The coastal region around Jacksonville offers many hikes along the estuaries and a handful along its beaches, as well as a surprising number of urban parks with short walks ideal for families.
Anastasia State Park – Ancient Dunes Trail - Many footsteps have pressed into the sands of Anastasia Island, from the most ancient peoples who thrived on its bountiful shores to the Timucua who explored the coastline in their canoes, and the Spanish explorers [...]
Arlington Lions Club Park - A breezy walk along the St. Johns River is an easy way to start your day in Jacksonville at the Arlington Lions Club Park. With a 3/4-mile unpaved trail, 1/4-mile accessible trail, and connecting boardwalks [...]
Big Talbot Island State Park – Big Pine Trail - The southernmost trail on Big Talbot Island is the 0.8-mile Big Pine Trail, a short walk out to a bluff above the estuary. A maritime hammock surrounds a slash pine forest which the trail meanders [...]
Big Talbot Island State Park – Blackrock Beach - A barrier island on the Atlantic Coast between Amelia Island and Little Talbot Island, Big Talbot Island is best known for its unusual rocky shoreline called Blackrock Beach. One step on this beach, overlooking a [...]
Big Talbot Island State Park – Bluffs Beach Walk - From the high bluffs at Big Talbot Island State Park, you can see forever—or at least to the horizon, the Atlantic Ocean shimmering in the sun. Within the main state park complex, the Bluffs Picnic [...]
Big Talbot Island State Park – Jones Cut Trail - Jones Cut provides a meander into the heart of the maritime forest that carpets Big Talbot Island, but it’s not the easiest trail to find. It lets you explore the heart of a dense maritime [...]
Cary State Forest – Cary Nature Trail - At Cary State Forest, you have the opportunity for a highly accessible, close-up look at carnivorous pitcher plants in the wild. While the 3,413-acre forest has dozens of miles of multi-use trails and is popular [...]
Castaway Island Preserve - Protecting more than 300 acres of coastal habitats along the meandering, estuarine San Pablo River, Castaway Island Preserve is a breezy spot to get away from the city neighborhoods and enjoy a breath of fresh [...]
Florida Trail, Buckman Lock to SR 20 - Connecting the Ocala National Forest and the northern end of the Cross Florida Greenway with Rice Creek Conservation Area, the Florida Trail between Buckman Lock and SR 20 west of Palatka is a 7.4-mile ramble [...]
Florida Trail, Gold Head Branch State Park - One of Florida’s oldest state parks, the Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park opened in the 1930s, its facilities built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is one of the few state parks that [...]
Florida Trail, Nice Wander Loop - In the Osceola National Forest, this short loop adjacent to Olustee Battlefield is one of the easiest places in the state to see red-cockaded woodpeckers. It’s part of the statewide Florida Trail, and provides a [...]
Fort Caroline – Hammock Nature Trail - Three years before the Spanish colony at St. Augustine took root, French Huguenots landed on the St. Johns Bluff and claimed Florida for France, naming the river “The River of May,” as they landed on [...]
Gold Head Branch State Park – Ridge and Ravine Trails - The steephead ravine that forms Gold Head Branch is a riot of green: deep green needle palms, ferns of every shape and size, water trickling, merging, and flowing downstream, and the canopy of native trees [...]
GTM Reserve - Circling a peninsula of land between the Guana River and the Tolomato River, the extenstive trail system at GTM Reserve is open to biking and hiking. Enjoy a walk through maritime forests riffled by a [...]
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park - With cool ocean breezes and a plunge in the surf after your hike, the 2.7-mile trail at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park in Jacksonville is a great choice for a summer outing. Hanna Park, as it [...]
Little Talbot Island State Park – Campground Nature Trail - Most people come to Little Talbot Island for the beach; after all, it’s not far from downtown Jacksonville, and the shoreline is wild and pristine. While the 3.5-mile Island Hiking Trail is relatively well-known, the [...]
Little Talbot Island State Park – Island Hiking Trail - A barrier island on the Atlantic Coast at the mouth of the St. Johns River, Little Talbot Island attracts a steady stream of beachgoers from nearby Jacksonville. But if your idea of a day at [...]
Loftin Nature Trails - In a densely wooded corner of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, the Robert W. Loftin Nature Trails are a prime place for trail runners and hikers to play. Protecting 500 acres, this sanctuary [...]
Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park - Within the city limits of Jacksonville yet certifiably wild, Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park is a high dry wilderness on bluffs above the Nassau River. The preserve protects more than 4,000 acres along the [...]
Simmons State Forest - Sitting right on the state line southeast of Folkston, Georgia, the Ralph E. Simmons Memorial State Forest is certainly a place to get away from it all. The sluggish tannic waters of the St. Marys [...]
Stokes Landing Conservation Area - Tucked away behind a suburban St. Augustine neighborhood, Stokes Landing Conservation Area is a hidden gem of the St. Johns Water Management District, providing an outdoor classroom for local schools and beautiful panoramic views of [...]
Tillie K Fowler Regional Park – Island Trail - Protecting 509 acres in an otherwise crowded urban area, a large swath of floodplain forest and pine flatwoods along the Ortega River – a tributary of the St. Johns River – Tillie K. Fowler Regional [...]
