Boat Ramp

The Boat Ramp is one of the most popular and most used facilities in the Refuge.  The saltwater boat ramp was built in the early 1970s to replace a sand ramp that used to be where the Lighthouse parking lot is.  Obviously, the original designers did not foresee how popular the ramp would be for accessing Apalachee Bay, especially during a good scallop and fishing season!  Capacity has been set at 90 boat trailers, but even so, if it’s busy, you may have to park and walk quite a way. 

The floating dock was added more recently to allow boats to pull up and load passengers and supplies without blocking the ramp.  The ramp was split in half and re-done in the past 10 years to allow more than one boat trailer to back down at the same time, again to avoid blocking the ramp.

Boats powering on and off their trailers have washed out a huge hole at the end of the ramp and we caution all users to avoid dropping your trailer wheels over the edge!

Maintaining the depth of the boat basin has required ongoing effort.  Shallow water is best according to most staff to prevent large motors accessing the bay and prop scarring of the seagrass beds. Even so, sometimes Mother Nature scours it out anyway with tides and winds. 

Anglers catch speckled trout, redfish and Spanish mackerel mostly on the flats.