Hi Katy.
I spoke to you this morning about your quest to ride horses on the beach. Here are some details and links to help you get the most out of your visit.
Regulations given to me as a Receptionist:
- Horses – Horses trailers can be parked at the GTM dam. If the trailer parking is full, they can park in the visitor center on the hill or where the school buses park.
- If they want to ride on the beach, horses are only allowed below mean high tide, within 3 hours of daily low tide. They have to walk their horses down Guana River Rd. to get to the Exxon station. There is a dirt path just before A1A they can walk down so they don’t have to walk along A1A. The dirt path leads to the Exxon parking lot and crosswalk.
I also recommend riding the Guana trails while you are here. GTM has a modest set of lovely trails on our peninsula, and horses are welcome. But the adjacent property is even better for horses. It is managed by FWC:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Web page(s) for the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) that is accessible from GTM Research Reserve. It is a much more extensive trail system than GTM’s peninsula. I recommend you request a printed copy of the Guana River Recreation Guide linked on that page. It is a beautiful, full color map of the trail system. Request it through this form.
This is the nearest campground to GTM and the Guana Wildlife Management Area. They might know where you can overnight the horses.
Horse carriage companies
I believe they will know where you can keep the horses. Here is a long-term company:
I hope this helps.