The age of the trees belies the history that unfolded here before the park opened as Westside Regional Park in 1979, when the city leased this land from NAS Jacksonville.
During World War I, this was part of the Camp Johnston military reservation.
To accommodate the Navy’s wish to have an air base along the St. Johns River, the Army relocated to Starke, taking the name Camp Blanding.
Old brick road from the days of Camp JohnstonA remnant of the community of Black Point, a small town called Yukon, persisted across from NAS Jacksonville.
In 1963, the Navy forced the mostly black residents to leave, stating it was unsafe to live here since it was in the flight path of their jets.
The story of Yukon is shared at the Nature Center complexMore than two decades later, Jacksonville City Council president Tillie K. Fowler convinced the Navy to convey the land to the city permanently.
In 1996, the nature center and its trails and observation tower opened, drawing residents to explore these attractive woodlands.
After her death, the park was renamed in her honor in 2005.
Observation tower at the Ortega River floodplainResources
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Overview
Location: Ortega
Length: 1.4 miles
Trailhead: 30.23745, -81.69920
Address: 7000 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land Manager: City of Jacksonville
Phone: 904-255-6877
Open sunrise to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome; pick up after your pet. Use precautions for personal safety when visiting an urban park.
The park remains in the flight path of jets landing and departing NAS Jacksonville: expect noise from low-flying aircraft just above the tree canopy.
Directions
From Interstate 295 at Orange Park, exit onto US 17 north. Drive 2.8 miles north, taking the left lane for a turn at the traffic light to enter the park on a circular drive. Follow the park road nearly a mile, passing the mountain bike complex, picnic area, and dog park. The road ends in a loop in front of the nature center, with parking just south of the loop.
Hike
From the parking area, follow the sidewalk along the circle towards the nature center. Pause at the kiosk for a photo of the map.
Continue up the walkway, passing a butterfly garden before a ramp leads to the center and an adjacent pavilion.
Trail kioskA wooden ramp leads from the back of the complex to a paved path in a lush hardwood hammock.
At a Y intersection, bear right to stay on the Tower Trail; the other path heads towards the dog park and picnic area.
Ramp to trail junctionAdjoining a bench at this junction, a brick walkway heads into the forest. Pass it by and stay on the asphalt path.
At the next junction with an asphalt path on the right, continue straight ahead per the Observation Tower sign; it’s the destination of the Tower Trail.
Follow the Observation Tower signsJust past a thick-trunked oak with a green blaze, reach a T with another paved path. Turn right. A little ways further into the woods, a boardwalk begins.
At 0.2 miles, a ramp on the right descends to the surface of the old brick road. Continue past it to cross over the old road on the boardwalk.
The boardwalk ends, a footpath continuing around a large pine to a bridge over an ephemeral waterway. Netted chain and cinnamon ferns thrive in its low channel.
Ramp to the old brick roadAfter Marker 5, enter a climax sandhill with many laurel oaks. Bear left where the footpath splits into a loop.
Marker 8 stands by a palm where this short loop comes together again.
Bear left at this broad junctionHead towards the bridge, which crosses another segment of the old brick road. Like the last one, the road vanishes into the forest in both directions.
At the end of the bridge, a footpath leads left down to the bricks. Soon after, a bench stands near a split-trunk pine.
View of brick road from the bridge over itThe habitat shifts on the approach to the Ortega River floodplain. Pines and oaks are joined by lobolly bay and magnolias, and ferns blanket the understory.
At a half mile, a side path leads to the old brick road, but a large sign points you in the opposite direction to continue towards the tower, across a bridge.
Junction with brick road and footpath to towerAt a junction with a blue-blazed side trail at Marker 12, begin the boardwalk into the floodplain.
Elevated slightly above the forest floor, it provides a nice perspective. Ferns crows more closely as the tower itself is revealed through a break in the trees.
Approaching the towerAt this end of the Tower Trail at 0.6 miles, two flights of stairs lead to the top deck. Take in a sweep of marshes along the Ortega River, a ribbon of blue in the distance.
A swampy cove lies at the base of the tower, sometimes busy with herons feeding.
Ortega River floodplainDescending the stairs, the perspective back along the boardwalk into the forest is just as interesting.
On the return trip, either return the way you came or take one of several options to make loops. Consult the map you photographed for a rough idea of how they go.
Start of the Blue Trail by the tower boardwalkThe first is the narrow blue-blazed path at the end of the boardwalk. It quickly turns east, hopping on the old brick road briefly.
Turn off onto another blue-blazed footpath to a linear eastbound piece of the old brick road that comes out by the dog park.
Follow the path behind the dog park back to the nature center, bearing right where it splits.
Return route from dog park behind the nature centerAlternatively, make a northerly loop along the old brick road between the two boardwalks crossing it on the Tower Trail.
It curves along the edge of the floodplain at its northermost point. Use the ramp to the accessible portion of the Tower Trail to continue towards the nature center.
Northeast access to the brick road loopThe asphalt path on the left past the back of the Observation Tower sign dead-ends at a pair of benches in the woods, but a footpath continues downslope.
This pleasant option slips through beds of ferns under towering hardwoods, meeting the brick path that circles the nature center.
Make a left on that interpretive trail to continue around the building complex, exiting through the archway of the butterfly garden. Return to the trailhead for a 1.4 mile hike.
Interpretive trailNo matter the return route, a hike will run between 1.2 and 1.9 miles: a direct round-trip to the tower versus a return to the nature center along the blue-blazed trail.
Add another 0.6 miles by making a circuit of the old Brick Road using the blue-blazed connector between its parallel segments at its south end.
Bench at the northeast corner of the old brick roadTo add up to another 1.9 miles of hiking, continue across the park road from the parking area to the asphalt path leading to the Island Trail.
Tillie K Fowler Island Trail On a hike of nearly 2 miles, the Island Trail at Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park shows off upland and floodplain forest habitats along the Ortega River in Jacksonville.Trail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking the Tower Trail at Tillie K Fowler Regional Park
Slideshow
See our photos from Tillie K Fowler Regional Park
Nearby Adventures
Ringhaver Park Discover a hauntingly beautiful bog at the far end of the Ortega Stream Valley Trail, a paved loop beginning behind the ballfields of Ringhaver Park.
Camp Chowenwaw Trails Explore Camp Chowenwaw Park on a network of trails into an old-growth hardwood hammock and floodplain swamps near where Black Creek empties into the St. Johns River.
Walter Jones Historical Park Centered on a farmstead set under a canopy of old-growth riverfront forest at historic Mandarin Point south of Jacksonville, Walter Jones Historical Park is a step into the past.
Tommy Hazouri Sr. Mandarin Park A haven for wildlife under a canopy of mature hardwoods fronting Julington Creek, decades-old Mandarin Park was rededicated for a former mayor in 2023.
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026