Rep. Vicki Lopez tours Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park

KEY BISCAYNE, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, August 15, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Representative Vicki Lopez of Miami, who serves the 113th district of the Florida House of Representatives, yesterday visited Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne as a guest of the Florida State Parks Foundation and the Florida Park Service.

Rep. Lopez joined Florida State Parks Director Chuck Hatcher, Florida State Parks Foundation CEO Julia Gill Woodward, Foundation Board Members Jose Romano and Jose Felix Diaz, and representatives from the park and administrative district for a tour highlighting the park’s iconic lighthouse and keeper’s cottage, as well as its mile-long beachfront and nature trails.

The park’s centerpiece, the Cape Florida Lighthouse, has stood since 1825 and is the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County. The lighthouse recently underwent improvements and received new interpretive displays.

“Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park is an incredible natural setting here in Miami that is also home to some of our state’s most significant history,” Rep. Lopez said. “It was great to see all the work that has been done to preserve the Cape Florida Lighthouse and spend a day with the people who make our state parks so special.”

Originally acquired in 1966 and established as a state park in 1969, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park encompasses 442 acres at the southern tip of Key Biscayne, about 7 miles from Miami.

In 2023, the park welcomed nearly 800,000 visitors, generated an estimated economic impact of more than $97 million and supported more than 1,300 local jobs.

Beyond its popular lighthouse tours, the park also offers bicycling, fishing, hiking, paddling and swimming, among other experiences.

Overall, Florida is home to 175 state parks, trails and historic sites and is the nation’s only four-time winner of the National Gold Medal for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management.

In 2023, Florida’s state parks combined to host more than 28 million visitors, generate $3.6 billion in estimated economic impact and support more than 50,000 jobs through park operations.

“We appreciate every opportunity to share Florida’s award-winning state parks with our elected officials,” Woodward said. “We thank Rep. Lopez for visiting Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park today and for the amazing support our state parks have received from the Florida Legislature over the past several years.”

Tim Linafelt
Florida State Parks Foundation
+1 850-559-8914
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