Spring Break Destination #1 - Eden Gardens State Park, Florida

Since many of you will be heading for the coast on Spring Break family trips over the next few weeks, I thought I would spend some time spotlighting some of the places along the coast that I really enjoy to give you some options when the sunburns get a bit too bad for the beach!

One of my favorites is Eden Gardens State Park in Point Washington, Florida. Point Washington is a charming little community on the Emerald Coast between the mega resort areas of Destin and Panama City Beach.

Eden Gardens is a beautiful state park that becomes one of the most spectacular places in the Deep South when the gardens move into full bloom later this month and in April. Centered around the historic Wesley Mansion, the gardens were created in the 20th century to accentuate the old homes beautiful waterfront setting.

Visitors to the park can tour the old house, which was built during the post Civil War era by a lumberman who run mills near Choctawhatchee Bay that converted virgin timber floated down the Choctawhatchee River into lumber. It is said that he based the design of the house on a mansion where he found shelter while returning home from serving in the Confederate army. The mansion was remodeled to its present almost antebellum form in later years.

The gardens surround the old mansion, complete with statuary and water features, and visitors can walk peaceful pathways through the beautiful blooms and greenery.

To learn more about Eden Gardens, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/edengardens.

Eden Gardens State Park - Point Washington, Florida

Located just off the beautiful white sand beaches of Northwest Florida's Emerald Coast in Point Washington, Eden Gardens State Park is a scenic treasure.

Surrounding a historic home built by lumberman William Henry Wesley in 1895, the gardens were established by wealthy publisher Lois Genevieve Maxon during the 1960s. She bought the home, which was once the center of a large sawmill community, in 1963 and turned it into a Gulf Coast showplace.

Just five years after acquiring the home, Maxon donated it to the people of Florida for use as a state park. It is surrounded by beautiful gardens of flowering plants, trees, fountains, reflecting pools, roses and statuary that she completed during her five years of ownership.

Maxon's generosity provided Northwest Florida with a spectacular state park that is beautiful year round, but particularly during late March when the gardens are in full bloom. Eden is located in Point Washington, just one mile off U.S. Highway 98 between Panama City and Destin.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/edengardens.