Piedras Blancas National Park, Rainforest conservation area in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica.

Piedras Blancas National Park covers 14,025 terrestrial hectares and 1,200 marine hectares between the Osa and Golfito cantons of Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. Its narrow, steep ridges are covered in primary and secondary evergreen forest, with flat pastures along the Esquinas and Bonito rivers. The Esquinas River, named for its many meanders, forms the northern and western boundaries, and small coral reefs lie within the park.

Piedras Blancas was created as a separate park by executive decree 20522-MIRENEM on 17 September 1991, not in 1999. It had been the Bosque Esquinas sector of Corcovado National Park; decree 23153-MIRENEM modified the park in 1994. It covers 14,025 terrestrial and 1,200 marine hectares.

The park serves as a living classroom where visitors encounter wildlife in natural habitats and gain deeper appreciation for tropical ecosystems. Local guides share their knowledge of forest ecology, helping travelers understand how different species depend on this environment.

The best visiting time is during the drier months when trails are easier to walk and wildlife viewing improves. It is recommended to hire a local guide who knows the forest paths and can help spot animals you might otherwise miss.

Austrian researchers studying mammals here in 2003 and 2004 recorded 96 species, including five cat species: jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay and jaguarundi. Wild cats are nocturnal and elusive, so sightings are rare. Bats are the richest group, with 53 species, most of them fruit eaters such as Artibeus watsoni and Carollia perspicillata.