Timucuan Preserve

The Timucuan Preserve  (Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve) is located 13 miles northeast of downtown Jacksonville.

The park boasts individual sites, each focusing on one part of the area's cultural history. The park itself is named after the Timucua, an area Native American tribe.The Theodore Roosevelt area of this park contains at least nine separate ecosystems, more than any other park in the area. 

At more than 46,000 acres, there's much to explore.
The preserve, which also houses the Fort Caroline National Memorial, is open year round except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. 

There is a variety of nature trails to choose from. Hiking includes salt marshes, sand dunes, and coastal forests. 

Trail guides are available on the National Park Service website www.nps.gov/timu or at the Timucuan Preserve Visitor's Center. 

Not far from the park is Little Talbot Island, a real gem among the many Florida beaches. 

The Island, about five miles long, is easily accessible but much less frequented than it deserves.

The Island is part of the State Park. The beach on the island is really exceptional: very wide even at high tide, with an endless supply of great shells, and, best of all, you will have it all pretty much to yourself.

Another great attraction is a 40-min trail going from the park entrance through a primeval forest of the interior of the island, then crossing picturesque dunes and ending on the beach. To close the loop and get back to the parking lot you can take a 30 min. walk along the beach.

Because the whole park is very secluded, you will have a chance to meet armadillos, turtles, snakes, crabs, and even see an eagle in the northern part of the island. And don't forget to bring a towel, the ocean there is great.