WATER & COAST

Hagen’s Cove Beach

Taylor County · North Florida & First Coast

Part of the Big Bend Wildlife Management Area on County Road 361, between Keaton Beach and Steinhatchee: 117 acres run by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. A viewing tower looks out over marsh, mudflats and the open Gulf, and the birding is the reason most people make the trip, with bald eagles, reddish egrets and large flocks of shorebirds and wading birds in winter, spring and fall. Restrooms and parking, both with accessible spaces. Horseback riding is allowed and there is a place to launch a paddle craft. Open daily from sunrise to sunset, and free. The water here is shallow enough that in scallop season, June through September, you can wade out and look for scallops rather than take a boat.