Destin has a lot to offer, and although its beaches are world-famous and its seafood delicious, there are hundreds of hidden treasures in the surrounding area of Northwest Florida that yield for fun adventures, day trips and weekend getaways. This column which will be featured on Wednesdays, will follow the wanderings of reporter, Savannah Vasquez, and explore the many opportunities in Destin’s surrounding area. I invite you to explore with me Beyond Destin.
When searching for a place to visit for my weekend column I usually try to think outside the box, but I was surprised to find that this week’s adventure spot has sat quietly beneath my nose for years like a secret garden hidden amidst the resorts and shopping malls of Sandestin.
Coffeen Nature Preserve is one of the only non-profit public land-trusts in the area and as such is only open to the public upon reservation. The preserve is privately run by local couple Susan and Bruce Paladini who actually live on the property and run both the educational tours and vacation rentals on the land. On the day of our tour, Cristian and I met four others and our guide Susan for a historical tour and nature walk around the preserve.
The tour began in the Paladini’s home, which was once a military mess hall built in 1944. As history goes, a man by the name of Robert Bushnel purchased 2,000 acres of land from the Choctawhatchee Bay to the Gulf, and directly afterwards the Air Force sequestered the area as a bomb testing site. It was the end of WWII, and the Allies were seeking to perfect a bomb to use against Nazi launch ramps set up against Brittan. Coffeen Nature Preserve was eyed for its close in proximity to Air Force testing field Eglin, as it had the highest sand dunes around.
So in 1944, the military paid $1 per year to lease the preserve and began practicing with acquired German rocket-bombs the V-1 and V-2. Over the course of a year, the military tested different methods to recreate and improve the bombs in order to create their own. Launch ramps were built on the preserve with iron tracks leading towards the water and the missiles were then shot off into the Gulf. Today, two of those missile ramps are still visible on the grounds as well as three concrete bunkers used as the control board and safe haven from the trial missile launches.
When the war ended in 1945, the military abandoned it’s program at the preserve, but not before producing 600 JB-2 missiles. The bombs were never used in war, but instead were used for target practice by anti-aircraft guns. The land was returned to Bushnel and his sister Dorothy Coffeen, who immediately decided that preservation was the only way to save their beautiful area from further land development. Dorothy eventually sold off the land north of Hwy 98, and along the waterfront in order to sustain her preserve but enforced strict building laws on developers along the water as to height requirements.
“Dorothy was very astute,” Susan Paladini said during our tour. “She cared very much about the land and wanted to keep it’s natural beauty as a haven from development.”
As the tour progressed we learned just what it was that Dorothy fell in love with. We traipsed along pine forest nature trails and beside pristine dunes; we visited a rare dune lake, and finally ended in a serene pine grove that Dorothy chose as her final resting place. We also explored the three concrete bunkers that now feature painted murals inside left by an unknown artist in 1986. As nature reclaims the old military ruins one of the missile launch ramps is used today as a hiking path, and the other serves as a roadway to the rental units facing the Gulf.
Our Coffeen Nature Preserve tour was arranged by the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance who is offering several eco-tours this spring. To see a list of eco-tour outings and dates visit www.basinalliance.org and click on Spring 2015 Eco-Tours.
WANNA GO?
Coffeen Nature Preserve is located at 146 Coffeen Hill Road in Santa Rosa Beach. Admission is free however, visitors must have reservations prior to entry. Guided tours are limited and on availability basis but brochures are available for an easy self-guided tour. For more information call Susan Paladini at 267-2312 or email fourmile@cox.net.