Geography:

If crowds send you running in the opposite direction, point your toes toward six miles of uncrowded, car-free shoreline with a public fishing pier at Flagler Beach Municipal Beach. It offers campsites, a nature trail, grills, a boat ramp and unlimited access to silent, sun-kissed beaches with warm, brown sand.

Or settle in for a heavenly day at "The Rocks," otherwise known as Washington Garden State Park. It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mantanzas River, also known as the Intracoastal Waterway, spanning 410 acres. This famous, deep-water channel winds its way through wetlands and marshes brimming with interesting and colorful creatures. Ocean waves have washed away the sand, exposing coquina rock and creating a picturesque boulder-strewn beach in one section, perfect for exploring tidal pools.

Magnificent live oak trees offer shade as you walk through these tranquil and peaceful gardens that will take you on a journey down footpaths leading to countless varieties of plant life. Each season yields a new experience with the flowering of annuals, perennials, combined with exotics and native vegetation complimenting a beautiful natural setting. The gardens are well known for azaleas, camellias and roses.

Although the park is most known for the formal garden, the majority of the parks nearly 400 acres exists in natural condition. The beach dune areas of the park provide nesting places for endangered sea turtles. The loggerhead sea turtle is a frequent visitor to the beaches of the park, and the Gopher Tortoise also makes his home in the scrub. Look quickly and you might spot the much beloved yet endangered Florida Manatee, frequently seen along the western boundaries of the park in the Matanzas River.