Niceville's Turkey Creek Park revamp underway: New kayak launch, fishing platform, more
NICEVILLE — A project to add a south-end kayak/canoe launch and recovery facility, fishing platform, observation deck and new connecting boardwalks at Turkey Creek Park could be completed by the end of June, said Ammy Hanson, the city’s grants and certified floodplain manager.
The Niceville-owned park is at 340 John Sims Parkway and contains more than 100 acres of conservation land. The park is mostly known for its 1-mile boardwalk that winds along the creek and allows visitors to immerse themselves in nature.
The new kayak/canoe facility stands just north of where the boardwalk bridge begins to cross westward over the creek near the park’s main entry.
While the kayak/canoe facility might be completed by the end of May, Niceville officials will wait until the other new amenities are finished before opening all of them to the public, Hanson said.
“We want to make sure there is no construction going on and that it’s completely safe,” she said.
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Currently, some kayakers and canoers who enter the creek from the launch on the boardwalk’s north end paddle and coast downstream, passing under the parkway bridge before entering Boggy Bayou and taking out at Twin Cities Park in Valparaiso. The new kayak/canoe facility will provide a safe and more convenient spot for them to get out of the Turkey Creek current if they launch from the north end.
The site of the new fishing platform is south of the kayak/canoe facility. Farther upland, between the kayak/canoe facility and a large mulberry tree, visitors will able to enjoy water views from the new observation deck.
“The deck will stand 10 feet off the ground and connect to the existing boardwalk,” Hanson said. “There will be no stairs to use: People will able to walk straight over to the platform” from the boardwalk.
Picnic tables will be placed next to the observation deck and will be available once the entire project is completed. In addition, parking bumpers to provide delineated parking will be installed at the park’s south-end gravel parking lot.
The $145,000 project began last summer and reflects $36,250 worth of city labor and $108,750 in Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program funding from the Department of Environmental Protection.
The site of the kayak/canoe facility, fishing platform and observation deck is a 1.4-acre portion of the park known as the Neal property. Purchased by the city several years ago, it includes a small, vacant brick house.
Hanson said officials have not determined yet what they will do with the house.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Niceville's Turkey Creek Park adds kayak launch, fishing platform
