The natural preserve of St. Andrews State Park is located at the southern end of Panama City Beach Florida. It includes a section of Shell Island, a barrier island that measures 7 miles long. This stretch of undeveloped white sand beach, coastal scrubland and pine hammocks is what separates St. Andrew Bay, Florida, from the Gulf of Mexico. Shell Island is home to wildlife and marine animals. It's a paradise for beach lovers who want to spend a day in a natural setting far from the condominiums and resorts that line the northern shore.
* We pick up at the State Park docks approximately 2.2 miles from the island.
Shell Key is also a large nature preserve – nearly half of the island is blocked to guests, allowing the native seabirds and sea turtles a section of undisturbed beach. This nature preserve area is home to tons of nesting birds and nesting turtles.
A portion of Shell Island, a barrier-island that measures 7-miles long, is found at the south-eastern tip of Panama City Beach Florida's natural preserve St. Andrews State Park. This undeveloped stretch of white sandy beach, coastal scrubland & pine hammocks divides St. Andrew Bay and the open oceans of the Gulf of Mexico. Shell Island is an oasis for wildlife and marine life, as well as beach lovers who wish to escape the resorts, condominiums, and other developments that line the coast to the north.
Your Shell Key adventure begins and ends at Fort De Soto. A military outpost, Fort De Soto is Pinellas County’s most famous park. Fort De Soto Park consists of 1,136 acres spread across five interconnected island. Discover the fort, which still houses 12-inch rifled mortars along with two British breech-loading 6-inch Armstrong rapidfire gun guns. Fort De Soto has been named the #1 beach in the United States.
In the early 1990's the Shell Island sandbar, located just south of Pass-a-Grille Beach, was joined to form one contiguous Island. Pinellas County obtained a lease from Florida in 2000 to create Shell Key (a.k.a. Shell Island was established in 2000 as a Wildlife Preserve. Today, Shell Key is a beautiful white strip of Florida paradise.
It is not currently available. You can bring your own. You can rent umbrellas and beach chairs. At the Ferry ticket shop, you can also purchase sunblock and other accessories.
Shell Island can only be accessed by boat, and the Shell Island Ferry is the easiest, safest, and quickest way for visitors to reach Shell Island. As the official Island Ferry, the Shell Island Ferry has been ferrying guests between the mainland and Shell Island for many years.
Sand dollars, moon snails, conch shells, pin shells, periwinkles, whelk and olive shells are just a few of the indigenous seashells found here. And, as long as there are no creatures living in them, there is no limit to how many of these one-of-a-kind souvenirs you can take home with you
There is no limit to the activities you can experience at or on Shell Island! You can swim, snorkel, paddleboard, go kayaking, sunbathe, hunt seashells, go hiking, have a picnic, and more!