Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson

Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, formerly known as John U. Lloyd Beach State Park, encompasses 310 acres of barrier island and coastal habitats in Dania Beach, Broward County, along the southeastern Florida coast. The park was renamed in 2016 to honor two civil rights leaders who fought for African American beach access during segregation. Situated between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean, the park preserves a rare stretch of undeveloped coastline within the densely urbanized South Florida landscape, including one of the most important sea turtle nesting beaches in Broward County.

The park is critically important for sea turtles, with loggerhead, green, and leatherback turtles nesting on the beach annually — it hosts one of the densest nesting concentrations in Broward County. The mangrove-lined shoreline along Whiskey Creek and the Intracoastal Waterway serves as nursery habitat for snook, tarpon, and juvenile reef fish. Manatees are regular visitors to the waterway. Brown pelicans, magnificent frigatebirds, and various terns and gulls are common offshore. The park's coastal hammock supports migrating songbirds during spring and fall, and gopher tortoises persist in the upland areas.

The park preserves a rare example of intact coastal strand and tropical hardwood hammock on the South Florida barrier island. The coastal hammock features gumbo limbo, strangler fig, paradise tree, pigeon plum, and wild coffee beneath a canopy shaped by salt spray. Sea grape, cocoplum, and seashore paspalum characterize the dune and strand communities. Red, black, and white mangroves dominate the Intracoastal Waterway shoreline and Whiskey Creek, forming the basis of a highly productive estuarine ecosystem. Australian pine, a pervasive invasive species in South Florida, has been targeted for removal to allow native species recovery.

The park sits on a barrier island composed of Holocene-age sand and shell deposits overlying the Anastasia Formation, a Pleistocene-age coquina limestone. The beach is maintained in part by beach renourishment projects, as longshore drift and periodic storm erosion affect the shoreline. Port Everglades inlet, immediately to the south, interrupts natural sand transport and contributes to erosion on the park's beach. The Intracoastal Waterway on the island's western side is a man-made channel that was dredged through the natural estuarine system in the early 20th century.

The park has a tropical climate, among the warmest in the continental United States. Summer temperatures reach the low 90s°F with high humidity and frequent afternoon thunderstorms. Winters are warm and dry, with average highs in the upper 70s and rare cold fronts. The area receives approximately 60 inches of rain annually, concentrated in the May-through-October wet season. The park's position on the exposed Atlantic coast makes it vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes, and storm surge is a significant hazard for the low-lying barrier island.

The barrier islands of the South Florida coast were home to the Tequesta people for thousands of years before European contact. In the 20th century, as South Florida's population boomed, beaches in Broward County were racially segregated. Dr. Von D. Mizell and Eula Johnson were prominent civil rights activists who led the fight for desegregation of Broward County beaches in the 1950s and 1960s. The 'wade-in' protests they organized at segregated beaches were pivotal moments in the local civil rights movement, ultimately leading to beach integration throughout the county.

The park was originally established as John U. Lloyd Beach State Recreation Area in the 1970s, named for a local attorney. In 2016, the Florida Legislature renamed it to honor Dr. Von D. Mizell and Eula Johnson in recognition of their civil rights contributions and the park's connection to the beach desegregation movement. The renaming reflected a broader effort to recognize the role of African Americans in Florida's history. The park continues to serve as both a recreational resource and a living memorial to the civil rights struggle for public beach access.

The broad Atlantic beach is the park's primary attraction, popular for swimming, sunbathing, and surf fishing. A jetty at the park's southern end, along Port Everglades inlet, is a favorite spot for fishing and watching cruise ships and cargo vessels enter and leave the port. The Whiskey Creek nature trail offers a canoe and kayak route through mangrove-lined waterways with excellent wildlife viewing. A short nature trail through the coastal hammock provides a shaded walk with interpretive information on the native plant community. The park's annual sea turtle nesting events draw conservation-minded visitors.

The park offers picnic pavilions, a concession stand, restroom facilities, and lifeguard-supervised swimming areas during peak season. A boat ramp and canoe/kayak launch provide water access to Whiskey Creek and the Intracoastal Waterway. The park is located off Dania Beach Boulevard, approximately 3 miles east of Interstate 95 and immediately adjacent to Port Everglades. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is less than 5 miles away, making this one of the most airport-accessible state parks in Florida. Miami is about 25 miles to the south.

The park's sea turtle conservation program is its most significant ecological contribution, with staff and volunteers monitoring nests, protecting hatchlings from artificial light disorientation, and collecting data that contributes to range-wide population assessments. Artificial reef projects offshore have enhanced marine habitat in an area heavily impacted by port operations. Invasive species removal, particularly of Australian pine and Brazilian pepper, is a major ongoing effort to restore the native coastal hammock and strand. The park works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on beach renourishment to maintain the beach and nesting habitat in the face of ongoing erosion.