Palmetto Island State Park

State park in Louisiana, United States

29°52′09″N 92°09′06″W / 29.8693°N 92.151683°W / 29.8693; -92.151683^[1]Area1,299 acres (5.26 km²; 2.030 sq mi)^[2]EstablishedOctober 28, 2010 (2010-10-28)^[2]Visitors79,159 (in 2022)^[3]Governing bodyLouisiana Office of State Parkswww.crt.state.la.us/parks/ipalmetto.aspx

Palmetto Island State Park is a recent addition to the Louisiana State Park system. The new state park is located south of Abbeville, Louisiana in Vermilion Parish. The state of Louisiana acquired the property for the park in 1981 but did not begin construction on it with the intent of public use until 2002. State budget constraints and other concerns delayed the park's opening until October 28, 2010.

The park, 1,299 acres (5.26 km²) in size, is noted for its abundance of palmettos,(mostly Dwarf Palmetto)^[4] which form a dense understory in the coastal bottomland hardwood forest that predominates here. Palmetto Island State Park has a visitor's center which houses a multi-purpose room that can rented for meetings, weddings and other social events. A water playground is located nearby. Guests may stay at one of six two-bedroom cabins nestled in the woods or use any of the park's 95 campsites. There are four picnic pavilions and strategically placed picnic sites for visitors. An aquatic pavilion overlooks the Vermilion River. Access to the Vermilion River is provided by a boat launch. Interior lagoons allow canoers and kayakers the opportunity to observe native animal and plant life. Including a new population of Iris nelsonii.^[5] A nature trail (of 0.75 miles) begins at the park's visitor center.

The park address is 19501 Pleasant Road, Abbeville, LA 70510.

References

^ "Palmetto Island State Park - Louisiana Office of State Parks". Archived from the original on March 9, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Bergeron, Judy (November 7, 2010). "Palmetto Island State Park opens in Abbeville". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011.
^ "Fiscal Year 2024 Executive Budget Review Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism" (PDF). Louisiana House of Representatives. March 29, 2023.
^ Stephen Welton Taber, Scott B. Fleenor of Central Texas Wetlands&pg=PA12 sO6ax1TtnzEC, p. 12, at Google Books
^ "Abbeville Red – Iris nelsonii". friendsofpalmetto.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2014.

External links

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism

Protected areas of Louisiana

Federal

National Historical Parks	Cane River Creole Jean Lafitte NHP and Preserve New Orleans Jazz
National Monuments	Poverty Point
National Marine Sanctuary	Flower Garden Banks
National Forests	Kisatchie
National wild and scenic rivers	Saline Bayou
National Wildlife Refuge System	Atchafalaya Bayou Cocodrie Bayou Sauvage Bayou Teche Big Branch Marsh Black Bayou Lake Bogue Chitto Breton Cameron Prairie Cat Island Catahoula D'Arbonne Delta East Cove Grand Cote Handy Brake Lacassine Lake Ophelia Mandalay Red River Sabine Shell Keys Tensas River Upper Ouachita

State

State Parks	Bayou Segnette Bogue Chitto Chemin-A-Haut Chicot Cypremort Point Fairview-Riverside Fontainebleau Grand Isle Hodges Gardens Jimmie Davis Lake Bistineau Lake Bruin Lake Claiborne Lake D-Arbonne Lake Fausse Pointe North Toledo Bend Palmetto Island Poverty Point Reservoir St. Bernard Sam Houston Jones South Toledo Bend Tickfaw
State Historic Sites	Audubon Centenary Fort Jesup Fort Pike Fort St. Jean Baptiste Forts Randolph & Buhlow Locust Grove Longfellow-Evangeline Los Adaes Mansfield Plaquemine Lock Port Hudson Poverty Point Rebel State Rosedown Plantation Winter Quarters
State Preservation Area	Louisiana State Arboretum
State Forests	Alexander Indian Creek
State Wildlife Refuges	Elmer's Island Marsh Island Rockefeller St. Tammany State Terrebonne Barrier Islands White Lake Wetlands
Wildlife management areas	Acadiana Conservation Corridor Atchafalaya Delta Attakapas Barataria Preserve Bayou Macon Bayou Pierre Ben Lilly Conservation Area Ben's Creek Big Colewa Bayou Big Lake Biloxi Bodcau Boeuf Bonnet Carré Spillway Buckhorn Camp Beauregard Catahoula Lake Clear Creek Dewey Wills Elbow Slough Elm Hall Floy Ward McElroy Fort Polk Grassy Lake Hutchinson Creek Indian Bayou Jackson Bienville J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert Wildlife Management Area Joyce Lake Boeuf Lake Ramsey Savannah Little River Loggy Bayou Manchac Marsh Bayou Maurepas Swamp Old River Control Ouachita Pass A Loutre Pearl River Peason Ridge Pointe-aux-Chenes Pomme de Terre Richard K. Yancey Russell Sage Sabine Sabine Island Salvador/Timken Sandy Hollow Sherburne (See: Atchafalaya Delta) Soda Lake Spring Bayou Tangipahoa Parish School Board Thistlethwaite Three Rivers Tunica Hills Union Walnut Hill West Bay