March 2021: The Jacksonville Riverwalk is a quiet, underutilized piece of downtown Jacksonville that has has some recent additions and improvements over the last few years. Consisting of the Northbank and Southbank that run parallel along the river and are connected but the Main Street Bridge and the Acosta bridge, a full circuit of the […]
Category: Trail
Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park
Originally published June 2010: What better way to spend a day off of work than with time on the trail? This week we decided to check out the trails at Tillie K Fowler Regional Park, which I mentioned last week. The entrance is south of the park, off of US-17, across from one of the main […]
Spanish Pond
Originally published May 2011: After a grueling 40 mile march from St. Augustine through dense vegetation and in heavy rain, 500 Spanish troops found a freshwater pond a short distance from the French outpost, Ft. Caroline. They would camp here before they attacked the fort the next day. Nearly 450 years later, Spanish Pond is […]
Theodore Roosevelt Hiking Area
Originally published January 2011: On a windy, chilly day, we finally had the opportunity to take a look at the Theodore Roosevelt Hiking Area – the former homestead of William Browne. Located off of Mt. Pleasant Rd, the entrance was well marked but still somewhat difficult to find – it’s a a one lane dirt […]
Julington – Durbin Creek Preserve
It had been nearly 10 years since we last visited this park, and this neighborhood is nearly unrecognizable from what it was before. The dirt road at the entrance remains, but new townhomes and subdivisions border the park. The entrance has been re-arranged slightly and set back off the road, so drive carefully down Bartram […]
UNF Wildlife Sanctuary
Originally published May 2010: For all the time I had spent on the UNF campus as a student, I feel rather ashamed that I never once took the opportunity to explore the nature trails I had heard about until now. Having imagined a rather shallow collection of nature walks frequented by bored or curious students, […]
Jacksonville Arboretum
February 2021: At long last, dry and mild weather has arrived to Jacksonville, if only for a few days – perfect for examining the upgrades to the Arboretum. The trail layout is the same as it has been in past years, but the area around the lake has been upgraded. New planting beds exhibiting a […]
Washington Oaks State Park
Originally published April 2012:It was a sunny and breezy Sunday – perfect for a trip to Washington Oaks. The park is about an hour south of Jacksonville. Taking I-95 to Palm Coast and then east towards the ocean is probably the quickest route, but you will have to pay the toll to cross the bridge […]
Alpine Grove
Having contemplated this admirable grove, I proceeded towards the shrubberies on the banks of the river, and though it was now late in December, the aromatic groves appeared in full bloom. William Bartram South of Fruit Cove, FL is a town called Switzerland. As SR-13 edges closer to the St. Johns River, the pines fade […]