A Look at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest wildlife refuges in the United States. Established in 1931 as a wintering ground for migratory birds, it encompasses 68,000 acres spread between Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor Counties in the state of Florida.
St. Marks Lighthouse, Apalachee Bay, near Tallahassee, Florida, via DJI Phantom 3 drone
Florida's 2nd oldest lighthouse is an absolute treat to visit. Situated on an impressively large natural wildlife refuge, St. Mark's Lighthouse is awesome. The landscape it overlooks is quite different from any other lighthouse I've visited (and I've been to quite a few), which I truly didn't appreciate until seeing it from the drone's perspective.
The area is immaculately cared for, with not a single speck of garbage or tired structure to be seen. There are several trails in the area, and I reckon a full day could easily be spent taking in all the refuge has to offer. Unfortunately, it was a quick stop for us while travelling from Orlando to Fort Walton (I love lighthouses!), so we didn't explore beyond the lighthouse itself.
I was very impressed with the area, and would certainly not hesitate recommending it to others, especially if you like hiking, lighthouses and or Florida's wildlife (including gators, which I understand will sometimes lay out on the walking trails to sun themselves, though we didn't see any). Take the time to visit... you won't be disappointed.
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St. Marks Wildlife Refuge in HD
An 80,000 acre refuge 25 miles south of Tallahassee, Florida.
St Marks National Wildlife Refuge and Lighthouse in Florida
St Marks National Wildlife Refuge is a federally protected site and home to many kinds of wild animals and nature. The place is vast, sitting on 3 counties! Wakulla, Taylor and Jefferson! We go there for watching sunrises and sunsets. Walking is great too if you like walking a little longer distances. You can also park your car along the shoulder of the road and take shorter walks. We usually park at the park center and ride our bikes all the way to the lighthouse.
There is so much to see and enjoy out there. You are doing all this with your own risk so beware it is really raw around. There is a chance you will run into an alligator, bobcat, Florida panther, snakes of all kinds, so many birds including bald eagle, butterflies (seasonal), all kinds of different trees and plants, bears, crabs, fish, frogs etc. It gets really loud with all of them trying to say something.
There are couple of bathrooms, one at the entrance where the parking lot is and one at halfway to the lighthouse. We usually ride all the way to the lighthouse and that is close to 7 miles from the parking lot. They screwed up the mile markers so the distance between 6 and 7 is not accurate.
The water levels fluctuate by day. There is some kind of control system to let more or less water to the refuge. We have not figured how they have done that yet. Water never threatened the road all this time we visited the place.
It is $5 a car to get in. You can pack as many people as possible in your car and the price would be the same. Or if you are planning on going often, you can stop by the office (closes at 5pm weekdays) and get a year pass to display on your dashboard when you visit. It was $15 for a year. Good savings there for us since we are there every other day.
I am not saying it is not safe but we have not seen a ranger or any other law enforcement there yet. It is federal grounds so punishments would probably/possibly involve feds and/or federal laws. So don't be a jerk and visit nicely, respecting others and nature. Take out what you bring in! If you are dumping garbage at the area of picnic tables, make sure to close the lid of the garbage cans. They are some kind of bear proof ones anyways. Read the signs and use good judgement when getting close to any animals. Alligators are very quick to respond and they may surprise you. So be careful when you go near ponds and areas where there is water.
Lighthouse is under restoration and should be fixed and restored soon(as of March 2015) It is all getting done by donations if I am not mistaken.
The video is taken while driving right under speed limit. There are slow motion parts for you to see more details. I will be posting more videos with sounds since it was so windy and the wind sound recorded was very annoying. So to easy guide you to different sections of the video, I made the below index. Just click on the time-code of the section you want to jump to.
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St Marks National Wildlife Refuge Tour
Tour of the refuge during Monarch migrating. Including a stop at the Visitor Center and the historic Lighthouse. November 2015
Trip to St. Marks Wildlife Refuge
A rough vlog of the trip my friend and I took to St Marks Wildlife Refuge.
