More than Meets the Eye at George Crady

Park Overview

You can access the George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier State Park from 2 sides – via Amelia Island State Park or via Big Talbot Island State Park, both off State Road A1A. Arriving from Amelia Island State Park, we frolic along the shoreline, admiring the enormous fishing bridge and those on it baiting their lunches. Little estuaries flow into the ocean, and sand erosion is prevalent along the route. We climb along some dangerous rocks because “Danger Rocks!” and survive a close encounter with a cannonball jellyfish!

Our Adventure

I think back to our first encounter with this park in October 2017 when we arrived from the other access point of Big Talbot Island. We parked next to the boat ramp and headed straight for George Crady Bridge. We couldn’t walk on the bridge, so we explored underneath it! No pets are allowed on this one-mile long pedestrian-only bridge. Since our pup, Cami, was a no-go, we climbed over the highway barrier to access a rocky pathway to the beach. As we trudged uphill to the start of the bridge, some folks had already set up shop to fish for the day.

On the shore of the Nassau Sound, I kicked off my sandals and let the cool water rinse over my toes. Cami splashed her paws in for a quick dip too. It was already a hot and sunny morning. Our feet and paws sank heavily in the wet sand, and boats tinkered off shore. There were no sounds of cars passing over the bridge. You could only hear the seagulls swooping down for an early lunch. Foamy waves and rocky walkways were the backdrop, along with seaweed that Cami nibbled on for good measure.

After getting a little wet, we walked out to the bird watching station back off State Road A1A, about halfway down a boardwalk, where one little covered bench allows an escape from the heat, and so we gawked at pink spoonbills and other flights of prey.

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