Matanzas State Forest

Just eight miles south of St. Augustine in St. Johns County, the Matanzas Wildlife Management Area (WMA) occupies 4,699 acres within the Matanzas State Forest. The forest protects two miles of estuarine marsh along the Intracoastal Waterway (Matanzas River) - the last remaining undisturbed salt marsh within the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. The forest and WMA are part of the Matanzas Marsh, a 16,000-acre continuous conservation corridor. The marsh is vital to the protection of water quality and wildlife habitat in the Matanzas River. The area has a rich cultural history and the state forest is a site on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail.

Recreational opportunities include hunting, fishing, horseback riding, hiking, bicycling, canoeing and kayaking, wildlife viewing, Camping is allowed by permit only from the Florida Forest Service and picnicking.