4 Trails to Visit on a Day Off in Jacksonville

By Joey Shyken

Jacksonville is known for having the largest urban park system in the country. Beside the many parks Jacksonville is also the home of many preserves along the intercostal waterway and other areas.

Most of these preserves have short hiking trails which is great for families with small children and many are stroller friendly.

My Family enjoys visiting different preserves on a random Sunday and the great thing is that most of these preserves are within 30 minutes from Mandarin. These are some of our favorites.

Dutton Island Preserve

Dutton Island Preserve is located in the city of Atlantic Beach near the Mayport Naval Station. It has almost 2 miles of hiking trails in one area and a viewing pier with an island at a different area.

The hiking trail has some mounds between trees and it was enjoyable for the kids to run up and down. When my family visited, we happened to come across many baby crabs near the water.

Castaway Island Preserve

Castaway island Preserve is located off of San Pablo Rd in Jacksonville. The Preserve has a ½ mile trail over a wooden boardwalk with an overlook at the intracoastal. The trail is kid friendly an has animal tracks in the concrete part of the trail. This Preserve also has a kayak launch.

Julington Durbin Creek Nature Preserve

Located in St Johns County and at the confluence of the Julington and Durbin Creeks, this preserve has 3 trails around different swamps and marsh. These trails are great for hiking and biking and has multiple trail loops ranging from 2-6 miles.

Bulls Bay Preserve

This little-known nature preserve is located in Northwest Jacksonville near I295 and I10. It has mostly wetlands with tributaries to the Trout and Ortega rivers.

The hiking trails are over 2 miles with a variety of small elevation changes. You will see many large oak trees and ponds as well as the one of rare parks in the area with a waterfall.

Enjoy!