Frank Butler County Park West — Attraction in Florida

If you're looking for a great place to launch a boat or a kayak / paddleboard for access to the Intracoastal Waterway in the South St. Augustine area, this is it. Plenty of parking, a well-designed boat ramp, convenient bathrooms, and FREE. A couple of issues:

1. If you're looking for a pleasant park for a day's outing (non-boating) this is pretty minimal. It has a few covered picnic tables but not much more.
2. If you're a boater or kayaker, there is no information posted that shows you which way to go to get to the non-tide-influenced boating channel. At low tide, local knowledge of the water is beneficial, because there are shallow spots (unmarked), rocks, and oyster beds. It's tempting to paddle or drive your boat straight west from the boat ramp as a shortcut to the Intracoastal Waterway, but if the tide is low you run the risk of grounding. (Tip: Head north out of the launch area and within a quarter mile or so you will join the navigation channel.)

NOTE: This is a review for the Frank Butler County Park West. The "East" park is across A1A and is primarily for accessing the beach, not the Intracoastal.

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What a lovely little park. We visited here in our RV, March 4th and it was very quiet with plenty of parking spaces. There are three shaded picnic tables underneath roofed structures and at least 6 small charcoal BBQ grills. Plenty of green space to let the kids or dogs run around for a bit, though it is surrounded by moving water, so be watchful. There is no actual playground here. The boat ramp is nice and easy to back into and there were water access points from land as well, easy to put in on a kayak or canoe as well as jet skis or a boat. Public restrooms are available and clean with running water. The entire park is...

We did a Native Sun boat tour with Russ - a favorite of ours from his pontoon boat tours a few years ago. Right now the tour leaves from this location, but it will be moving. Russ is knowledgeable about the area on general - history, geographic features and nature, and is a thorough delight. The skiff seats a small party of up to six, so it's an intimate group. I love seeing the town from the water, spotting various birds, and learning about the ecosystem. Russ is low key and...