St Augustine Florida ??

[qsemergency]

May be in St Augustine with wife during Thanksgiving Holiday.
Was surprised to see on the Maps that there is nothing in St Augustine - Only Daytona and Jacksonville.
Are there any locations near Anastasia State Park?

Thanks

[duuudeization]

Ive heard there was some good tidal mud near the 302 bridge ( dont quote me on that number )

[indiana89]

I've had trouble with the many oyster beds in St Augustine itself. But if you take the time to drive 15-20 minutes north on A1A, there's extremely good tidal mud in Guana Preserve.

[Metablip]

I've had trouble with the many oyster beds in St Augustine itself. But if you take the time to drive 15-20 minutes north on A1A, there's extremely good tidal mud in Guana Preserve.

This. There are spots that are easy to get to, ranging from somewhat private to extremely secluded, and is some of the best deep mud you can find.

[mudinmiami]

I'm thinking of going to Guana Reserve either tomorrow or Sunday! Has anyone managed to have any fun recently near St Aug?

[enerj29]

Has anyone gone to Guana Reserve and is it worth it? I'm thinking about taking a trip down to Flordia, but as that involves a flight, I'd rather make it a worthwhile trip.

[Metablip]

Yes, it is totally worth it.

[Sinkman61]

Saint Augustine is a sinking paradise. There’s some of the best mud in the country here. The vast majority is in the tidal mudflats, which run from southern Georgia down to Daytona Beach. There’s literally thousands of acres of exposed mud flats during low tide. But the bulk of those mud flats are well within view of the Intercoastal Waterway. However, there’s also plenty of tidal creeks that work their way into the tidal marshes. These offer outstanding privacy and exceptionally deep mud. The best that I’ve found so far is located inside the Guana River Estuary between Saint Augustine and Jacksonville. To get there, you take A1A North along the coast from Saint Augustine. The parking lot for the Estuary will be immediately after you pass the lone gas station/convenience store on your left hand side (approximately 10 +/- a couple of miles north of Vilano Beach). Normally parking is $3, but they’ve suspended the fee due to the virus. Anyhow, drive to the parking lot on the western end of the road. From this point you’ll need to either hike or ride a bike in. These directions are for hiking in...you will need to hike to the western end of the wilderness paths (there’s maps along the way) until you get to the eastern bank of the Intercoastal Waterway. Once there, head north along the beach. This beach often has a few boats anchored along it, especially on weekends. Fear not, you’re going to hike away from this area. Head north until you get to the second tidal creek opening. Going further past this point along the Intercoastal has the beach turn into mud. It’s a neat spot, but well exposed. Head east along the tidal creek. You’ll almost immediately see a large mud bank on the southern side of the tidal creek. This is a great spot for really deep sinking, but isn’t the most private. If you want privacy, hike inland along the tidal creek. When the woods are close by to the south of you, you’ve come in to an area that has extremely deep (bottomless) mud banks. The first will be off to your left. But go a bit further and a much larger mud bank will open up to your right. This spot offers up at least an acre of seemingly bottomless mud. I’ve sunk completely under in this area before.

