Jacksonville is an outdoor town, and visitors often find that they’re way more active here than they normally are at home. In the summer, once the heat of the day begins to ease up, neighborhoods, parks, and the Beaches come alive, and the chances are very good that you’ll find yourself doing something here that you’d never do at home, say riding bikes to dinner, running on the beach at sunrise, fishing from a kayak, or horseback riding in the surf.
The diversity of attractions here, coupled with Jacksonville’s natural beauty, keeps visitors coming back to play tennis, golf, fish, or just lie on the beach year after year.
I’ve divided the activities and tours into the following categories: Activities, Museums, and Points of History so that you can more easily find what you’re looking for. Some items straddle both categories, like the Museum of Science and History, which is both a museum and a great kids’ spot.
Definitely schedule something historical during your time here. A great pick in that category is Kingsley Plantation, an indigo and cotton plantation from the early 1800s that is now a national park. There’s the “big house” that owner Zephaniah Kingsley called home, and the remnants of many small tabby huts where his slaves lived.
We also recommend at least one tour, be it an art tour at the Cummer Museum, or a self-guided tour of Downtown. After all, who doesn’t like going home a little smarter than they were when they left?
In addition to the listings in this chapter, don’t hesitate to check out other chapters and combine your activities; for example, why not combine a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art with lunch at De Real Ting or cocktails at one of the many Downtown nightspots.
We’ve done our best to include up-to-the-minute information about hours and admission fees, but if you’re on a tight budget or tight schedule, please call ahead to check if anything has changed.
In the early 1990s Jacksonville found itself on Money magazine’s list of 50 Fabulous Places to Raise a Family. The magazine reported what local residents had known for a long time: the combination of community, cost of living, weather, and especially the Atlantic Ocean made Jacksonville a good place to put down roots.
Children won’t be bored in Jacksonville, thanks in large part to the weather (year-round warm temperatures and sunny skies) and the geography. The city grew up on the banks of the St. Johns River then expanded east to the Atlantic Ocean to include the beach. Think of Jacksonville’s beaches as one giant public park. Here children can teach themselves how to surf year-round by practicing over and over on relatively small waves, or they can attend summer surf camp to learn the basics of balancing on a board. And, if you think surfing is just for boys, you need to head to the beach and see who’s out there. Girls are learning to surf in record numbers, and by and large, the boys don’t seem to mind sharing the waves.
The beach is also a great place to picnic, ride bicycles, fish, fly a kite, take a long walk, gather shells, kayak, swim, camp at Hanna Park, or simply relax year round. Ditto the St. Johns River and its tributaries, which offer countless places for children to fish.
If your children prefer dry land, just head to the closest riverbank and cast a line. But better yet, call one of several guide companies and head out in a kayak. Bonus: Children will get a firsthand lesson in environmental science as they experience an estuary system and see the animals that live in it. Children under 16 do not need a fishing license in Florida, but they will need a hat and some sunscreen, so plan accordingly. Be sure to read the Parks chapter for more ideas on things to do outdoors.
And there are other highlights: a museum of science and history designed just for kids, an art museum with an award-winning children’s education wing, parks, swimming pools, water parks, and water slides.
If you want to hit the road, there are easy day trips that offer children some fabulous history lessons.
For up-to-the-minute information on things to do, check out the weekend section of the Florida Times-Union. It never hurts to use the phone numbers provided to call ahead and make sure nothing has changed.
Happy trails!