Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center

The Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center is a nonprofit education and rescue center inside Navarre Beach Marine Park, where visitors meet Sweet Pea, a green sea turtle that cannot be released and serves as the center’s ambassador-in-residence. Sweet Pea lost a flipper and suffered shell damage from fishing-line entanglement and a boat strike, and her story anchors the center’s message about protecting sea turtles on this stretch of the Gulf. Founded in 2013 through grassroots community effort, the center draws around 65,000 visitors a year.

The center is at 8740 Gulf Blvd on Navarre Beach (phone 850-684-3347, navarrebeachseaturtles.org). Sweet Pea’s 15,000-gallon saltwater pool is the main exhibit. A 1,152-square-foot expansion opened in May 2025 with a 3,000-gallon observation tank and conservation exhibits beneath a life-size skeleton of Archelon, a prehistoric sea turtle. The Shanna Litterst Education Center adds saltwater aquariums and interactive displays, and rescued tortoises and diamondback terrapins round out the residents.

Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 4pm from March through October and 11am to 4pm from November through February. Tickets are sold online; check the website for current pricing. Add-on experiences include a Shark Tooth Treasure Hunt, Painting Tortoise Tracks with Safari the African spurred tortoise, and a behind-the-scenes Honorary Animal Care Team Member session.

The center’s rescue team responds to hooked and stranded turtles. UF/IFAS Extension reports that in 2021 volunteers freed 55 of 94 sea turtles caught on lines at the nearby Navarre Beach Fishing Pier. Anyone can join Trash Bash, the beach cleanup held the last Saturday of each month.