Big Talbot Island State Park

It breaks my heart a little every time someone says that there aren't any interesting outdoors areas in this region of ours.

So there's no mountains, no snow capped peaks, not even a hill to speak of. Our handful of ancient ruins and historical sites are flanked by souvenir shops. There are no natural lakes, only man-made retention ponds. But there are indeed some treasures of the natural world hidden behind the endless and seemingly uniform walls of trees.

The Big Talbot Island State Park is one of the most amazing sites upon which I've had the pleasure of treading. Most of the parks in our region, be they state, national, or local, have some incredible landscapes, natural features, and nature trails (upon which it is not uncommon to see a few interesting creatures) but Big Talbot Island has probably the most unique feature out of them all.

But first, an overview. Here's what the official site has to say:

Located on one of Northeast Florida’s unique sea islands, Big Talbot Island State Park is primarily a natural preserve providing a premier location for nature study, bird-watching, and photography. Explore the diverse island habitats by hiking Blackrock Trail to the shoreline, Big Pine Trail to the marsh or Old Kings Highway and Jones Cut through the maritime forest.

Launch a boat from the north end of the island to fish and tour the salt marsh or rent a kayak and take a guided paddle tour with Kayak Amelia, (888) 30-KAYAK (305-2925). Kayak tours require advanced reservation.

Visit The Bluffs and enjoy a picnic at one of the pavilions overlooking the water or take a quick stroll down the trail to Boneyard Beach. The unique beach is famous for the salt washed skeletons of live oak and cedar trees that once grew near the shore.

Boneyard Beach, or as it's known among many less-creative locals (present party included): Dead Tree Beach, is a majestic site to behold. Arriving at this beach for the first time can be like walking into a dream. The enormous carcasses of ancient oaks litter the shoreline, dumped into the sand and waters as the sea gradually washes the ground out from underneath them. It's a mystical place that carries the emotional weight of sacred ground without requiring a contrived story. So much comes to mind but there's not a lot I can relate. Perhaps it's best you experience the wonder for yourself.

Unless, of course, you're one of those people who feels compelled to carve your initials into trees or stone. If that's the case then I suggest you just go play in traffic instead and leave the natural wonders to those who truly appreciate them.

Tread lightly and with respect.

Admission Fees:
$2.00 per vehicle.
$2.00 per person to access the George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier.
$3.00 per vehicle entrance fee to access the Bluffs picnic area.
$4.00 to use the boat launch.

Big Talbot Island State Park
12157 Heckscher Drive
Jacksonville, Florida 32226
(904) 251-2320

Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens

arboretum (noun) - a garden devoted to the study and display of trees.

The Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens opened on November 15th of this year, a welcome addition to our scattered collection of parks and nature preserves. The park's youth is apparent in the limited offerings but the master plan posted on their website shows them expanding to include a good number of services, sights, and trails. Small at the moment but promising and still very pretty.

Currently there are three short trails around a little lake and along some small streams. The trails are rated moderate to hard in their literature but they're no challenge at all to anybody who's ever spent a bit of time outdoors. We briskly walked the majority of all three of them in about half an hour with a few stops to take pictures so I'd recommend taking it a little slower to appreciate the scenery.

Wandering through the majestic trees, one can't help but deeply respect the conservation effort. Our visit fell on a clear morning following a wet night, the moisture saturated the colors of the vegetation as the sun peeked through the leaves to cast patterns of dancing light on the forest floor. The ground was spotted with dew covered spider webs, water drops twinkling like diamonds on their delicate strands. On our way out we saw an immense eagle fly gracefully into the canopy. This all served to remind us that we need not simply cherish these marvels of nature but see to it that we protect them as well. For this we are very grateful.

The Jacksonville Arboretum is conveniently located just off 9A at Monument Road and near the Regency area. Dogs are welcome but must be leashed and cleaned up after. Remember, don't disturb the plants and animals and tread carefully, venomous snakes are slithering amongst the leaves. The park's board is looking for volunteers to help in the upkeep expansion effort on various dates. Check the website for more details.

Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens
1445 Millcoe Rd
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Treaty Oak

Approaching from the road, you'll see what looks like a couple trees surrounded by a series of bushes. It's only once you breach the umbrella of this great beast that you realize that one solitary plant is responsible for the sprawling expanse of vegetation.

Quercus virginiana, the Southern Live Oak, a hardy, evergreen tree found throughout much of the Southern United States... where left unmolested by man that is. Jacksonville's Treaty Oak, nestled in a park on Prudential Drive, almost shared the fate of so many of its brethren.

In the early 1900s, the tree was a main attraction of the Dixieland Amusement Park. It received the name Treaty Oak when a reporter fabricated a story about the signing of a treaty between natives and settlers on the site to save the tree from developers. But what has really saved it from the axe is the continued influence of the Garden Club of Jacksonville. The land within which the oak is rooted and the immediate surrounds was bought by Jessie Ball duPont, a member of the Garden Club, and donated to the City of Jacksonville in 1964 for the explicit purpose of preserving this majestic tree.

According to Wikipedia:

"The trunk is over 25 feet in circumference, it rises to height of 66 feet, and its crown spreads over 145 feet, with twisting branches that bow to the ground and curl back up. The oak shades a roughly circular area, about 190 feet in diameter. Though less than 200 years old, it may nonetheless be the single oldest living thing in Jacksonville, possibly predating the founding of the city by Isaiah Hart during the 1820s."

This tree truly is a majestic specimen and sure to delight any lovers of nature. It's also a nice place to take refuge on a hot, sunny day. Or you could be lame like us and take some poser pictures. Whatever you do, be sure to show some respect... this tree is far more amazing than you are.


Jessie Ball duPont Park
(Treaty Oak Park)
1123 Prudential Dr.
Jacksonville, FL 32202

Hanna Park

One nice side effect of the great Jacksonville sprawl is that there are plenty of parks and nature reserves scattered throughout the expanse. And while they may not be as varied in terrain and ecology as what you may find out in the great wilderness of the west coast, there is often an abundance of fascinating fauna and flora that is sure to captivate and please any nature lover.

Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park, or just Hanna Park, is located along the beach near Mayport and is one of the most accommodating parks in the region. With walking and biking trails, 1.5 miles of beach, campgrounds, a 60-acre freshwater lake, and many picnic areas, there's something in this 450-acre preserve to satisfy most people looking to spend a day outdoors.

I went along to meet up with some people from the Jax Field Trips Flickr group but, because the place is so big, I was unable to find them. However, I ran into a coworker with whom I went on a mini-photo expedition around the lake before prior engagements forced me to leave. I'd like to go back and explore more of the place but I can say for certain that nature lovers and photographers will definitely enjoy the lake area we explored. Just watch out for those fire ants... I'm still healing from that attack.

Park hours are from 8am to 8pm and admission is $1 per adult before 10am and $3 per car after that so plan accordingly.

Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park
500 Wonderwood Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32233
904-249-4700

Little Talbot Island

Little Talbot Island is a lovely little park along A1A just northeast of Jacksonville. We went along to hike the trail (somewhere between 3 and 4 miles) that takes you on a trek through forest and then out onto the beach for the last third of the loop.

The trail was lovely but, despite the many warnings of nefarious creatures lurking in the shadows, we didn't encounter much wildlife. A little black racer snake greeted us in the parking lot but all we saw on the trail of note was a gigantic golden silk orb weaver (banana spider) eating an even bigger moth, a couple squirrels, some skinks, a tortoise, and mosquitos... lots of mosquitos. I typically don't get targeted by those little blood sucking demons (fleas are another story, apparently my ankles are delicious) but this time they were all over me, literally. The tortoise was incredible, it just stayed there while we took some photos and then decided to make a run for it. The run only lasted a few feet which allowed for more photos until the fear set in again and we had to move another few feet along the dunes.

There are a few dead trees on the beach like you might find at this park's sibling, Big Talbot Island, but they're nowhere near as grand. Regardless, the beach is beautiful, clean, and covered in crab holes. I was hoping one would pop up for a photo opportunity but I think the noon sun was a bit too harsh for the little crustaceans. I saw one little fellow but he scrambled off before I could even remove my lens cap.

