Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park lies on Florida’s northwestern coast near Niceville along Highway 20. Centered on Rocky Bayou, it preserves a coastal scrub landscape marked by evidence of much earlier Native American presence, including middens and artifacts found throughout the park. The area is also valued for recreation, offering boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, hiking, bicycling, birding, picnicking, tubing, wildlife viewing, and camping. Its natural character is defined by a sand pine forest, where large mature sand pines rise above scrub vegetation such as Florida rosemary, reindeer moss, and several scrub oaks, creating a setting distinctive to Florida’s coastal scrub habitats.