Summer is when my car, the black 1994 Toyota Camry, first earned its nickname: the Black Sabbath. Mostly because during the summer the car always feels like black metal after a summertime Sunday service. This adds a sense of adventure to an excursion discovering and cataloguing the First Coast’s beaches. Like a Gonzo sort of Lewis and Clark discovering deep Margaritaville along the Florida coast, I stuck my digital camera in the satchel and embarked on the Tour de Beaches for EU Jacksonville.
A1A is a marvelous stretch of road. I don’t know about it in its entirety, but from the southernmost point of St. Johns County to the southernmost tip of Georgia, A1A is a delightful winding road suited for a nice ride on a motorcycle or a delightful joyride in a convertible. At the very least, turn off the AC and roll all of your windows down. Even in the Black Sabbath, this is a great ride.
Traveling the beaches north of Jacksonville is an entirely different sort of journey than traveling those south of Jacksonville. In the north, nature prevails. From the moment that Amelia Island National Park takes over the beach community of Fernandina Beach until you get into Mayport, bars and restaurants are in short supply. As you go through Jacksonville Beach and Ponte Vedra the beach is bordered by homes, resorts, and condos. But when you get down past Guana, from Vilano Beach until South of Cresecent, there are loads of bars and restaurants.
Our trail went from north to south and these are the beaches I discovered and catalogued. To learn about the bars I found and catalogued, check out the pub crawl.
White Street (904) 277-7274
This Southern Georgia/Northern Florida treasure is the middle ground between a touristy Florida beach and the unique charm of Savannah taken to the beach. Still very country, Fernandina is like the wealthy south with a healthy dose of corporate and some delightful stores. The beach area along A1A is mostly residential with a few public areas, and downtown Fernandina is nowhere near the beach. For a swanky beach crowd that doesn’t frighten old white people, check out Fernandina Beach.
Off the Amelia Island Parkway
Established in 1933, this Nassau County beach was deemed an African-American beach by Florida’s first black millionaire Abraham Lincoln Lewis, who owned the Afro-American Life Insurance Company. From Zora Neale Hurston to Cab Calloway, this beach was a popular hot spot in the African-American community throughout the middle of the twentieth century. It’s still a great beach, but exclusive (and predominantly white) neighborhoods have since moved in and the clubs and restaurants that made it famous in the 1950s are long gone. Between Hurricane Dora and the desegregation of Florida beaches, the popular destination dropped off of people’s vacation list.
A1A North (904) 251-2320
The George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier is a pedestrian fishing bridge rumored to have some of the best saltwater pier fishing in the Southeast. This natural habitat is preserved by Northeast Florida’s state parks. It is also the home of Amelia Island Plantation. Thick with Florida history, Amelia Island is a great place to see the natural habitat of the Southeastern coastline.
A1A North (904) 251-2320
The barren beaches of Fort George are another state park protected by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of Recreation and Parks. Fort George has its own sort of beach community with Out There Kayak and Fort George Surf Shop serving these communities. Rich with history from the British, the French, and the Spanish, this area dates back to the French Huguenots of the 16th century.
A1A North (904) 251-2320
The First Coast Highway winds down Florida’s coastline connecting A1A to Hecksher Road and ultimately 9A. Big Talbot Island is at the top of the state, just across the Nassau Sound. It is also a natural preserve protected by the state of Florida, and these maritime hammock lands are living evidence of erosion at work. The north beaches of Big Talbot Island are littered with trees that have fallen as the land supporting them is chewed into beach by the wind and the surf. There are places on this beach for everything from artsy, naturalistic photo-ops to fun beaches and even a calm lake where people can paddle boat. From picnic areas to playgrounds, this state park is the perfect place for a family with a wide variety of interests.
12157 Hecksher Drive (904) 251-2320
Criss-crossed with paved bike trails and nature hikes, this is beach-going for the Florida beach purist. There are a number of covered picnic areas and several boardwalks that take you across dunes to get to the beach. It is still part of the nature preserve, so there is plenty of indigenous wildlife to see (hopefully you won’t see the bobcats) as well as modern conveniences such as bathrooms and showers.
10980 Heckscher Drive (904) 251-3335
This city park is the perfect beach for the beachgoer that has to please both very young children and teenagers. With a great surf and lifeguards on duty, anyone seeking beachtime fun can find it, but this beach also features some great tidal pools during low tide so that the small children can experience their own seaside fun. It is only fifty cents per person to get on and there is camping available. Huguenot is located right where the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean meet, so there is a great view of Mayport Naval Station’s Aircraft Carrier’s and an enormous tidal pool that can accommodate windsurfers as well as young families nervous about the surf. There is also plenty of fishing spots. Drive right onto the beach and find a spot, enjoy isolated covered picnic areas, a snack bar, and bathrooms with showers.
500 Wonderwood Drive (Just go down Mayport Road, you’ll see the signs) (904) 249-4700
Kathryn Abby Hanna Park, to be exact. This huge beachfront park has plenty to offer visitors. With more than 450 acres, much of it beachfront, it’s a Mayport stop for devoted surfers. They’ve also got space for camping near the lake, as well as kayak and boat rentals. Campers can get a cottage, pitch a tent, or park an RV. Parents take their tots to the onsite splash park (free with admission) and the playground next to it. With bike trails, nature walks, beachfront (with lifeguards) and lake front, Hanna Park has a lot to offer. Weddings and receptions also often take place in Dolphin Plaza. Park admission is $3 per car (up to 6 people, $1 for each additional person) and just $1 for pedestrians, bicyclists and those on motorcycles. Non-registered vehicles, such as scooters or battery-powered vehicles are not allowed on the park grounds.