For $4 you can get car with up to eight people into this lovely little nature preserve, particularly nice if you're looking for a relatively deserted beach to spend a quiet afternoon.

Little Talbot Island State Park
12157 Heckscher Drive
Jacksonville, Florida 32226
904-251-2320

Alpine Groves Park

Alpine Groves Park is a nice little nature preserve stretching between SR13 and the St. Johns River in the Switzerland area. The best way to get there is to head south down San Jose from 295 until you're sure you're completely lost and should turn back... it'll be about a mile or two after that.

Whoever named the park was a little confused as there is nothing "alpine" about the place nor anything else in Florida but perhaps it's a reference to it being located in the Switzerland region. Regardless of the semantic gaffe, Alpine Groves Park is a nice place for any nature or history lover to spend a few hours.

Up front there is a butterfly garden stocked with some beautiful flowers to attract nectar loving insects (great fare for photographers). Plenty of picnic tables make Alpine Groves a good place for a picnic and for parents of young ones there is a shaded playground.

In our walk along the trail to the river and back we encounter quite a few wildlife specimens including a hawk and an eyed click beetle. At the end of the trail there are some old buildings that are currently being renovated and a lovely view of the St. Johns River. The kayak ramp looks like a good way to get into the river if you can get over the fear of being attacked by alligators.

I don't know any of the details as the information on the website is severely lacking but there seems to be regular events held down around the historic buildings and pavilion. Nice little park for those looking to spend a leisurely day outside.

Alpine Groves Park

Timucuan Preserve

More and more the internet is losing its isolationist stigma and truly becoming a tool that allows people with similar ideas and interests to connect with one another, not simply in a virtual space through the glow of a computer screen but face-to-face in the physical realm.

On Saturday, April 26 we met up with a small group of Jacksonville photographers at the Timucuan Ecological Preserve and Fort Caroline National Memorial. While I don't believe any of us had previously met in person, we were all familiar with one another to a certain extent as this event was arranged through the message board for the Jacksonville group on Flickr. It was great to meet and interact with the eyes behind the lenses of so many great portraits of life throughout the Jacksonville region and discuss the photographic art for which we have so much passion.

Getting there a little late, we found everybody down at a pier between the Visitor Center and the Fort where you'll find a nice view of the river. Fort Caroline itself is fairly small, really just a wall with some cannons but there are some nice flowers and shrubs around the edges that make for good subjects. I believe guided tours are available for those interested in the history but we were all far too wrapped up in taking pictures of weeds, bushes, and butterflies to pay attention to what the guides were telling the groups they brought by.

Rather than go back towards the Visitor Center after the fort, you can take a nice leisurely walk through the surrounding woods on the nature trail where there are plenty of interesting plants and animals to see living under the cover of majestic old oaks.

After tackling the small trail some of us decided to head over to the Theodore Roosevelt Area, a 600-acre preserve donated to the National Park Service by its former owner, Willie Brown, whose gravestone can be found off one of the trails. Truly one of the best nature trails I've have the pleasure of walking and teeming with all sorts of fascinating creatures. The trail we took lead out to a marsh with a lookout platform for those interested in surveying the wetlands and its inhabitants. Apparently the Theodore Roosevelt Area is good for bird watching and your almost guaranteed to see some of Florida's varied species hanging around the marsh from the platform. From there you can either take the trail loop back to the parking area, head along the marsh on a bigger loop, or even take a trail all the way to the Fort Caroline National Memorial again.

The Timucuan Preserve areas are free and open to the public so, coupled with the convenient location, there's really no excuse not to visit this place if you're a fan of the outdoors or Florida history. Additionally, if you're an avid photographer and want to meet fellow Jacksonville photographnerds, please join the Jacksonville, Florida Flickr group and be on the lookout for future meets.

More Pictures

Timucuan Ecological Preserve and Fort Caroline National Memorial
Visitor Center
12713 Fort Caroline Road,
Jacksonville, Florida 32225
(904) 641-7155