Dexter Beach(Lake Stella Park Beach & Recreation Area)

Located in Crescent City, Dexter Beach - also known as Thomas A. Dexter Bicentennial Park Beach - is a white-sand beach with nearby trees and coastal vegetation. This beach is situated along the shores of a spring-fed lake named Lake Stella. This beach is part of a recreational park named Thomas A. Dexter Bicentennial Park. As an interesting fact, this park is Florida’s first bicentennial park. 

Although Dexter Beach does not have lifeguards, it has many other amenities including picnic areas, a pavilion, restrooms, a boat dock, and a playground. Getting to Dexter Beach is easy - the beach is present near 325 Grand Rondo East, where a parking lot is also present. 

Dexter Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, wildlife watching, beachcombing, fishing, picnicking, swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing, boating, jet-skiing, and surf-skiing. An aquatic paddling trail is present in Lake Stella - you can launch your kayak and canoe from Dexter Beach and explore Lake Stella and its beautiful shoreline by paddling along this trail. If you like birdwatching, you can view many kinds of birds in the area around Dexter Beach including limpkins, sand-hill cranes, and wood ducks. You can catch many kinds of fish in the water near Dexter Beach. However, if you are planning to fish in the water near Dexter Beach, please make sure that you follow the local fishing regulations.

There are many attractions near Dexter Beach. Dunns Creek State Park is a 6,200-acre state park that has many kinds of habitats including bay gall wetlands, flatwood forests, and sandhills - you can explore the park’s landscape and biodiversity via the multi-use trails present here. This state park offers many fun activities including hiking, biking, horse riding, wildlife watching, fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and picnicking. Welaka State Forest is a state-protected forest that preserves a part of the riparian landscape along the St. Johns River – this forest is home to many kinds of animals including gopher tortoises, sandhill cranes, and Bachman’s sparrows.   The state forest also has a stable, primitive campsites, training arenas, and equestrian arenas, along with many multi-use trails. If you are looking for another attraction near Dexter Beach, Crescent City Historic District is a part of the United States National Register of Historic Places and it has 212 buildings that were constructed in the early 20th and the late 19th centuries. These exquisite buildings display a wide variety of architectural styles including Queen Anne and Colonial Revival architectural styles. 

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Dexter Beach. If you are looking for an upscale restaurant, Preserved Restaurant is an hour away by car–the restaurant is set in a 19th-century house, serves excellent southern-style dishes with French culinary influences, and has also been praised by many publications including the St. Augustine Social magazine and the Southern Living magazine. 3 Bananas is set along the shores of Crescent Lake and serves delicious salads, seafood, wraps, sandwiches, chicken wings, barbecued meats, and tacos. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Dexter Beach, El Amigo Mexican Restaurant serves amazing Mexican dishes including tacos, menudo, and fajitas.

If you are looking for a hotel near Dexter Beach, there are many great nearby options. If you are looking for an upscale hotel, the 4-Star Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa is an hour away by car. This hotel offers many amenities including a water park, a marina that offers water sporting equipment rentals and cruises, two golf courses, a fitness center, a spa, a kids’ camp, multiple restaurants, and a pool. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Best Western Inn Of Palatka, which is a 30-minute drive away. This hotel offers many amenities including a pool, a 24-hour exercise room, and a complimentary breakfast. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Dexter Beach, Georgetown Marina & Lodge is a marina that offers accommodation in cabins with screened porches. Georgetown Marina & Lodge offers many amenities including a boat launch facility, laundry and shower facilities, a bait and tackle store, and a ship store offering boating-related provisions. As another modestly priced option, The Sprague House Bed & Breakfast Inn is set in a late 19th-century house. This hotel offers many amenities including a restaurant, DVD loaner facility, multiple pianos, complimentary breakfast, a veranda, a lounge, and a front parlor.