[1] The park covers an area of 543 acres (220 ha),[2] while the Apalachicola National Forest and St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge surround the park,[3][4] producing a net contiguous area of 632,000 acres (256,000 ha) of protected lands.

[5] The park was once populated by Native American peoples of the Weeden Island culture in the 300–1000 AD period.

[6] The park is considered to be one of the best remaining examples of a natural flatwoods environment in the state,[7] and it contains a significant habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, which nests in longleaf pines.

[8] The park's location at the top of Ochlockonee Bay is within a tidal estuary, with fresh water from the Ochlockonee and Sopchoppy Rivers mixing with tidal salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to produce a brackish environment, inhabited by both fresh and saltwater fish.

[9] Largemouth bass, bream, catfish, speckled perch, and other fish are found in the brackish river waters,[10] along with blue crabs.