The first protected area of the Region of Tuscany, the park was born in 1975 to preserve the area’s environment of great natural value. It spreads out for approximately 20 kilometres along the coast from Principina a Mare to Talamone, and is one of the numerous, fascinating nature reserves in the province of Grosseto.

North of the Ombrone stream lies the vast Palude della Trappola swamp, while the Uccellina Mountains rise to the south, an area which preserves traces of human presence dating back to the Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze ages. Several watchtowers were built on strategic locations between the 11th and 16th centuries to defend the coast from incursions.

The Palude della Trappola is what remains of a vast wetland reclaimed by order of Leopold II of Lorraine. A system of drainage canals crosses both the swamp and the pinewood, planted around 1830 by the Grand Duke to protect the cultivations behind it.

The Park Information Centre is located at Marina di Alberese where scheduled buses serve the locality of Pratini, point of departure for various wonderful itineraries.