Word to the wise. Tidal mud can be extremely dangerous. First, this is a nature preserve. That means things that bite. ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR DEADLY SNAKES (we have both Cotton Mouths and the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. That’s the most deadly native snake known in North America. Their bite can kill several healthy adults. If you see one, leave it alone. Many people have been bitten by snakes they thought would be fun to catch. You just might catch more than you bargained for. They want nothing to do with you. Chances are, you won’t ever see one, but if you do, leave it to go on it’s own way. Remember where you are...help isn’t just around the corner. There’s also alligators. Alligators don’t particularly care for salt water marshes. There’s plenty of salt in this brackish water, so your chance of finding a gator is even less than a Rattlesnake. But they’ve been known to show up occasionally. Don’t mess with them. They can get rather large and make a meal out of you. There’s plenty of biting bugs as well. The worst are the yellow flies. They really hurt when they bite. So you may want to consider using insect repellent. And if you’re out there as the sun starts to set, you’ll become a smorgasbord for the mosquitoes. So yeah, bring that insect repellent. Second, as a TIDEal Marsh, that means it’s affected by tides. The typical depth between the top of the mud banks and the top of the water during high tide is 12-18”. That’s more than enough to get yourself in serious trouble with, especially when you’re neck deep or more in the mud. So plan your sinking accordingly. It’s best to get to the tidal mud flats about an hour BEFORE low tide. That’ll give you around 3-4 hours before the tide turns and starts coming back in. And when the tide starts coming in, it comes in fast. So as soon as you notice the tide start to turn, you should be working your way back out of the mud. And third, don’t ever go sinking here without proper footwear. That’s because there’s oyster beds all along the shorelines, which spill out into the tidal creeks (there’s numerous places free of oysters to go sinking). Tennis shoes are NOT proper footwear as the suction from the mud can easily pull them off your feet. The best footwear for sinking are hightop dive booties. I’ve posted a particularly excellent type of dive bootie that laces up as well, so they’re not going to be pulled off your feet. They were actually made for use in this type of terrain/mud. They’re available on Amazon for around $70.00. If you go out in mud often, they’re worth every dime. Mine are 4 years old and still going strong. If you don’t have dive booties, hightop (8”) leather work boots work well too as long as they’re broken in well. If they’re not, well, they can make getting out much more difficult. Regardless, DON’T USE knee high rubber boots, hip, or chest waders. They create far too much suction. Tidal mud is extremely sticky and will create a tight seal against your skin, your cloths, and your footwear. So getting out is much harder. While you’re trying to pull yourself up, the suction this mud creates is pulling you back down. In addition, because it’s sticking all over you, it adds a considerable amount of additional weight that you’re having to contend with. Even when you’re mostly free from the mud, getting that last leg free can be really hard just in itself. There’s a good chance that you might not be able to free yourself from the mud if you’re wearing such large, heavy duty boots. Instead, when you go to pull upward with your deeply buried feet, you’ll find that they’ll not budge in the least. And yet, you’ll still be able to push them down deeper still. And if you don’t stop doing that with such ridiculously heavy soled boots, you’ll find out that indeed, you actually can sink down and completely disappear under quicksand. But you won’t be popping back up when you need more air. So leave your rubber heavy duty boots at home. Why you would want to wear hip or chest waders in the first place is beyond me, because the texture of the mud here is incredible. You’ll definitely enjoy the feeling that this mud has when it’s grabbing ahold of your bare skin. It’s the mud’s texture (silky smooth and slightly cool on a hot day) that makes this area so exceptional for sinking in the first place. The fact that it’s nearly bottomless is just icing on the cake.

If you are wanting someone to guide you into the area and get you on the greatest mud banks, feel free to call me at (904) 471-2629. Ask for Scottie. I live in Saint Augustine. BTW, I screen calls, so talk into the answering machine. I’ll either pick up or when I see your message, will call you back. I won’t disclose your sinking fetish to just anyone that answers the phone, so you needn’t worry about that. Obviously I’ll make sure I’m talking to the right person. I just block anyone making prank or fraudulent phone calls.

[Sinkman61]

Ive heard there was some good tidal mud near the 302 bridge ( dont quote me on that number )

It’s the 312 bridge and yes, there appears to be plenty of great looking mud at low tide there. But there’s ALSO BUMPER TO BUMPER traffic that goes over that bridge, as it’s the main route to take between Saint Augustine and I-95, as well as the outlet malls. So I certainly wouldn’t suggest going sinking here unless you really want an audience...as well as the police asking you what you think you’re doing. With the vast amount of mud between Saint Augustine and Jacksonville, there’s really no reason to settle for something that’s considerably less than perfect. I have mud less than 20 feet from the back of my house. It’s about waist deep. It’s also got plenty of broken branches and dead plant material all mixed throughout. I COULD go sinking there, but I don’t. It’s just not worth the effort with so much terrific mud nearby. The only time I go back in that mud is when it needs to be cleaned up back there.