Jacksonville Parks

Fort Caroline Timucuan Ecological Talbot Islands State Parks Kayak Amelia Fort Clinch State Park

The City of Jacksonville operates the largest urban park system in the United States, providing more than 390 park locations on more than 6,000 acres.

The system includes oceanfront parks, nature parks, neighborhood parks, community centers, special programs, swimming pools, and boat ramps.

Fort Caroline National Memorial. This beautiful park memorializes the 16th-century French effort to establish a colony in Florida. Discover stories of exploration, survival, religious disputes, territorial battles, and the first contact between American Indians and Europeans. The site includes a near full-scale rendering of the fort, a nature trail, and the Timucuan Preserve Visitor Center. The Theodore Roosevelt Area is a 600-acre natural treasure of hardwood forest, wetlands, and scrub vegetation. Experience miles of peaceful, wooded nature trails, vast grasslands supporting water and land animals, ancient oyster shells which yield clues about an extinct culture, and the legacy of preservation. Call (904) 641-7155 or visit www.nps.gov/foca/.  [Top]

Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve & Kingsley Plantation. The 46,000 acre National Park features Fort Caroline National Memorial, Theodore Roosevelt Area, Kingsley Plantation, and Cedar Point. Activities include hiking, photography, fishing, birding, and boating. Visit one of the last unspoiled coastal wetlands on the Atlantic Coast. Discover 6,000 years of human history and experience the beauty of salt marshes, coastal dunes, and hardwood hammocks. Explore life on a nineteenth-century Florida plantation. At Kingsley Plantation, you will discover the stories of the life and times of Zephaniah Kingsley, his African wife Anna, and the hundreds of men, women, and children who were enslaved at the plantation during the 18th and 19th centuries. Call (904) 251-3537 or visit www.nps.gov/timu.  [Top]

Talbot Islands State Parks. A chain of undeveloped barrier islands, located north of the St. Johns River, Talbot Islands State Parks offer 5 miles of beautiful, white sandy beaches, hiking and nature trails, beachside picnic pavilions and a variety of activities - kayaking, canoeing, swimming, surfing, horseback riding, fishing, and camping. Maritime forests, desert-like dunes, and salt marshes on the western side of the island invite nature study and relaxation. The diverse habitats host abundant wildlife, including river otters, marsh rabbits, bobcats, and a variety of native and migrating birds. In the surf and tidal streams, anglers catch bluefish, striped bass, redfish, flounder, mullet, and sheepshead. Call (904) 251-2320 or visit www.floridastateparks.org/littletalbotisland/default.cfm.  [Top]

Kayak Amelia. Located in Talbot Islands State Parks, Kayak Amelia offers guided kayak and nature tours through the salt marsh eco-system. Paddle the waters to a sandbar for a snack and enjoy a swim in warm weather. Along the way, guides describe the salt marsh, critters and local history. Or rent a canoe or kayak and create your own adventure or fishing excursion. Kayak Amelia rents kayaks, canoes, PFDs, paddles and maps. Depending on the tide and weather, they can suggest routes, local sites and what to avoid. Call (888) 30-KAYAK or visit www.kayakamelia.com.  [Top]

Fort Clinch State Park. Located in Fernandina Beach, Fort Clinch State Park features a pre-Civil War coastal fort listed on the National Register of Historical Places, and 1,363 acres of beach, dunes, maritime forest, tidal marsh, hiking and off road biking trails and 62 campsites. Call 904-277-7274 or visit www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch.

Tree Hill Nature Center. Jacksonville’s Tree Hill Nature Center is comprised of 50 acres of urban wilderness. Through educational programs, workshops and special events, Tree Hill is a resource for environmental education, conservation and awareness. Call (904) 724-4646 or visit www.treehill.org.  [Top]