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Dunes foreground with people playing on beach in distance

Little Talbot Island State Park

One of the closest wild beaches to Jacksonville, Little Talbot Island State Park provides a front-row seat to the tumultous flow of the St. Johns River into the Atlantic Ocean.

February 7, 2014    Sandra Friend & John Keatley

258 shares

Nature takes center stage at Little Talbot Island State Park, with more than five miles of natural oceanfront wrapping around the island from Simpson Creek to Fort George Inlet.

With a panorama of the mighty St. Johns River outflow to the sea, it’s a place to contrast the river’s riotous waters with the calm of tidal pools and estuarine coves on the inlet.

Bright windsurfer sail on sandbar amid beachgoers Windsurfer taking a break in a cove off St. George Inlet


Resources

Resources for exploring the area
North Florida Panhandle Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in North Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover  
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.

Overview

Location: Talbot Islands
Trailhead: 30.458366,-81.418244
Address: 12157 Heckscher Dr, Jacksonville
Fees: $5 per vehicle
Restroom: At the beach parking area
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 904-251-2320
 
Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome except on beaches. Accessible beach crossovers provided.

Directions

 
From Jacksonville, drive north via I-295E over the Dames Point Bridge and exit at Heckscher Dr (SR 105). Drive east. After the highway passes the Mayport Ferry dock 9 miles into the drive, the road becomes A1A. Continue 5 more miles to the park entrance on the right. The campground is on the opposite side of A1A but campers must check in at the ranger station to receive the access code.

About the Park

There’s beauty at the beach, and while it isn’t specifically concentrated at the big beach access area with its picnic pavilions and crossovers, that’s where you’ll find most visitors.

Shaded picnic pavilions and large pavilions reservable for group gatherings provide shade in a park where shade is at a premium.

Two women under bright red umbrellas Visitors relaxing at the beach


Some visitors bring beach umbrellas. Others make do with their hats, but the wind off the river can pick up quickly.

Waterfront activity is a sight to see, with windsurfers and Jet skis playing in the big waves, vehicles at Huguenot Memorial Park and Navy ships beyond at Naval Station Mayport.

Waverunners with big Navy ships in background A bustle of activity in choppy water


South Beach is not a place to swim. Warning signs note you should keep far from the deeply scoured dropoff at the inlet’s edge.

For wading and swimming, pay attention to beach warning flags before heading for the milder surf at North Beach, closer to the park entrance.

People at a beach with waves Visitors wading in the shallows


We prefer the beaches north of the first crossover where you enter the parking area, which also serves as the return route for a loop hike on the Dune Ridge Trail.

This part of the park doesn’t face the hullabaloo of river activity and Mayport. Instead, you’re more likely to see terns, stilts, gulls, and crabs along the shore.

Crab on all fours walking Ghost crab on the north beach


The Atlantic Ocean is rarely mild, so expect rollers splashing the beach. This is the northernmost point in Florida where surfers try to catch waves.

Bank fishing is welcome anywhere along the beach, but some anglers prefer the calmer waters of the Fort George River, accessed via a parking area at the south end of the island.

River in a palm edged estuary Fort George River


The park’s 36 site campground is set amid dunes in a coastal hammock on the opposite side of A1A, a half mile from the beach.

Sites have electric and water and are largely shaded. There is a launch for paddlers into Myrtle Creek and a nature trail.

Salt creek edged with dense low vegetation Myrtle Creek


Hiking

Right inside the park gates, the Dune Ridge Trail (formerly the Island Hiking Trail) slips through a shaded coastal hammock before crossing massive dunes to reach the beach.

For campground guests, the 3/4 mile Campground Nature Trail makes a short interpretive loop along estuarine shores and the adjoining high ground.

Creek with great egret browsing Campground Nature Trail At Little Talbot Island State Park, the 0.8-mile Campground Nature Trail offers a side of Little Talbot that the whole family can enjoy—along the estuary.
Grassy dunes with blooming muhly grass Dune Ridge Trail Expect some elevation change along the Atlantic Coast on this traverse of coastal habitats that includes the tall oceanfront dunes and the beach itself.

Cycling

Part of the East Coast Greenway, the Timucuan Trail enters the park from Big Talbot Island to the north and continues along the ocean side of A1A.

It slips into the park just past the entrance gate. When it returns to A1A, it’s behind a guardrail on the ocean side.

River view across rocks View of the inlet from the Timucuan Trail


This provides some protection from passing vehicles as you pass Fort George Inlet and curve around to the bridge over the Fort George River.

An underpass at the highway bridge enables access to the trailhead on the north side of the highway.

Trailhead and East Coast Greenway symbol along bike path Trailhead at the south end of the island


A ride from the Big Pine trailhead on Big Talbot Island to the Fort George River trailhead is 4.7 miles, much of it with coastal views.

Cyclists are also welcome to ride the beach up to the northern sand spit and to take on the Dune Ridge Trail, but you’ll want a mountain bike and fat tires to tackle that loop.

Stretch of open beach Where damp, the beach is largely well compacted


Trail Map

Little Talbot Island State Park Trail Map
Blue: Timucuan Trail. Red: Dune Ridge Trail. Purple: Campground Nature Trail.

Explore More!

Big Talbot Island State Park is immediately north of Little Talbot Island along A1A.

Beach with fallen trees Big Talbot Island State Park Wind and water perpetually reshape the landscape along this rugged Atlantic shoreline with tidal pools, black rock beaches, and a boneyard of sand-scoured trees.

Slideshow

See our photos of Little Talbot Island State Park


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Freshwater marsh in a saltwater estuary Fort George Island Cultural State Park With layer upon layer of human habitation atop the highest natural hill on the southeastern Atlantic Coast, Fort George Island offers a long look at the past.
Historic buildings and palm trees Kingsley Plantation One of the historic treasures of Timucuan Preserve in Jacksonville, Kingsley Plantation interprets the everyday lives of free and enslaved peoples on an early Florida plantation.
Pumpkin Hill Creek panorama Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park Within city limits yet truly wild, Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park protects more than 4,000 acres along the edges of enormous estuaries draining into the St. Johns River
Red Trail Betz Tiger Point Betz-Tiger Point Preserve On a peninsula where the Timucua used the surrounding estuary for sustenance, Betz-Tiger Point Preserve provides more than six miles of breezy trails

Trail Map (PDF) Reserve Campsite Official Website

Category: Beaches, Camping, Canoe & Kayak Rentals, Florida State Parks, North Florida, Paddling, Parks, PlacesTag: Accessible, Amelia Island, Atlantic Ocean, Best Camping, Best Paddling, Car Camping, Developed Camping, East Coast Greenway, Fernandina Beach, Fishing, Florida State Parks, Jacksonville, Surfing, Swimming

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