Camp Helen State Park and Eden Gardens State Park

This presentation tells the story of two of the Panhandle’s outstanding State Parks, Camp Helen and Eden Gardens. Both have rich histories that are very different. The first hotel at what is now Camp Helen was built along the bluffs overlooking Lake Powell in the 1920s, and Camp Helen expanded between 1945 and 1987 as a recreation camp for employees of Avondale Textile Mills. The home at Eden Gardens was built in the 1890s as a private home, and the grounds also accommodated employee cottages for the lumbermill there. The home and gardens were purchased by a wealthy heiress in 1963 who renovated the building and grounds before donating the site to the State of Florida in 1968.

Scarlett A. Dunn
Park Services Specialist
Camp Helen / Eden Gardens State Park
Scarlett.A.Dunn@dep.state.fl.us
850-267-8322