Draper Lake

One of the prettiest views of any Florida beach that I have ever seen (and I've lived all over the state) is the view overlooking Draper lake from the highpoint. It's unusual because as you look down over the tops of the tall pine trees, you see a beautiful serene lake, then beyond that the Gulf of Mexico. The layers of the green trees, the dark lake, the brilliant white sand and the turqouise blue of the gulf make a really lovely picture. The photo of the day was obviously not taken at the described highpoint. It is Draper taken almost from lake level but a view of the outflow point of the lake from a community, or what will someday be a community called Draper Lake Village. It's a beautiful spot, developed a little ahead of it's time but nicely done and we very much enjoy being able to walk through it on our way to our beach access. Draper Lake is one of 18 coastal dune lakes in the area. Coastal dune lakes are rare and this area of the coast has more of them than anywhere in the world. We are very proud of that and they might have something to do with why this part of NW Florida is on the top 5 list in the world in terms of eco-diversity. (I know it seems odd that the panhandle has a ranking like that and I was surprised to read it but read it I did so it must be true, right?). Anyhow, what makes these lakes special is that when their spring fed water is high, it breaks into the gulf water. When that happens, some of the salt water gets into the lake making a unique marine habitat. The gulf water can get into the lake when there is a strong storm surge but there is a physical opening that happens only breaks through when the lake water is high. That opening into the gulf comes and goes. Sometimes it's small and sometimes it's pretty big and hard to cross. From the beach side you can often see it is open from a distance because although the lake water is very clear, as it pours into the surf it can look like a red stained stream flowing out. Peterson, my favorite neighbor and avid fisherman, loves to fish Draper and we love to partake of that effort now and then.