Fodor's Expert Review Caladesi Island State Park

Quiet, secluded, and still wild, this 3½-mile-long barrier island is one of the best shelling beaches on the Gulf Coast. The park also has plenty of sights for birders—from common sandpipers to majestic blue herons to rare black skimmers—and miles of trails through scrub oaks, saw palmettos, and cacti (with tenants such as armadillos, rabbits, and raccoons). The landscape also features mangroves and dunes, and the gradual slope of the sea bottom makes this a good spot for novice swimmers and kids.

You have to get to Caladesi Island by private boat (there's a 108-slip marina) or through its sister park, the Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area, where you take the hourly ferry ride across to Caladesi ($14 per person). You can also paddle yourself over in a kayak. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets. Best for: solitude; swimming.