At the end of Atlantic Boulevard and North until Mayport
Atlantic Beach is the classic tourist beach from the Sea Turtle Inn until the sugary, imported sands run out near Mayport Naval Station, which takes the seaboard over just South of the mouth of the St. Johns River. Largely a residential community, this beach starts in the tourist zone and extends north. The beaches are actually fairly secluded considering that the shore is lined with homes.
Across Atlantic Boulevard and south until Jacksonville Beach
This innocuous stretch of coastline maintains the imported sugary sands that make the tourists happy, and there is always a restaurant or bar in walking distance. The locals contend that Neptune Beach is more upscale and exclusive, having more residences than condos on the beach than their northern neighbor, but they get just as crowded during beach season.
Parallel to 3rd Street (A1A) from Atlantic until almost J Turner Butler
The classic beach. Featuring a boardwalk that runs alongside, this is the beach community that is being overrun with high-rise condominiums and hotels. The bars and festivals make this the center of the party scene, but a new breed of beach dweller wants to see less gang activity, less drunk partiers, and more of a chic urban upscale scene. Fortunately, the beaches know who they are and the beach bum mentality is especially stringent in Jacksonville Beach. Go there to party, but if you have the kids, there are better beaches. Although the plethora of lifeguards does make a person feel especially safe.
Parallel to A1A from North Jacksonville Beach to Guana Reserve
This snooty stalwart is mostly dominated by resorts and exclusive residential communities such as the Ponte Vedra Inn, which is owned by the Peyton family, and Sawgrass. Public access is not nearly as difficult to come across as places to park in the beachside communities, but the beaches are never overcrowded, although only certain stretches have lifeguards attending.
At the intersection of Mickler Road and the Sceneic Coastal Byway (A1A)
Also known by local surfers as “The Crossroads,” this is one of the most accessible parts of Ponte Vedra Beach with a public parking lot, outdoor showers, and bathrooms right at the entrance. This natural beach has shelly sand and a steep descent into the water during high tide, so be especially careful of riptides. A favorite of surfers, the deeper waters can be hazardous, but the beach portion is usually fairly private.
505 Guana River Road (904) 823-4500
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says, “The Reserve encompasses approximately 60,000 acres of salt marsh and mangrove tidal wetlands, oyster bars, estuarine lagoons, upland habitat and offshore seas in St. Johns and Flagler Counties. This estuarine ecological system produces a rich abundance of marine life including numerous commercially and recreationally valuable species. GTMNERR contains the northern most extent of mangrove habitat on the east coast of the United States. The coastal waters of the GTMNERR are important calving grounds for the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. Manatees, wood storks, roseate spoonbills, bald eagles and peregrine falcons find refuge in the GTMNERR.” That’s pretty much what I would have said.
At the Corner of the Francis and Mary Usina Bridge and the Coastal Byway
Located right where A1A crosses the bridge from North St. Augustine back over to the shore, Vilano Beach is a small beach community trying hard not to be a trailer park. They are currently going through some sort of urban renewal, but the tides change slowly. Further north along A1A, technically still in the Vilano area, although sometimes called North Beach, The Reef is a popular restaurant with an amazing view of the Atlantic and down behind that castle is Cap’s, one of the area’s best kept secrets, but most importantly: these empty beaches are great, but be careful when you drive on their loose sands.
1340 A1A South (904) 461-2033
It costs $5 to drive onto Anastasia Island, but there are some really good reasons to go. For one, they have some of the best beach camping. Also, eco-tourists come from around the world to see the natural habitats of these hammock maritime lands. From windsurfing to preserved beaches, this is a national treasure. Call ahead to make sure you know about sea turtle hatching season, because vast portions of the beach are closed to protect the endangered turtles.
Parallel to A1A from Anastasia to Crescent Beach
This is a true Florida beach town. From the tourist T-shirt shops to the Caribbean-themed tiki bars, this town has all of the pink and pastel green you can stomach. Riddled with timeshares and resorts, it is hard to find a local in these parts, but there are plenty of residents, so it isn’t impossible. Just look for the burned out hippie that looks like he sat in the sun since 1972 bleaching his hair white and turning his skin into leather. He’s the local. It costs a little money, but in St. Augustine Beach you can drive on the beach to your spot.
About 7 miles, from St. Augustine Beach to the Matanzas Inlet
Although it sometimes requires passing the public access and turning around (there are three, so don’t pass the third one) Crescent Beach may appear to be full of only condos and beach homes along the shore, but there are plenty of places to get onto the beach, some of which are even equipped with bathrooms and free parking, as well as covered picnic areas. This beach has just enough people in the sand and in the water to not allow you to feel like the only shark bait in the water, but it isn’t so densely packed that you will be uncomfortable, except for perhaps on a holiday.
South A1A
Just north of the Matanzas Inlet lies some great beach. On the seaside of A1A you can park in a free lot and trek across a quarter of a mile of dunes (on a walkway) to one of the most secluded public beaches. Because this is where the Matanzas River feeds into the ocean, there are plenty of long sandbars and shallows for playing. Across A1A there is more parking and the beach along the Inlet has all of the fun and sun without the waves, so you don’t have to worry about that toddler rolling out with the surf.
South A1A
The southernmost beach in St. Johns County has little-to-no parking, making it fairly exclusive. But if you can get to it, the beach is usually deserted and the waters are heavenly. Old A1A is almost washed away, which begs a soul to wonder what will happen to the million-dollar mansions sandwiched between the Matanzas River (the intracoastal) and the Atlantic Ocean. Until then, their bright waters will remind you of the Gulf of Mexico.
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