GULF BREEZE, FL - Gulf Islands National Seashore has completed preliminary damage assessments following Hurricane Zeta. On Friday, Oct. 30, at 8:00 am, Johnson Beach in the Perdido Key Area and the Okaloosa Area will reopen. The Naval Live Oaks Area remains open. The three areas will resume their normal operating schedules.
Restrooms and pavilions will be open at Johnson Beach, however, Johnson Beach Road beyond the main parking lot will remain closed as crews continue to clear sand and debris from the road. Additionally, the Perdido Key Discovery Trail, destroyed by Hurricane Sally, will remain closed until further notice. Entrance fees will be required at the Perdido Key and Okaloosa areas.
The restrooms at Okaloosa will remain closed due to loss of power.
The Fort Pickens and Santa Rosa Areas remain closed to all visitors (pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles). The Fort Barrancas Area remains closed due to NAS Pensacola closure.
J. Earle Bowden Way, Highway 399 between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach, and Fort Pickens Road were severely impacted by the Hurricane Sally and will not resume normal operations for several months. A timeline for road reconstruction or limited reopening is not available currently. Opal Beach remains heavily inundated with sand, but damage to facilities was limited. In the Fort Pickens Area, boardwalks, pavilions, the ferry pier, the old camp store, and all historic wooden structures were all damaged. Current closure information: www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/tempclosures.htm.
A full list of closures and impacts can be found at www.nps.gov/guis/learn/news.htm. Park status updates will be posted online at www.nps.gov/GulfIslands, www.Facebook.com/GulfIslandsNPS, and www.Twitter.com/GulfIslandsNPS.
www.nps.gov
About Gulf Islands National Seashore: Created in 1971, the national seashore stretches 160 miles along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida and Mississippi, and includes barrier islands, maritime forests, historic forts, bayous, and marine habitat. Visit us at www.nps.gov/GulfIslands, on Facebook www.facebook.com/GulfIslandsNPS, Twitter www.twitter.com/GulfIslandsNPS, and Instagram www.Instagram.com/GulfIslandsNPS.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 421 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
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Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
