Jacksonville is home to 22 miles of beautiful white sand beaches. Find out everything you need to know about going to the beach during your trip to Jacksonville. These aren't your grandparents' beaches. Come surf, kayak, paddle board, swim, dive, sail, fish, and explore Jacksonville's unique coastal shorelines.
The city's main beaches are Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Mayport Beach and Atlantic Beach. They're public and pet-friendly, as well as home to surf shops, fresh seafood restaurants, quaint beach boutiques, and parks like Hanna Park and Dutton Island Preserve. On the city's north side, the pristine barrier islands offer unmissable beaches such as Blackrock Beach, Boneyard Beach, Little Talbot Island and Huguenot Park. All of them can be accessed by taking a short ferry ride from the beaches or driving along the picturesque Heckscher Drive from the city center.
Jacksonville also has a very active diving scene, with more than 30 offshore reefs off our Atlantic coast. Try some of these unique water sports, such as kayaking and diving in Jacksonville. Anyone can view, post and comment on this community. This park located farthest north of the Atlantic coast of Amelia Island has a beautiful coastline.
The beach is the perfect place to search for seashells and shark teeth. Once you've sunbathed and bathed, try some of the other activities the park has to offer. Hike or bike along the miles of nature trails: choose between a six-mile off-road trail or a 3.3-mile paved trail. You can also wet a fishing line at the half-mile fishing pier or at nearby piers.
There are showers, bathrooms and a picnic area. This beach is a historic and cultural landmark. Abraham Lincoln Lewis, co-founder and president of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, founded American Beach in 1935, when there were few beaches in the area that blacks could enjoy. In the 1940s and 1950s, blacks came from all over the South to vacation in American Beach.
Located on Amelia Island, approximately five miles south of Fernandina Beach, this historic site is a stop on Florida's Black Heritage Trail. This 200-acre park offers beach and nature lovers a little bit of everything. In addition to being a good place to swim or relax, the beach is ideal for catching shells and observing wildlife. Fishing is popular along the mile-long George Crady Bridge State Fishing Pier, which crosses the Nassau Strait, and you can even take a horseback ride along the beach from a stable close.
This natural park has a unique beach, with black outcrops similar to rocks and fallen trees that have been bleached and worn out over time. The picnic area has a panoramic view of the Nassau Strait from a cliff. It's not a deep beach for swimming, but you can jump in the water to cool off. You can enjoy other activities such as hiking nature trails, fishing, canoeing and boating.
Little Talbot Island is one of the underdeveloped beaches in the Jacksonville area of northeastern Florida. The 2,500-acre island has plenty of space for biking, hiking, fishing and canoeing. To top it all off, the park has more than eight kilometers of wide sandy beaches with tall dunes to enjoy. Spend hours exploring maritime forests, dunes and salt marshes. The big waves, perfect for surfing, rest here all year round, and the beach is easily accessible with plenty of parking, dune walks, and baths.
There is also a camp with all the facilities just half a mile from the beach, if you want to extend your communion with nature. This 449-acre city-managed park is surrounded by the ocean, cove, and river. It is located on Fort George Island., just across the St. The beach here is long and wide, and offers the perfect environment for wildlife.
The park is popular with families, as the area along the cove is quiet and shallow. Waterfront campsites, a birdwatching area and incredible views of some of North Florida's remaining natural areas await you. The park also has a jetty area for small boats and jet skis, picnic shelters, bathrooms and showers. The park is designated as a site of the Great Florida Birding Trail.
This 450-acre park is located south of the historic town of Mayport and features 1 ½ miles of sandy beach. Swim, sail, fish or surf in the crystal clear waters of the Atlantic. As an added pleasure, the park features a 60-acre freshwater lake that's ideal for kayaking and boating. There are picnic tables and grills by the lake, and nature trails wind around the lake and criss-cross the park.
There's a quarter-acre water park with colorful fountains that will delight your children (open from Memorial Day to Labor Day). The park also has a full-service campground and showers, restrooms and discounts are available. The two tranquil coastal towns offer miles of golden sandy beaches that are perfect for swimming., surf or relax. Beach access is available at most ends of the eastern streets.
Parking is limited, but paid parking is available in Atlantic Beach. There are showers at some access points. Spanning about 60 blocks along the Atlantic Ocean, it's the busiest of all the beaches in the Jacksonville area. The beach of more than four miles is wide and is bordered by small soft dunes.
There are beach walks at most ends of the streets, however, not all of them have bathrooms and showers. Offshore boat racing, beach volleyball, fishing, surfing and sunbathing are just a few of the delights that await you. The 1,300-foot-high Jacksonville Pier is a good place to watch locals have dinner; the mile-long waterfront is a pleasant place to walk or people watch, and the Sea Walk Pavilion is home to many concerts and events. Jacksonville Beach also has a safe, wide and sandy beach.
When I went, the pier was full of groups of people fishing (including some families). To be honest, you could walk quite a bit to Jacksonville Beach for most of what I needed during my stay, so I didn't have to drive to many places. This 3.7 mile-long coastline is one of Jacksonville Beach's best attractions and is perfect for all beach lovers. Do some fishing on the pier in Jacksonville Beach, ride the waves, try bodyboarding, or just bask in the sun.
Casual and fun restaurants, nightlife spots, souvenir shops, and oceanfront hotels blend into the scene without saturating the views of the Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Atlantic Beach and Mayport shorelines. Bring your flip flops and take your sunscreen with you. Jacksonville has 35 miles of wide, uncrowded white-sand beaches offering visitors majestic sunrises and star-studded nights. Jacksonville beach looked like Santa Monica's, but there were also some clear differences between coastal towns on both coasts.
Atlantic Beach, the northernmost of the Jacksonville beach community, has a rich history of being a prized vacation destination that dates back to the early 20th century. That's about the same time it took me to get to the beach from Jacksonville International Airport. In Jacksonville Beach, I really enjoyed spending time at Oceanfront Park, which also offers beautiful ocean views. Jacksonville Beach itself is approximately 22 square miles, but most tourist spots are within walking distance of the pier.
Jacksonville Beach seemed less crowded and it was easier to find parking, which can be a challenge in any coastal city during peak season. But the vacation environment that I personally prefer is more relaxed and discreet, so I would recommend Jacksonville Beach over Santa Monica.
