Hours of Operation (seven days a week): 6:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. the day prior to Daylight Savings Time change 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. the day prior to Eastern Standard Time change The Alimacani Park and Boat Ramp is located just west of State Road A1A (Heckscher Drive) on Xalvis Island, adjacent to the Fort George River. Some of the first Europeans to arrive in northeast Florida landed on Xalvis Island in 1562. The ramp and nearby Fort George Island (formerly the Timucuan Indian settlement of Alimacani) are part of the 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. The boat ramp is situated on land that the City leases from the State of Florida, near the scenic stretch of A1A known as the Buccaneer Trail. For many years a fish camp/restaurant and a recreational vehicle park were operated adjacent to the boat ramp site, and the City purchased this property in 2002, as part of the Preservation Project. The unimproved ramp provides access to the Fort George River and its tributaries primarily for jet skiers, kayaks, and small jon boats.
Bulls Bay Preserve consists of 1,222 acres, acquired on December 21, 1999 as part of a conservation easement for mitigation. The Preserve consists mostly of wetlands with tributaries to the Trout and Ortega Rivers originating in the swamps that buffer the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail from Imeson Road to Bulls Bay Highway.
Amenities include the northern swamp trail off of Imeson Road and over two miles of hiking/mountain bike trails at the Old Plank Road trailhead. With a variety of elevation changes, trail users encounter large oak trees, lily ponds, and even a small waterfall.
Freedom Park is located at the intersection of McCormick and Fort Caroline Roads in the Arlington section of East Jacksonville. There had been talks about a park in this part of Jacksonville for many years; it finally formed in October 2020. October 29, 2018, The City of Jacksonville and Council Member Al Ferraro hosted an event to celebrate the proposed "Freedom Park". This park is the first marker commemorating a Gullah Geechee Community in Jacksonville. Gullah Geechee are direct descendants of slaves who settled in the Coastal Lowlands, from North Carolina to North Florida. The single largest concentration is in Jacksonville, but Freedom Park would be the city’s first public area to recognize their history. The monument in the center of park honors and commemorates the Cosmo, Gullah Geechee & PTSD Veterans. The area has been summed up by local Pastor Joe Cooper of the Cosmo community in two words: ‘fishing and love.’ The Florida Legislature approved $521,855 in funding for the Gullah Geechee community’s Freedom Park.
Adan, Abukar, WJCT. ‘Jacksonville Park to Commemorate Descendents of Slaves’, May 13, 2019
Jones, David. First Coast News. ‘Living History: Freedom Park will memorialize local Gullah Geechee people, veterans with PTSD in Jacksonville’, March 14, 2020
The Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens is a 120-acre urban woodland full of trails for you to explore and enjoy.
From the trailhead next to the parking lot, a stabilized walkway encircles a beautiful two-acre lake. This trail gently descends about 25 feet to the foot of the lake and then returns up a gentle slope on the opposite side to the trailhead. Interpretive signs and over 100 labeled plants enhance the loop.
In addition, over three miles of rustic hiking trails wind quietly through a series of distinct ecological habitats. Along the trails, benches invite you either to pause and enjoy the view or to get in a good stretch during a vigorous walk.
The Arboretum is developed and managed by the Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens, Inc., a non-profit entity that leases the land from the City of Jacksonville. Except for special events, there is no admission fee but donations are appreciated.
Update: The zoo dock was heavily damaged during recent hurricanes and is not currently available for public use. Open Zoo Hours.
Fee required.
On September 10, 2013, the City of Jacksonville designated the James Weldon and John Rosamond Johnson Birth Site, located at the northwest corner of Lee and Houston Streets as a landmark site; and named it the Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park. The property was the location of the family home of James Weldon Johnson and his brother John Rosamond Johnson, in which both brothers were born, raised and lived during a significant portion of their lives; and is also the location where the brothers composed Lift Every Voice and Sing, originally composed to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday but later became known as the Negro National Anthem. James Weldon Johnson later attained additional national prominence by being appointed the United States Consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua; and likewise, John Rosamond Johnson went on to achieve additional notoriety in the vaudeville scene by composing or assisting in more than 200 musical compositions made popular through vaudeville performances in New York’s Broadway Boulevard venues and Carnegie Hall.
Walter Anderson Memorial Park is located in the Mandarin area of southeast Jacksonville, near the intersection of Flynn and Orange Picker Roads.
In 2019, the park was renamed after Walter W. Anderson, a lifelong Mandarin resident, a World War II veteran, a retired Civil Servant with 37 years of service, and a prominent figure in the African-American community. From the early 1800s, the African-American community in the Mandarin area had a very large footprint and like most places in America during the time of segregation, they had limited access to include recreational facilities. In 1955, Mr. Anderson donated four acres of land deeded “for park purposes only" to the County so that African Americans would have a place for recreation. In 1956, Mr. Anderson facilitated the County’s purchase of an additional two acres for expansion of the park to its current state. The park served as one of the main gathering places for the African-American community. Additionally, the park served as the home field to the Mandarin Raiders baseball team, an African-American sandlot team who hosted teams from all over Jacksonville and neighboring counties well into the mid-1980s. The park continues to serve as a gathering place for community events, picnics, sports events for children, youth, and adults today and well into the future.
For many years, this park was unnamed and simply referred to as “The Colored Park”. Over the years, the park was named Joe James Park and then Flynn Park until the name change in 2019.
Through the years, local minority residents, the Mandarin Sports Association, and the Mandarin Community Club have championed the need for improvements and additions to this park. These improvements have included a basketball court, new restrooms, and lighting for the ball field in the late 1970s, new playground equipment in 1990, and park fencing more recently. The baseball field is still used for baseball, soccer, and any given day, the basketball courts are full of activity by all community members. Mr. Anderson’s selfless contributions continues to give back to the community and will serve as a memorial and reminder of the sizeable and vital African-American community in the Mandarin area. A new pickleball court was installed in April 2021.