Northeast Florida - Florida - page 794

WORTH A TRIP
TALBOT & FORT GEORGE ISLANDS
The most scenic way to reach Amelia Island from Jacksonville's beaches offers plenty of
reasons to stop along the way: exceptional kayaking, distinctive state parks, and riverb-
ank and beachside camping galore. It's a wonderful day trip if you have wheels and time.
Heading north from the beaches along State Rd A1A, you'll have to jump on the St
Johns River Ferry ( 904-241-9969; www.stjohnsriverferry.com ; per car $5; every half-hr
6am-7pm) in Mayport. Turn left on Fort George Rd to reach Fort George Island Cultural
State Park ( 904-251-2320; www.floridastateparks.org/fortgeorgeisland ; State Rd A1A S; 8am-
sunset, visitor center 9am-5pm Wed-Sun). Although the exact location of the fort erected by
the British in 1736 remains uncertain, the island still bears its name. In pre-WWII glory
days, flappers flocked here to the ritzy Ribault Club, built in 1928, for lavish Gatsby-esque
bashes. Now housing the visitor center, the meticulously restored mansion flaunts grand
archways and three dozen sets of cypress French doors. It's the starting point of the
4.4-mile Saturiwa loop trail, which you can walk, bike or drive. Enormous shell middens
date the island's habitation by the Timucuan Indians to over 4000 years ago.
Continuing on Fort George Rd to just outside the park's northern fringe, you'll come to
Kingsley Plantation ( 904-251-3537; www.nps.gov/timu ; 11676 Palmetto Ave; 9am-5pm),
where you can tour portions of the oldest standing plantation house in Florida and the re-
mains of 23 tabby-construction slave cabins. The main house is under near-constant res-
toration due to termites and humidity, but the sprawling shaded grounds and mangroves
make a unique spot for a picnic. Be sure to engage a docent to learn about the colorful
history of the site.
A short, shaded drive down Palmetto Ave will bring you back to the A1A: head north to
Little Talbot Island State Park ( 904-251-2320; www.floridastateparks.org/littletalbotisland ;
12157 Heckscher Dr; per vehicle $5, camping per night $24; 8am-sunset) and its 5 miles of
pristine beaches, extraordinary wildlife (river otters, marsh rabbits, bobcats) and grand
tidal fishing for mullet and sheepshead. Camping is available. Continuing north, you'll pull
into the lone parking lot and deposit your fee in the blue envelope at the stark but lovely
Big Talbot Island State Park ( 904-251-2320; www.floridastateparks.org/bigtalbotisland ; State
Rd A1A N; per vehicle $3; 8am-sunset). Take your camera on the short trail to Boneyard
Beach, where salt-washed skeletons of live oak and cedar trees litter the white sand,
framed by a 20ft bluff of eroded coastline.