The Talbot Islands: Paradise on the edge
You don’t like you’re in Florida’s largest city but you are.
Separated from the urban sprawl of Jacksonville — Florida’s largest city in area and population — by a marshy back country alive with spirited wildlife, these islands, waterways, coastal forests and beaches defy the presence of a city.
The Talbot Islands are a collection of state parks and wildlife preserves with striking beaches that stretch for miles, excellent back-country kayaking, off-road trails for hiking, biking and equestrians, picnicking, shelling, surfing, swimming and sunbathing.
The area, within the city limits of Jacksonville, is on the unsullied, windswept edge south of affluent Amelia Island.
At the end of the park road, there’s a beach on the edge of the edge where Little Talbot Island meets the Fort George Inlet, facing the shifting sands of a broad shoal besieged by currents so strong, even the thought of swimming should be prohibited.
But not all of the island’s beaches are as forbidding.
Little Talbot Island supports five miles of impressive ocean beach protected by natural dunes, easily accessible from three well-spaced boardwalk entry points along a bicycle-friendly twomile park road.
Each of the boardwalks has a pavilion area with picnic tables and grills, but it’s the broad beach that will snap you to attention. White sands stretch uninterrupted as far as the eye can see. An endless line of dunes topped with sea oats separates beachgoers from the rest of the world.
Not actually in the Talbot Islands but in this family of state parks, 200-acre Amelia Island State Park sits on the southern tip of Amelia Island. Its claim to fame are stables that offer horseback riding on the beach. The park also provides access to the mile-long George Crady Fishing Bridge, open 24 hours a day.
If you have a four-wheel drive vehicle, you can drive down the beach and carve out your own little hideaway. As tempted as you might, don’t try this with anything less than four-wheel drive. This sand is pretty soft in lots of places.
As you enter the park from A1A, you’ll see the entrance to Kelly Seahorse Ranch, which offers guided, beachfront horseback riding along the beach. For reservations and prices, call 904-491-5166.
Visitors may also enjoy Amelia Island on their own horse. The park’s capacity is 15 privately owned horses at one time, so riders must first check in with the Little Talbot Island ranger station at 904-251-2320 for availability.
Amelia Island State Park is at State Road A1A North, Jacksonville. Info: 904-251-2320, floridastateparks.org/park/AmeliaIsland. Admission: $2 per person (honor box).
Primarily a nature preserve, Big Talbot encompasses diverse habitats once typical of Florida’s barrier islands. There are several nature trails for hiking, a boat ramp providing deep-water access to wetlands and islands.
Boneyard Beach is a mustsee, with its twisted and tangled skeletal remains of live oaks and cedar trees, beaten down and uprooted by storms and erosion, saltwashed, sea-bashed and sun-beaten. It’s an eerie site next to Blackrock Beach, an unusual lava-like formation that is actually hardpan sediment uncovered by erosion.
Access to both beaches is via the half-mile Blackrock Trail, which has a small parking area on the east side of State Road A1A. Be forewarned this parking area may be jammed on weekends.
Big Talbot Island State Park is at State Road A1A North, Jacksonville. Info: 904-251-2320, floridastateparks.org/park/Big-Talbot-Island. Admission: $3 per vehicle, $4 to use the boat launch, $2 to access the bridge pier.