gold, silver, and “the Queen’s Jewels,” looted from Central and South America, were sailing north along the east coast of Florida bound for Spain when a massive hurricane hit the fleet. , driving the ships ashore. The Captain, who is believed to have been the northernmost of the fleet, was driven over the crest of the coquina near the shoreline of the beach here and the huge waves broke him to pieces. The shipwreck survivors camped out at the site where the museum stands today, while the wreck remains about 100 meters offshore. The search for the rest of his treasure continues to this day.

If you go; Sebastian Inlet State Park is located on State Road A1A about 15 miles south of Melbourne Beach, just north of Wabasso, and offers a marina, museums, concessions, full-service campgrounds, pavilions, picnic areas, and 3 miles of beaches in addition to the cove. itself. The park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The Sebastian Fishing Museum and the McLarty Museum are open 7 days a week from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. For campers planning to arrive after sunset, please call the park the day of your arrival at 321-984-4852 for the gate combination and directions.