State Park

Blackwater River State Park

Santa Rosa County, FloridaAbout 636 acres

Status: Open (per official listing)
Entrance fee: Statewide rule — see below
Day-use reservations: None mentioned
Dogs: Not stated — check with park
Camping: 31 campsites
Official site: floridastateparks.org(850) 983-5363

Official page last checked Oct 29, 2026. How we keep this current

Overview

Ganoderma meredithiae spotted at the base of a pine tree on the riverbank — Blackwater River State Park. Photo: Operator 16. CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)

In Santa Rosa County, about 12 miles northeast of Milton, Blackwater River State Park covers about 636 acres.

Visitors come for canoeing and kayaking, boating, swimming, wildlife watching, and fishing. Facilities for water recreation include a swimming beach and a boat ramp. Camping is available: 31 campsites across 2 camping areas, including RV sites with full hookups and tent sites.

Fees and passes

Varies by park (mostly per vehicle; some per person/pedestrian/cyclist; some free).

Statewide fee rule from Florida's park system; this park’s page doesn’t list its own fees.

Reservations

Day use: No day-use reservation requirement mentioned
Booking system: Florida State Parks Reservation System (UseDirect / Tyler 'RDR' platform)

Check availability and book

We link to the official booking system rather than showing live availability, which changes minute to minute.

Camping

Campground or site type	Sites	Hookups / features	Price
MAGN Restricted use: Volunteer	16	16 with water, 16 with sewer	—
TITI	15	15 with water, 15 with sewer	—

Camping details from the park

MAGN: 16 site(s) (16 with water, 16 with sewer) — Volunteer, RV/Tent, RV, Pull-Thru, Back-In, Tent, Trailer, Bus, Caravan/Camper Van, Fifth Wheel, Large Tent (9x12), Pop up, RV/Motorhome, Tent-Trailer, Truck/SUV/Van, Trailer, Bus, Caravan/Camper Van, Fifth Wheel, Pop up, RV/Motorhome, Tent-Trailer

TITI: 15 site(s) (15 with water, 15 with sewer) — RV/Tent, Back-In, Tent, Trailer, Bus, Caravan/Camper Van, Fifth Wheel, Large Tent (9x12), Pop up, RV/Motorhome, Tent-Trailer, Truck/SUV/Van

From the official park page, checked Oct 29, 2026. Site counts and prices can change; confirm when booking.

Things to do

Wildlife viewing and birdingBoatingCampingCanoeing and kayakingFishingHikingPicnickingSwimming

Trails

Trail	Length	Difficulty	Notes
Juniper Lake Nature Trail	0.54 mi	—	NatureNatural surface
Canoe Trail	1.07 mi	—	PaddlingWater surface
Chain of Lakes Trail	1.21 mi	—	HikingNatural surface
Hiking Trail	0.21 mi	—	length summed over 2 GIS segmentsHikingBikingNatural surface
Florida Trail	1 mi	—	length summed over 2 GIS segmentsHikingNatural surface

Trail descriptions from the park

Juniper Lake Nature Trail (Nature) — 0.54 mi, Natural

Canoe Trail (Paddling) — 1.07 mi, Water

Chain of Lakes Trail (Hiking) — 1.21 mi, Natural

Hiking Trail (Hiking, Biking) — 0.21 mi, Natural

Florida Trail (Hiking) — 1 mi, Natural

Swimming

Boating and paddling

Canoeing/Kayaking; Blackwater River Paddling Trail; County Boat Ramp

Fishing

A state fishing license is usually required.

Amenities

Facilities

Restrooms
Picnic areas
Picnic shelters
Playground
Parking

Water

Swimming beach
Boat ramp

Camping

Tent camping
Sewer hookups

✓ listed by the park · ✕ the park says it is not available. Anything not shown here isn’t mentioned by the official source — that means unknown, not unavailable.

Getting there

Address: 7720 Deaton Bridge Road
Holt, FL 32564
Nearest town: Milton — about 12 mi northeast (straight line)
Coordinates: 30.7118, -86.8797
Phone: (850) 983-5363

Entrances

Secondary Entrance
Secondary Entrance
Main Entrance

Google Maps directions Apple Maps

Nearby state parks

Blackwater Heritage State Trail

11.5 mi southwest (straight line)

Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park

19.4 mi southwest (straight line)

Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park

30.5 mi southeast (straight line)

Henderson Beach State Park

34.1 mi southeast (straight line)

Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park

38.9 mi southwest (straight line)

Shoal River Headwaters State Park

40.2 mi east (straight line)

Big Lagoon State Park

41.2 mi southwest (straight line)

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

43.1 mi southeast (straight line)

Sources and freshness

Florida State Parks (Florida Park Service) — park page — last checked Oct 29, 2026
FDEP Open Data ArcGIS: Florida State Park Boundaries (PARKS_BOUNDARIES layer 0), dataset modified 2026-09-10 per the DEP open-data hub
Wikidata
USGS PAD-US 4.1 (boundary and acreage)
Photo: Blackwater River State Park Ganoderma curtisii f. sp. meredithiae.jpg — CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication), Operator 16

“Last checked” is when our system last read the official source. No change has been detected since this page was first published. Hours, fees and rules can change without notice — confirm with the park before you go. Methodology

Report a correction for this park