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
This video is about St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
St Marks Lighthouse State Park - Florida
St. Marks Lighthouse State Park is not only one of the oldest lighthouses on the Gulf coast, but the entire area is also a Wildlife Refuge and is vibrant with waterfowl and birds of all types. It was a bit windy and brisk, but so beautiful. Once we walked out on the beach behind the lighthouse, the wind was blocked and it was very comfortable. At this time, there are no lighthouse tours available. Sure beats dealing with all the snow and ice back home :-)
American Flamingo - St Mark's National Wildlife Refuge, Wakulla County, FL - 11/10/18
Continuing bird located in Stoney Bayou. Located previously and observed by many birders. Bird presumed to have been blown in by Hurricane Matthew as it made landfall in the Florida panhandle.
[4k] Florida's Amazing Wildlife, St. Marks and Wakulla Springs, FL 02/02/2018
Turtles, manatees, a great variety of birds, and, of course, the alligators are the stars of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and the Wakulla Springs Florida State Park. These gems of wildlife are within 20 miles from Tallahassee, FL and definitely worth a visit. Enjoy the impressions from both parks, filmed in Ultra-HD 4k quality.
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St. Marks Wildlife Refuge, Florida
Video 317 (2nd journey) of a reality travel show with your host David Rush. Go to
St. Marks Florida
just a quick drive though St Marks in Wakulla County, Florida
St Marks - Undiscovered Florida
Just an average day exploring commonly unknown areas at St Marks, Florida while following Mark on a usual adventure. Searching for fish, wildlife, and enjoying the breathtaking scenery of the coastline.
(Cinema Vérité Assignment)
Birding Road Trip to St. Marks NWR
Kayak Fishing for Redfish and Sea Trout at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge - Panacea, FL 7.27.2019
I took the Perception Pescador Pro 12 out for an easy afternoon at St. Marks Wildlife Refuge in Panacea, FL.
The trout were biting pretty hard out in the grass flats and I got a surprise bonus - a 30 multi-spotted redfish! I caught everything on Vudu or DOA shrimp (topsail got my last Vudu shrimp), running about 18 of fluorocarbon on a popper rig. Most of the trout were a little small but there were a few nice ones in the mix.
The tarpon and cobia were everywhere! I'm bringing some heavier tackle for the next trip and we'll see how well my kayak planes out with one of those guys on the line.
St marks National Wildlife Refuge
St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge filmed with a DJI F40 and SJ400 camera /Walkera D2 gimbal
Sunrise at St Marks Wildlife Refuge Florida MUST LISTEN the wild here
This is a great sunrise about 17 mins or so with some of the best sounds recorded in the wild. Every minute of the video sounds different, loud and full of wildlife. The funny part is I have not even realized most of these sounds until I dumped it on my computer. This is one of the greatest wildlife refuges in United States. Sits on 3 counties and home to many species of reptiles, birds, alligators, cats, panthers, deer, snakes, turtles, fish etc. Just think of a wild animal in their habitat and here they are.
At the time of the recording sun was scheduled to come up right around 6:54am. I started recording when I saw it and lasted about 17 mins or so. It is a bit long but you will hear and see so much in this video. A lot of loud birds since it is mating season for most of them. You will hear gators also. A lot of loud bugs in the video.
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St. Marks Trail Extension Officially Opens
The community recently gathered to celebrate the opening of the new St. Marks Trail Extension near Lake Elberta, which was made possible through a public/private partnership. This provides a new path to local amenities & enhances connection from the ♥️ of Tallahassee to the coast.
For more information about the City of Tallahassee and WCOT, please visit:
Talgov.com (
Twitter.com/COTNews (
Facebook.com/COTNews (
Instagram.com/COTNews (
The Wilderness Way - St. Marks River
Kayak trip down the St. Marks River with The Wilderness Way
Tallahassee St Marks Railroad
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Tallahassee St Marks Railroad · Ernest Toole
Ernest Toole Sings Stories of Old Florida
℗ 2010 Ernest Toole
Released on: 2010-01-01
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