Nature Coast

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

This article appears to be written like an advertisement. Please help improve it by rewriting promotional content from a neutral point of view and removing any inappropriate external links. (December 2007)

Map of Florida's Nature Coast

The Nature Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. The Nature Coast State Trail is officially designated as part of Florida’s Statewide System of Greenways and Trails.^[1] It comprises the inside curve or Big Bend area of the western coast of the state and encompasses Citrus, Dixie, Hernando, Jefferson, Pasco, Levy, Taylor, and Wakulla counties. This region of Florida is culturally partially southern, with the Deep South culture extending to Levy County with the lower southern end (Pasco, Hernando, and sometimes Citrus county) often considered part of the Tampa Bay Metropolian Area. Pasco County is sometimes considered part of the Sun Coast.

The history of the Nature Coast

The origin of the name "The Nature Coast": Devised in 1991 as part of a marketing campaign to lure vacationers to the nine county area, the name "Nature Coast" caught on quickly and describes the area formally known as the "Big Bend" of Florida. St. Petersburg Times article, St. Petersburg Times - Feb 23, 1994

Wildlife and Nature

Activities common in this area are: hunting, fishing, boating, bird watching, nature hiking and the like. Snorkeling spots are found in the rivers along the Nature Coast. Also diving and Manatee tours, predominate in areas such as Crystal River, Homosassa and Homosassa Springs.

The Naturecoast is home to wildlife such as: Deer, wild pigs, roseate spoonbills, alligators, raccoons, opossums, snakes, great blue herons, egrets, turtles and countless others, including at least 19 endangered species.

Additional information and facts about The Nature Coast

The NatureCoast covers 8 different counties and 1 partial county (Dunnellon is a part of Marion County). It encompasses 980,000 acres (4,000 km²). There are also 50 Golf Courses located within these counties

Culture

Citrus

Crystal River Archaeological State Park

Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge

Crystal River Preserve State Park

Hitters Hall of Fame

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park

Lake Rousseau

Ted Williams Baseball Museum

Withlacoochee State Trail

Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins State Historic Site

Hernando

The Heritage Museum

Weeki Wachee Springs

Nature Coast Botanical Gardens

Jefferson

Letchworth Mounds

Levy

Cedar Key Museum State Park

Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve

Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge

Fanning Springs State Park

Manatee Springs State Park

Waccasassa Bay Preserve State Park

Goethe State Forest

Devil's Hammock Wildlife Management Area

Marion

Rainbow Springs State Park

Pasco

Pioneer Florida Museum

Taylor

Forest Capital Museum State Park

Wakulla

Bald Point State Park

Bradwell Bay Wilderness

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park

Ochlockonee River State Park

San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad Trail State Park

References

External links

• http://www.nmia.com/~allwayst/Florida'sNatureCoastSteinhatchee.html
• http://naturecoastcoalition.com/index.htm The Visual Spectrum (Publishers)

References

Robert Painter, Writer & Photographer (1995)

information provided from State Of Florida and department of tourism (2006)

Literature from the Homossassa State Park, brochures and pamphlets (2005-2007)

Citrus County Chamber and Naturecoast Chambers Of Commerce including information and literature provided by: Cedar Key Chamber, Citrus County Chamber, Dixie County Chamber, Dunnellon Area Chamber, Greater Dade City Chamber, Greater Hernando County Chamber, Perry-Taylor Chamber, Wakulla County Chamber Historical Wakulla County Courthouse (records and information), West Pasco Chamber, Citrus County Tourist Development Council, Levy County Development Authority and Economic Development Council, Hernando County Tourist Development Council, Wakulla County, Taylor County, literature and information (2004-2006)

Florida portal

v t e  State of Florida Tallahassee (capital) Topics Delegations Environment Floridians Geography Government History State Parks Transportation Visitor Attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Big Bend Central Florida Emerald Coast First Coast Florida Heartland Florida Keys Florida Panhandle Forgotten Coast Fun Coast Glades Gold Coast Nature Coast North Central Florida North Florida Northeast Florida South Florida Southwest Florida Space Coast Suncoast Tampa Bay Area Treasure Coast Metro areas Cape Coral–Fort Myers Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach Fort Walton Beach–Crestview–Destin Gainesville Jacksonville Lakeland–Winter Haven Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach Naples–Marco Island North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Ocala Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Palm Coast Panama City–Lynn Haven–Panama City Beach Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Port St. Lucie Punta Gorda Sebastian–Vero Beach Tallahassee Tampa-St. Petersburg–Clearwater Largest cities Jacksonville Miami Tampa St. Petersburg Orlando Hialeah Tallahassee Fort Lauderdale Port St. Lucie Pembroke Pines Cape Coral Hollywood Gainesville Miramar Coral Springs Clearwater Miami Gardens Brandon Palm Bay West Palm Beach Pompano Beach Spring Hill Lakeland Davie Miami Beach Counties Alachua Baker Bay Bradford Brevard Broward Calhoun Charlotte Citrus Clay Collier Columbia DeSoto Dixie Duval Escambia Flagler Franklin Gadsden Gilchrist Glades Gulf Hamilton Hardee Hendry Hernando Highlands Hillsborough Holmes Indian River Jackson Jefferson Lafayette Lake Lee Leon Levy Liberty Madison Manatee Marion Martin Miami‑Dade Monroe Nassau Okaloosa Okeechobee Orange Osceola Palm Beach Pasco Pinellas Polk Putnam Santa Rosa Sarasota Seminole St. Johns St. Lucie Sumter Suwannee Taylor Union Volusia Wakulla Walton Washington